Mars Veterinary Information

Mars Veterinary is a business unit of Mars Petcare, the world’s largest pet care provider. Our mission is to facilitate responsible pet care by enhancing the well-being and relationship between pets, pet owners, breeders, shelters and veterinarians through valuable insights into pets as individuals. At Mars we have spent nearly two decades researching canine genetics starting with our instrumental role in the Canine Genomics project in 1999. Mars Veterinary was established in 2005 and since that time our team of scientists and geneticists has been analyzing canine DNA and identifying the most useful DNA SNP markers to distinguish between different dog breeds. Using that set of more than 1800 markers and DNA samples from each breed, our researchers have developed signatures (patterns) specific to each breed. To date, the Mars Veterinary database of breed signatures is the largest in the world (more than 12,000 samples) with more than 250 breeds, types and varieties represented and we are expanding it every year. In addition Mars Veterinary holds the worldwide exclusive license on the breed detection analysis process developed by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Institute making our tests the only ones in the world with this technology. We continue to work with researchers in the field such as Washington State University to license the MDR1 drug sensitivity test, and Genoscoper Laboratories® in Finland for our extensive disease screening and diversity testing to expand our offerings for consumers, breeders, veterinarians, and shelters alike. We believe in the important role genetics can play in making a better world for our four-legged family members. By using DNA to discover a dog's ancestry and screen for genetic diseases, pet owners and veterinarians can work together to proactively address the one-of-a-kind needs of each unique dog. Simply put, when you know the breeds in your dog you know a lot more about how to make them happy and healthy.