Joii Pet Care and Zoetis have partnered up to test an app tool that measures the Quality of Life in Dogs and see how it impacts conversations between owners and their vets in real-life scenarios. We will be evaluating VetMetrica™, a health-related quality of life (HRQL) assessment tool for dogs. The tool is built into the VetMetrica specifically designed App named Animal Research Tool (ART). This tool produces a quality of life score and an alert message if the score is below a certain level. All dogs taking part need to be seen in person by their regular vet for a health check, where the results produced by the tool will be discussed.

We invite you to participate in the study and help owners, as well as other veterinarians to identify signs of a lower quality of life from an early stage, and therefore help to treat your clients beloved pet much earlier. This document provides key details about the study to help you make an informed decision about your participation and support of your client and their dog.

Please read this carefully and we’d be grateful to hear from you if you would like to discuss anything in more detail. Please only agree to take part if you really want to. And if you decide not to take part, that’s fine too.

Purpose of the Study

The aim of this study is to evaluate how VetMetrica™ scores, which measure a dog’s quality of life, relate to their health status as determined by a veterinary clinical examination in real-life scenarios. This research will also gather insights from dog owners and veterinarians about their experience using the VetMetrica™ tool (ART) and explore whether it improves communication and promotes discussion during veterinary consultations.

Eligibility Criteria – Inclusion

– Dogs aged 2 to 10 years.

– The owner’s first language is English.

– Owner comfortable using a smartphone and apps.

– Owner available to attend the vet visit and complete all surveys (same owner must complete all steps).

– You are willing to complete the questionnaire following in-person consultation.

Eligibility Criteria – Exclusion

– Dogs diagnosed with chronic conditions (any illnesses that require continuous medication to control the symptoms)

– Dogs on long-term medication prescribed by their vet (excluding routine parasite control and other preventatives, dietary supplements are acceptable).

What Does Participation Involve?

You will be supporting your client in taking part in the study and have the opportunity to support our research by providing your invaluable opinion on how the report impacted the conversations you had with the owner.

For the dog owner

These are the steps they need to complete:

1. Review the Study Participation Agreement.
2. Eligibility call with the Joii team: they will have an online screening call with a Joii vet or nurse to ensure their dog meets the study criteria.
3. Book their in-person vet appointment and give consent to sharing their dog’s clinical history with the study team. We will review the history and inform the practice of what the study involves. If all parties accept taking part and the dog passes the history review, you are all good to go!
4. Review this information sheet and provide their informed consent.
5. Download the study app: download the Animal Research Tool (ART) App and input the date of the in-person appointment. Within 6 days of the appointment, complete the QOL questionnaire about their dog.
6. In-person appointment with their Vet: attend a routine health check at their registered veterinary practice. We will send the vet practice a copy of the dog’s report ahead of the appointment. During the visit, you will examine the dog and complete a health assessment and an osteoarthritis (OA) checklist. We then ask that the questionnaire be completed on the owner’s phone.
7. Feedback questionnaire: a brief survey about the owner’s experience using the app and the Quality of Life Questionnaire.
8. Telephone Interview: Some participants will be randomly selected for a one-to-one interview to share their experience in more detail. 

For the dog’s In-person Vet Practice

1. Book the in person appointment once the owner contacts the practice and informs of the study participation.
2. Receive further information about the study from Vet-AI: we will email the practice and provide more information about the study, the study’s terms and conditions and practice consent.
3. Practice confirms consent to take part (can be completed by a clinical director, practice manager or the vet who will be performing the consultation).
4. Not less than 6 days before the owner’s in person appointment, the practice will receive the QOL report for the dog by email. Please add the report to the dog’s clinical history.
5. On the day of the appointment, the Vet should read the report before the appointment.
6. Perform the consultation as usual.
7. Complete a health assessment and Osteoarthritis checklist at the end of the consultation: ideally, this should be done on the owner’s phone as it will give us results instantly, but if you are not happy to do so, you can use the alternative links provided on our website.
8. Complete a feedback survey: we will send this to the individual vet who participated with the owner in the in-person consultation. This is a survey to give us your opinion on how things went and what impact the report had on your conversation with the owner during the consultation.
9. Telephone interview: Some vet participants will be randomly selected for a one-to-one interview to share their experience in more detail.

Alert vs No Alert Report

After the owner completes the QOL questionnaire in the ART app, they will be shown a screen at the end with results. This will show how the dog scored in 4 different areas:

• Energetic & Enthusiastic
• Happy & Content
• Active & Comfortable
• Calm & Relaxed

If the dog scores below the threshold, they will be sent an alert message.

If the dog scores above the threshold, they will not receive the alert message.

Regardless of the results, we will send an individual report to the practice for the dog you will be seeing and let you know what they scored. Whether or not an alert has been produced, we ask that you conduct your consultation and physical examination as usual and complete the vet assessment questionnaire and OA checklist the best you can. These shouldn’t take more than 3 minutes to complete.

Benefits of Participation

There are several:

• Contributing to Science: Your participation will help improve quality of life assessment tools and potentially advance early disease detection and treatment in veterinary medicine.
• Better Client Engagement: have more discussions about quality of life with your clients so they understand the benefits of being proactive in health prevention.
• Study reward: Vet Participants who complete the study questionnaires (health assessment, OA checklist and feedback questionnaire) will receive £15 Amazon voucher as a thank-you for taking part. 

What If I Want to Withdraw?

Participation is voluntary, and the practice or individual vet may withdraw at any time without providing a reason. To withdraw, simply email the study team at [email protected]. We will notify your participating client and ensure that their data, as well as yours is no longer used in the study.

Any information provided can be removed from accessible files but any clinical information from assessments will be kept in the database for a period of 5 years. If you prefer that your data is deleted from the study and not shared with our partner Zoetis, please make sure to tell us that in your communication with us.

Withdrawing from the means that the owner and you, will no longer be eligible for the reward. This may also affect your client taking part with their dog if you do not complete the in person vet assessment questionnaire and OA checklist.

Data Collection and Confidentiality

– All data will be stored securely on Vet-AI (the people behind the Joii app) and Zoetis (the brains behind the ART app) servers and used only for research purposes.

– Your personal information will remain confidential and will not be shared outside the research team.

– We will ask you for separate permission to share your contact details with a third-party company that will be conducting telephone interviews with a small number of randomly selected participants.

Contact Information

If you have any questions or concerns about the study, please contact our study team:

– Email: [email protected]

Next Steps

1. Make sure the practice supporting the owner and this study is discussed within the team and a clinical director, practice manager or the vet who will be doing the consultations is happy to provide consent on behalf of the practice. 
2. You can provide consent by completing this survey, where we will be running you through the terms and conditions of the study and collecting details of the person responsible for the consent.
3. Email us back at [email protected] with the dog’s clinical history and the date and time of their appointment.
4. The study team will review the dog’s clinical history.
5. We will send you the Alert/No Alert report within 6 days of the in person appointment, as soon as the owner completes it.
6. Review the report before the consultation takes place.
7. Complete the consultation with the owner and dog as usual, addressing the reason why they had booked the appointment first and foremost.
8. Complete the Vet Assessment questionnaire and the OA checklist (only take 3 minutes in total) at the end. This can be done on the owner’s phone or via the links on our website,
9. After the consultation, the attending vet will receive a link by email to a separate feedback questionnaire. This can be completed in their own time. Once it has been done, we will send the vet their study reward.
10. Your reward will be sent to you as an Amazon voucher of £15 within 2 weeks of completing all the steps in the study.
11. A sample of 10 vets will be selected for an interview. We will let you know by email if you have been selected.

Thank you for your support with this study. Your contribution is invaluable in helping us enhance the health and welfare of dogs everywhere.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Why are you running this study? 

The purpose of this study is to see if there’s a connection between scores from a tool that evaluates Quality of Life (QOL) and how healthy a dog is during their normal vet check-up, understand what vets and pet owners think about the QOL tool through surveys and chats and find out if using the QOL tool helps vets and pet owners communicate better.

• Why will you ask me questions? 

We need to ask questions to get some background information about the pet and their health in order to understand as much as we can about them and make sure they are eligible for the study. We will do this through Joii app questionnaires or via links we will send directly to you or make available on a website dedicated to vets. We might also ask you questions via a telephone interview. 

• Do I have to pay? 

You do not have to pay to take part in the study. 

• What will happen to the results of the study? 

We expect the results of this study will be published in peer-reviewed journals. All answers to the questions will be kept strictly confidential and anonymised. Results from the study may be printed in veterinary journals and also in the non-veterinary press, but neither you, your practice nor the pet will be identifiable from any published work. 

• Do I have to be a Joii customer to participate? 

No. You don’t have to register with Joii. The owner may ask you to complete the vet assessment and OA checklist on their phone using the Joii app though. If you don’t want to use their phone, you can use separate links we will provide you with. 

• Will I be able to give advice on my client’s pet’s health? 

Yes. We expect you to do the consultation as you would normally do and address any concerns the owner presents you with as per your normal way of working. The assessments for the study should reflect what you did in the consultation. You can advise any products that are necessary, and administer medication or preventative products as you deem necessary

• What happens if I don’t receive the report for my client’s dog?

If you don’t receive the report before the consultation, we ask that you email us at [email protected] reporting the issue as soon as possible. Without you reviewing the report, the client cannot take part in the study.

• What happens if I or my client forget to fill out the questionnaire during the in-person consultation?

The questionnaire that needs to be filled during the in-person consultation is an essential step of this study. Without this step being completed, we cannot give you or the client the study reward. If you were not able to do it during the consultation time, we ask that you do so using the alternative links provided on the website as soon as possible.

• What happens if the client doesn’t have mobile data, or signal at the practice or if they have technical difficulties and I cannot fill out the questionnaire on my phone?

If any of the above situations happen during the in-person consultation, please remember that you can access the questionnaire for the vet assessment via the supporting website. We will also send you the links for these same questionnaires by email when we send you the report. The links can also be found in the study materials which we will send to you during the onboarding of both your client and the practice. In case of any problems or concerns, please contact our study team via [email protected] to report what happened and let us know how you left the situation with your client. This is important so we can understand the problem and then decide whether the study reward can be given to the client or not.

• Is there a risk to my client’s pet? 

We are not testing a product, only finding out information about the pet and checking the impact the report produced has on how you and your client communicate. As the owner should be already going to the vet practice for a reason other than the study, we don’t anticipate that the study will create issues for the pet or put them under unnecessary stress. Should the client become worried because of the results given to them once they complete the QOL questionnaire in the ART app, and if they do not want to wait to discuss those concerns with you in practice, we offer 24/7 support via the Joii app. 

• What happens if the pet passes away or needs to be euthanised during the study period? 

In the unfortunate and very sad event that the pet dies or is put to sleep during the study period we ask that you inform us as soon as possible and send us an up-to-date clinical history for that pet so we can fill out all the necessary paperwork that relates to Adverse Events. Please send this information to [email protected]. 

• When do I need to contact you outside the scheduled questionnaires? How do I do this? 

We ask that you contact us via email ([email protected]) in the following circumstances: 

• The dog becomes unwell 
• The dog has had an accident
• You don’t want to take part anymore 
• You are having technical difficulties
• You are concerned about the pet’s health 
• The owner cancelled their vet appointment because they no longer need to go to the vets
• The practice had to change the date of the in person appointment
• You had trouble with the in-person questionnaire during your in person appointment
• Any concerns you may have about the study, the dog or their participation.

• Will you share my data with anyone? 

If you give us your express consent to being contacted by the external company that will be running the interviews, and if you are one of the 10 selected to go through this step, we will share your contact details (name, phone number and email address) with Social Value Lab. If you do not wish to take part in the interviews, this will not affect your involvement in the study. 

We will share the study data with Zoetis in pseudo-anonymous form, meaning they will NOT receive any personal or identifying information of yours (name, phone number or email address). Only the Study Coordinator will be able to link your data in the Joii database and the Zoetis database.

• How will the data be stored? 

Videos and clinical information obtained during the study may be retained for at least 5 years and possibly used in future research projects and for training and education purposes. All data will be stored in a secure database only accessible to people working on the study. You can have your data removed and permanently deleted without penalty should you wish so. 

• What if I change my mind? 

If you decide you want to withdraw from the study, you may do so without explanation, and without penalty. In the event that you decide to withdraw from the study for whatever reason, please notify us by emailing us at [email protected]. 

Any information you have given can be removed from accessible files but any clinical information from assessments will be kept in the database for a period of 5 years. If you do wish for your data to be deleted from the study and not shared with the Study Sponsor Zoetis, please make sure to tell us that in your communication with us.

Study Participation Agreement for Vets – Consent to Participate

Thank you for considering taking part in the Alert Study!

This study is run by Vet-AI in partnership with Zoetis to assess how well an early warning system (Alert) in VetMetrica™ can support clinical decision-making. Your role is essential in helping us understand its accuracy and usefulness in veterinary practice.

Your participation is completely voluntary, and you can withdraw at any time.

What does participation involve?

I understand that participation involves:

Conducting a routine veterinary examination of dogs under my practice’s care who are participating in the study.
Reviewing the VetMetrica™ report to assess if the Alert correctly flags potential health concerns.
Providing feedback on the system via a short online form (takes about 5 minutes).
Receiving a £15 Amazon voucher upon completion of a feedback form.

Do you accept to participate in the study under these terms? [Accept] / [Decline]

Optional Interview Participation

At the end of the study, I understand that I may be randomly selected to participate in a telephone interview. 

• If selected, my details will be shared with Social Value Lab so they contact me for a short phone interview (only with my consent).

☐ I agree to be contacted for a telephone interview by an independent third-party company (Social Value Lab) as appointed by Zoetis. 

☐ I do not wish to participate in an interview.

How will your data be used?

I understand that Vet-AI will collect and securely store the following details:

• My name, contact information, and professional qualifications.
• My answers relating to the health assessment of the dog.
• My feedback on the VetMetrica™ system.

My information will only be used for study management purposes and will not be shared with third parties without your explicit consent, except as required by law.

Do you agree to share your data for these purposes? [Accept] / [Decline]

Your rights and responsibilities

I understand that:

I am free to withdraw from the study at any time.
If I withdraw, my client and their dog may also be removed from the study.
All study-related patient information must remain confidential.
I agree to uphold professional and ethical standards during examinations.
The study has been approved by the Ethics Review Board of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Do you agree to take part in the study under these terms? [Accept] / [Decline]

Important legal notes

I understand that:

• Liability: Vet-AI and Zoetis are not responsible for any harm or damages resulting from my participation, except in cases of negligence or misconduct on their part.
• Data retention: my data will be retained for 5 years unless I request it to be deleted.

• My data will be used for research, scientific publications, and conferences.
• All findings will be anonymised (no personal identifiers will be included).
• Data collected by Vet-AI will be stored in a UK data centre in compliance with GDPR.
• Anonymised data may be used for other research studies but will not be combined to identify me.

Do you accept these legal terms? [Accept] / [Decline]

My Rights

I understand that I can:

• Request access, correction, or deletion of my personal data.
• Restrict or object to data processing.
• Contact Vet-AI at [email protected] for data-related inquiries.
• Lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority.

By signing below, I confirm my voluntary participation and agreement to the above terms and therefore, formally consent to participating in the study.

Full Name: __________________________
Signature: __________________________
Date: _______________

For any questions regarding the study, please email [email protected].