Nikki E. Bennett, Silvio Ernesto, Mirabal Torres, and Peter B. Gray (all Anthropology) published "Exploratory Content Analysis of Direct-to-Consumer Pet Genomics: What is Being Marketed and What are Consumers Saying?" in PLOS ONE. This was the first study on the pet DTC genomics industry in which vendor webpages and consumer product reviews were used to gather insight into the industry and potential impacts on the human-animal bond. From this study, "...reviews most often indicated tests were being used to determine a pet’s breed identity, while companies most frequently promoted the health advantages of using their products. Reviews revealed some consumers respond to tests by sharing their pet’s results with someone or by altering their pet’s care. Considering these results in addition to the growing popularity of this industry and the advancements of genomic technology, further research is needed to determine the role pet genetic testing may have in society and on human-animal relationships."
