Leveling the Field for the Breeders of Dogs and Cats

Have industry initiatives had the intended consequence?


A number of industry initiatives have tried to resolve problems associated with irresponsible breeding operations. These initiatives fall under 4 main headings:

• Cruelty investigations of puppy and kitten mills
• Eliminating retail operations in municipalities
• Exposing irresponsible internet vendors
• Licensing or permitting multi-animal operations

The time is right for industry leaders to discuss results and evidence that shows the industry is on the right path.  At the 2012 Regional Summits for Urban Animal Strategies, Joe Mauro will present the breeder programs arising from 2 years of industry dialogue to level the breeder playing field:

• Breeder codes of ethical conduct
• Breeder Certified Quality Mark programs
• Breeder Automation to record compliance activities

As you prepare for participation in these Summit conversations please look around your community and answer the following questions: 

• Are current initiatives delivering the results that were promised?
• Have there been unintended consequences?
• What is likely to be the impact of programs that identify compliant breeders?
• How will the industry identify compliant breeders to pet families?
• Who will enforce against breeders that don't comply?

Leveling the playing field for breeders, pet families and those who supply goods and services to this sector will deliver a win for everyone.  

Get the Facts, Have YourSAY(tm), Move the industry. 

New Insights into the Scale and Spread of CVBDs

Greater Vigilance for Canine Vector-Borne Diseases (CVBD) Required According to Seventh World Forum

MONHEIM, Germany, March 29, 2012

CVBDs present a real threat to the health of both pets and humans, with an untold toll of suffering and death worldwide. The data shared at this meeting highlighted the continuing need for awareness-raising, particularly of the risk posed by vectors and of the importance of surveillance and prevention in protecting pets and owners from the impact of these potentially serious diseases.

Studies in Australia and Europe revealed dogs are a potential reservoir for diseases that infect humans.  The meeting also produced invaluable findings on the year-round risk posed by ectoparasite vectors of CVBDs. It may be necessary to reconsider the potential scale of impact of climatic warming on tick population size and spread.

As part of its ongoing commitment to the scientific community, Bayer Animal Health today marked their seventh year of support for the CVBD World Forum (CVBD7) in Berlin, Germany; and this year's meeting has again proven to be a landmark in the understanding of CVBDs.

SEE CVBD7 IN THE JOURNAL OF PARASITES AND VECTORS

SEE MORE ABOUT BAYER HEALTHCARE

Vets, Social Media, Communications and Advertising

The veterinary profession is struggling to understand how guidelines for advertising are aligned with modern social media and communication strategies.  The College of Veterinarians of Ontario (CVO) posted an advisory statement in late 2011.  Other jurisdictions watch this conversation for the conclusion.  

Read the CVO Advisory

Does the CVO advisory really work to protect the interests of a public that consumes the services and products supplied by this profession?  Evidence suggests proactive consumers seek a palate of services and products that will allow them to select the care profile of the animals under their care.  These consumers may even wish to select and prepay the annual care programs they wish to use.  The industry is watching this development with great interest.  Please feel free to provide your comments.

TELUS and VOX Mobile Introduce Managed Mobility Services for Enterprises

TELUS and Vox Mobile, a provider of mobile IT services, have announced the launch of a suite of Managed Mobility Services (MMS) designed specifically for Canadian enterprises. 

TELUS Managed Mobility Services, powered by Vox Mobile, manage an enterprise’s mobile infrastructure and devices from procurement to payment. Leveraging a growing trend in enterprises to adopt “Bring your Own Device” (BYOD) policies, the service offer a series of six individual service modules, providing an end-to-end service option for managing wireless devices on multiple platforms, from multiple carriers. 

For more information on this new offering for enterprises visit http://www.telus.com/mms.

 

BISSELL Pet Foundation Mission to Find Pets a Home

During the pet industry's largest trade show in the U.S., BISSELL Homecare, Inc., it was announced the launch of the BISSELL Pet Foundation, a charitable non-profit organization with a goal to help every pet find a home.

The BISSELL Pet Foundation will broaden BISSELL's long-standing commitment of pet adoption and will focus its efforts on providing grants to charities supporting the humane care and treatment of animals. The Foundation's goal is to raise $250,000 annually for charities that support animal welfare.

To read the full news release about BISSELL's latest venture, click here to learn more.

For information on about the BISSELL Pet Foundation is available at www.bissellpetfoundation.org.

Friskies Reveals the First iPad Game for your Cat

Friskies® Pet Food is proud to feed your cats' senses with new a iPad game made just for your cat. The colors, movement, and game-play have been researched and tested for hours of fun.

The iPad app, known as You vs. Cat, is the first dual-species tablet game developed to let humans play with their feline friends.

The app can be found in the iTunes Store for at an unbeatable price - free! To have a preview of the app in action with a cat and owner, click here. For more information on the Friskies initiative and to download the app to your iPad today, visit the official website.

Fido Shows Support for St. John Ambulance Therapy Dogs

Fido recently announced its support for canine volunteers from the St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Program with a national 'Good Deeds After Work' contest. 

Throughout the months of March and April, Fido will visit 15 Canadian cities after 5 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights with the Good Deeds contest. 

Participants can enter the contest in Toronto, Montréal or Vancouver by sending the word 'Fido' in a text message to the advertised phone number or by finding a Fido team member within one of the cities. Participants will also be eligible for a chance to win prizes such as LG Optimus 2X smartphones and gift certificates worth up to $500 (some conditions may apply). 

For every participant in the contest, Fido will donate one dollar in support of the St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Program, up to a total of $50,000. 

To learn more about the initiative, follow the conversation on Twitter at twitter.com/fidomobile and use the hashtag #FidoTGI5.

Success at the 6th Annual Purina National - A CKC Charity Event

Record scores were had at the 2012 Purina National - A Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) Charity Event, from March 9-11, in support of the CKC Foundation. 

The event showcased top-notch canine competitors, a show of breed clubs, unique dog products and services, a dedicated, family-friendly entertainment area, and daily prize draws.

To view the official photos of the winners for March 10: Best in Show, Best Puppy in Show, High in Trial #1, High in Trial #2, Best Overall Junior Handler and 1st in Group, click here.

Be sure to watch for Purina National coverage in The Rick Mercer Report coming March 20, 2012 at 8:00 p.m. (EST) on CBC. 

Why become a Summit Alumnus?

In today’s fast-paced business environment it can be hard to find the resources that allow us to look at ‘the big picture.’ Time and pressure often do not allow us to re-think and create new and improved solutions to age-old problems.

The Summit for Urban Animal Strategies attracts some of the brightest minds in the North American companion animal industry. Your attendance allows you to participate in executive level discussions, hear world-class speakers and network with others who face similar challenges.

Once nominated by a fellow Alumni and then approved by the Nominating Committee, the Alumni status will give you the tools you need to bring practical solutions to your organization and inspire industry stakeholders to work collaboratively to create a healthier community for pets and people.

By being a part of the alumni group, you become a part of the solution. This results in significant benefits for you, as an individual, for your organization and for your community.

What does this mean for you?

As an Alumnus, you have access to a proprietary ‘Alumni Only’ section of the tsuas.com website and the Open Space Wiki that provides a wealth of information, including:

Directory: Published to encourage and facilitate continued dialogue and is for exclusive use of alumni in good standing. It includes the names and contact information for more than 160 thought leaders from all four sectors of the companion animal industry – animal control/legislation, animal health/wellness, animal welfare and animal services.

Resources: Designed to facilitate information sharing and the implementation of ideas and concepts discussed at the ISUAS. This information is updated on a regular basis.

Current resources include:

·  A summary of the most recent and past Urban Animal Survey

·  Presentations from various presenters and industry experts

·  Recommended links, books and other resources

·  Industry affiliations and community stakeholder news

·  News and views from other industry thought leaders

Keep the conversation going in Open Space: Long after the International Summit is concluded for the year, Alumni can continue their conversations and initiatives on the Open Space Wiki. This technology allows for ease of use and sharing of resources and meeting notes.

Discounts: Special consideration is given to the Alumni group, for such things as event registration and subscriptions to the annual survey.

Don't forget to take advantage of the Early Bird Special and save $250 on your ISUAS registration until April 30th.

For more information contact:

Judi Cannon, Summit Event Manager

(P) 705.930.7387  (E) event@tsuas.com

YourSAY™ 2012.3 - Canada's Thought Leaders Ponder the National Companion Animal Coalition

The third public opinion poll of 2012 is reported. This report summarizes the YourSAY™ survey Powered by PetLynx™ that fielded March 1-8, 2012. Forty respondents participated in the PetLynx YourSAY™ forum for 2012.3 featuring opinions about the National Companion Animal Coalition (NCAC). Participants included thought leaders representing all sectors of the industry in Canada. 

Highlights from YourSAY™ 2012.3:

• Sixty percent of the participants had heard about the NCAC prior to this survey. Of the remaining participants, 35% had never heard of the NCAC and 5% did not respond.
• About half of all participants felt that the NCAC was essential, about half felt NCAC was non-essential, and the remaining 5% did not respond.
• The vast majority of participants felt that promoting public education should be a top priority for the NCAC. Other top priorities include: lobby government on behalf of the industry (51%), coordinate communications efforts of industry players (41%), act as a spokesperson for the Companions Animal Industry (35%).
• The most common changes participants would make to the NCAC were: expansion of membership (61%), formal governance structure (53%), establishment of administration to carryout NCAC mandate (50%), and establishment of membership (50%).
• About half of participants supported 'majority rules' and 43% support the current NCAC practice of 'consensus.'
• Of the 19 participants who supported 'consensus', 42% preferred to obtain additional facts until consensus was secured, 37% preferred to send the issue to an Urban Animal Summit OpenSpace session and 21% had other suggestions.
• Of the 22 participants who supported 'majority rules', almost three out of every four preferred to send the majority decision to the Urban Animal Summits to gather wider consensus.
• The vast majority of participants do not believe that the NCAC has a broad base of support among their industry peers.
• While almost three out of every four participants have not been assisted by NCAC actions, one in every five participants has had NCAC actions help their industry activities.
• Primary resources NCAC would require include: industry donations (53%) and third-party contributions (39%).

Demographics of YourSAY™ 2012.3:

• Gender: 59% Female, 41% Male
• Age: 15% 21-35 years old, 38% 36-50 years old, 45% 51 and older
• Region: 40% Central, 25% Prairie, 20% Pacific, 10% Atlantic
• Pets: 76% Dog owner, 58% Cat owner
• Industry: 38% Animal Welfare, 28% Animal Services, 18% Animal Control and Enforcement, 13% Animal Health and Wellness
• Executive Level: 20% C-Level Executive, 40% Senior Management, 13% Middle Management, 8% Individual Contributor, 15% Other

YourSAY™ public opinion polls are owned and Powered by PetLynx™. Copies of the complete survey report are available for a nominal cost. Contact Sheena.Neel@petlynxmail.com if you wish to procure a copy.

The Regional Summits - Collaboration at its finest

After attending the 2011 Regional Summits for Urban Animal Strategies in Red Deer, AB, Alberta Animal Services (AAS) and Petland began the start of a new partnership.

Together, AAS and Petland compared their visions, and took it to the next level by partnering for an in-store adoption space for AAS animals. Petland held the in-store event in mid February of 2012 to promote responsible pet ownership through pet identification, awareness of AAS and the in-store adoption partnership. The event was a huge success, raising close to $2,000 with all donations distributed to AAS to reduce animal over population through spay and neuter programs.

“In many ways it’s because of the collaboration that Petlynx Corporation has done through the Regional Summit, has opened this door for both Petland and our organization - without a question,” said George Potter, Chief Administrating Officer of Alberta Animal Services.

“Over the years, the National and Regional Summits have continued to show the importance of meeting people in industry and it has helped our organization move forward by leaps and bounds.

“We are all very excited where this has already taken us and for what the future holds for us in this Collaborative relationship.”

With this new collaboration in mind, Potter said AAS and Petland will be headed to Dallas, Texas in the coming weeks to visit a number of stores that currently have permanent adoption centre’s to get a better understanding of the process of construction that will soon take place in the Red Deer location.

“I have to say, this new initiative has totally changed our organization and we are so looking forward to the future with Petland,” Potter expressed. “Without having any of the in-store adoption centre facility built yet in Red Deer, we have already adopted out 43 cats and dogs in a two-month period.

“I can’t even imagine the adoptions once we have the Alberta Animal Services Adoption Centre open in the Red Deer store. It is certainly changing the face of Animal Control in our area and will for many years to come - what a great story this will be!”

The Summit series welcomes John Gray as a guest speaker

The 6th Annual Regional Summit series welcomes John Gray, of Animal Control for the City of Vancouver, for the Vancouver stop on the Summit Canadian tour in April 2012. 

John will be speaking during the Session III of the event and will speak to Regional Activities & Collaboration.

Background

John Gray
Assistant Manger Animal Control

Since 2008 John has over seen municipal enforcement of Animal Control Bylaws for the City of Vancouver, and manages 12 Animal Control officers and a total staff of nearly 40. John is known for his solution oriented style of management, and his ability to work collaboratively.

Prior to John’s arrival at Animal Control there was very little sharing between municipalities on like issues something John wanted to see changed. John developed and currently chairs the Lower Mainland Regional Animal Control Mangers Committee made up of 25 local municipalities which was formed in 2011 to establish a collaborative approach to solving regional problems in Companion Animal Management.

John began his career in the animal world as a zookeeper, and through his involvement with many exotic species survival plans, led him to an active involvement with the re introduction of Burrowing Owls to the Nicola and Okanagan valleys, with the establishment of the Burrowing owl Conservation Society of BC in the early nineties. Which now boast three captive breeding sites and has been responsible for more than 1000 Owls being released back into native habitat.

John has also been active in many urban wildlife management projects and was featured for his forward thinking approach on Canada Goose Management on David Suzuki’s “Nature of Things”.

John’s favourite accomplishment was developing and implementing the Vancouver Park Board’s Park Ranger program in 1998. A department he led for 10 years before moving to Animal Control.

John is also a founding member of the Stanley Park Ecology Society and his current passions have led him to the Emergency Management world. He  currently chairs the City’s ESS (Emergency Social Services) Pet Committee and is the Alternate ESS director for the City of Vancouver.

Regional Summit Synopsis

The Regional Summits gather industry leaders (unit and branch managers) from the four primary stakeholder groups of the pet industry: animal welfare, animal control & legislative enforcement, animal health & wellness and animal services. These one-day events deliver content from the previous National Alumni Summit, promote industry collaboration in each region, provide continuing education for industry management and expand the number of collaborators working toward common goals and urban animal strategies in the companion animal industry across Canada.

  

 

New Pet Store Market Research Report

A new pet store U.S. industry market research report is now available from IBIS World. Emerging trends of pet parents have brought on high demands for premium pet products and services. These and other factors will see the industry grow to $14.7 billion in 2012.

READ THE RELEASE

Summit Award Recipient Dr. Michelle Lem to speak at 2012 Summit series

The 6th Annual 2012 Regional Summit for Urban Animal Strategies is pleased to welcome past Summit award recipient, Dr. Michelle Lem, to speak during the Luncheon at the Atlantic portion of the Summit series in Toronto, April 2012. 

Background

Dr. Michelle Lem

Dr. Michelle Lem is a 2001 graduate of the Ontario Veterinary College, and the founder and director of Community Veterinary Outreach, a veterinary-based registered charity that provides pro bono preventive veterinary care for animals of the homeless and marginally housed. Dr. Lem has also practiced companion animal medicine and surgery in Ottawa, is an instructor in the Veterinary Technician program at Algonquin College, and currently locums at the City of Ottawa Spay Neuter Clinic. In 2009, she returned to OVC to pursue graduate research in epidemiology in the Department of Population Medicine, studying the effects of pet ownership on street-involved youth, and will graduate this spring. Dr. Lem is also an active member of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, and is a trained member of the Canadian Veterinary Reserve.

Regional Summit Synopsis

The Regional Summits gather industry leaders (unit and branch managers) from the four primary stakeholder groups of the pet industry: animal welfare, animal control & legislative enforcement, animal health & wellness and animal services. These one-day events deliver content from the previous National Alumni Summit, promote industry collaboration in each region, provide continuing education for industry management and expand the number of collaborators working toward common goals and urban animal strategies in the companion animal industry across Canada.   

Dr. Lisa Chen to speak at 2012 Regional Summit

The 6th Annual Regional Summit series welcomes Dr. Lisa Chen for the Canadian tour in Halifax, Toronto, Red Deer and Vancouver in April 2012. 

Dr. Chen, has accepted the role as a speaker/facilitator at all four of the one-day events. She will be providing the following at this year's event:

• Facilitating the Opening Exercises
• Speaking during Session I – Industry Facts & Evidence
• Sources of Dogs and Cats
• Urban Animal Report
• YourSAY™ Report – Canadian Kennel Club
• YourSAY™ Report – Corporate Animal Health
• 20/20 Summary – The Proactive Consumer
• Facilitating Session II – National Issues & Conversation  

Background
Lisa Chen, Ph. D.

Market Analyst, PetLynx Corporation
Lisa Chen, Ph.D., is a Market Analyst at PetLynx, providing clients exceptional insights through both quantitative and qualitative research. With over 15 years of experience, she has developed expertise in understanding generational and lifestyle trends in the marketplace. She has held a variety of senior management, academic and consulting positions. Recently, Lisa was lead researcher for a comprehensive report on dry dog food market structure in both mainstream and pet specialty markets for a leading pet product manufacturer. She earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from New York University and holds a B.S. from Cornell University.

Regional Summit Synopsis

The Regional Summits gather industry leaders (unit and branch managers) from the four primary stakeholder groups of the pet industry: animal welfare, animal control & legislative enforcement, animal health & wellness and animal services.  These one day events deliver content from the previous National Alumni Summit, promote industry collaboration in each region, provide continuing education for industry management and expand the number of collaborators working toward common goals and urban animal strategies in the companion animal industry across Canada.   

Joe Mauro to speak at Regional Summit for Urban Animal Strategies

We are pleased to announce an additional speaker for the 6th Annual Regional Summits for Urban Animal Strategies Canadian tour in Halifax, Toronto, Red Deer and Vancouver in April 2012. 

Joe Mauro, Vice President of Business Development at PetLynx Corporation, has taken on the role of the Master of Ceremonies at all four Summit locations. Joe will also be a keynote speaker, creating conversation about the Breeder Certification Program during Session II - National Issues & Conversations portion of the Summit series.

Background

Joe Mauro

Vice President Business Development, PetLynx Corporation
Joe Mauro has been part of the companion animal industry for 17 years; the last six as CEO of Canada’s largest dog registry – the Canadian Kennel Club. Joe worked his way through the ranks of the CKC, starting his career as a special assistant to the CEO, progressing on to Operations Manager, Marketing Manager, and Director of Operations before becoming the ‘top dog’.
Prior to joining the companion animal industry, Joe’s career advanced him through the campaign hustings of Ontario politics to fundraising for the Archdiocese of Toronto; he has over 21 years of management experience. A creative thinker, Joe’s been at the forefront of many innovative and ground‐breaking projects throughout his career. He’s led an important industry conversation which took place last year and produced the Breeder Code of Ethical Conduct, a national code that enjoys widespread industry support.
Joe holds two degrees, an Honours degree in Political Science from the University of Waterloo; and a Business Admin degree from Brock University.

Regional Summit Synopsis

The Regional Summits gather industry leaders (unit and branch managers) from the four primary stakeholder groups of the pet industry: animal welfare, animal control & legislative enforcement, animal health & wellness and animal services. These one-day events deliver content from the previous National Alumni Summit, promote industry collaboration in each region, provide continuing education for industry management and expand the number of collaborators working toward common goals and urban animal strategies in the companion animal industry across Canada. 

Abundance - Another Way of Seeing our World

"Small teams of people driven by their passion, with a clear focus can do extraordinary things - things that only large corporations and governments could do in the past."   

We invite you to view the recently released TED talk by Peter Diamandis and to bring abundance to the thinking you apply to your business or organization.


VIEW THIS VIDEO  

Introducing the Regional Summit Speakers - Jason Coe

We are pleased to introduce Dr. Jason Coe as one of the speakers at the 6th Annual Regional Summits for Urban Animal Strategies Canadian tour in Halifax, Toronto, Red Deer and Vancouver in April 2012. 

Dr. Coe will be providing insight into the research on surrender and abandonment during Session I - Industry Facts & Evidence at all four regions of the Summit Series.

Background

Dr. Jason Coe
University of Guelph
Dr. Jason Coe graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 2001. Upon graduation Jason spent a few years in mixed-animal practice before returning to the Ontario Veterinary College to pursue a PhD in the area of veterinary communication. In 2008, Jason joined the Ontario Veterinary College as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Population Medicine where he has established an active research program in veterinary communications as well as the human-animal bond. In 2010, Jason was the recipient of the Nestlé Purina PetCare Canada Chair in Communications, established to support research into the roots of pet surrender and abandonment. 

Stay tuned this week for more Regional Summit speaker announcements!

Regional Summit Synopsis

The Regional Summits gather industry leaders (unit and branch managers) from the four primary stakeholder groups of the pet industry: animal welfare, animal control & legislative enforcement, animal health & wellness and animal services. These one-day events deliver content from the previous National Alumni Summit, promote industry collaboration in each region, provide continuing education for industry management and expand the number of collaborators working toward common goals and urban animal strategies in the companion animal industry across Canada. 

comScore Report Shows Canada Leads the World

The 2012 Canada Digital Future in Focus report from comScore was released last week and examines how the prevailing trends in general web usage and demographics, social media, online video, digital advertising, mobile and search are defining the current Canadian marketplace. This annual report provides insight into what these trends mean for the year ahead.

Key insights include:

• Canada continues to lead the world in online engagement, with visitors spending an average 45 hours per month online, representing a fertile ground for digital marketers and advertisers.
• While Facebook is nearing a point of visitor saturation in Canada, other social networks’ visitor bases are posting strong growth, including Twitter, LinkedIn and Tumblr. 
• Engagement on many social sites is trending upward, with Facebook driving the large majority of the increase in total minutes and page views for the overall category.
• Online video is becoming an increasingly popular channel, with total videos viewed up 58 percent. 
• YouTube continues to dominate the marketplace, representing nearly 1 in every 2 videos viewed in Canada.
• Display advertising is evolving to be more social, not only with the rise of “socially-published ads” (i.e. those published on social networking sites), but also the increase of “socially-enabled” ads running across the web that direct click-throughs to the brand’s Facebook fan page.
• Smartphone penetration has reached 45 percent in Canada, with daily mobile content usage growing more than 50 percent in several key content categories.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT

SIGN UP FOR THE WEBINAR - 21MAR, 1400HRS ET

comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital business analytics.

The Collapse of Print Advertising

Dr. Mark Perry is a professor of economics and finance at the University of Michigan.  In his blog last Sunday, he highlighted the unbelievable collapse of print newspaper advertising.   Estimated revenues of $20.7 billion in 2011 will be the lowest annual  amount spent on newspaper advertising since $19.5 billion in 1951, exactly 60 years ago.


Others have called it 'creative destruction' or 'economic destruction', but what ever you call it, a paradigm shift is happening faster than most thought it ever could.

READ THE BLOG

2012.3 YourSAY™ Survey - National Companion Animal Coalition

The National Companion Animal Coalition (also known as NCAC), founded in 1995, to consider national issues and propose solutions that would be acceptable to the member organizations. Currently, the member organizations include Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, Canadian Kennel Club and the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council of Canada. Agriculture Canada participates as an observer since the Coalition's inception.

Several issues that have been dealt with over the years are breed specific legislation, use of electronic identification in companion animals, dog bite prevention, sample municipal animal control bylaw and resources to help pet owners make an informed choice when selecting a dog.

We'd like to collect your personal opinions as a thought leader in the Canadian industry to illuminate future discussions about the NCAC. 

This YourSAY™ survey will close on Thursday, 8 March 2012 at midnight.  You may start and stop your participation to serve your convenience until you push the 'finished' button or until the survey closes. Click the link to answer the survey:

 

2012.3 YourSAY Survey 

Your identity is protected and cannot be associated with the opinions you express. Summary results of this survey will be reported to industry on Thursday, 15 March 2012. 

The 2012.2 YourSAY survey was reported on Monday, 27 February 2012. See what leaders had to say about the Corporate Vet Care.

2012.2 YourSAY Report

 

Thank you,

PetLynx Corporation
Market Services & Intelligence

The future is collaborative!