Adjudicators Announced for Central Adjudication Event!

Urban Animal: Enriching the lives of people and pets.

The Central Adjudication Event will be presided over by four leading professionals. Each has a broad understanding of the history and experience of people and pets in our communities to judge presentations from the Urban Animal Scholarship nominees. The 2015 Adjudicators for the Central Adjudication Event are:

Dr. Brenda Bonnet, DVM, PhD, Urban Animal Mentor, Alumni

Dr. Bonnet received her DVM from the Ontario Veterinary College and later completed her PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Guelph. Dr. Brenda Bonnet has studied the pet experience around the globe. At Summit 2013, Bonnett presented some of her findings to Summit Delegates. Her lecture focused on the Challenges of the Pet Experience citing breeder suppositions, veterinary expectations and assumptions and the complex interplay of human and animal factors as dilemmas to the pet experience.

Dr. Bonnet taught at the University of Guelph for 19 years. She is currently the CEO for International Partnership for Dogs; a non-profit organization to facilitate collaboration and sharing of resources to enhance the health, well-being and welfare of pedigreed dogs and all dogs worldwide. In 2014 Dr. Bonnet was awarded the Saki Paatsama Award for Dog Health from the Finnish Kennel Club.

Dr. Carlton Gyles, DVM, PhD, University of Guelph

Dr. Gyles came to Canada in the late 1950s and spent his career as a professor, researcher, and mentor at the Ontario Veterinary College. Dr. Gyles also held administrative positions including Department Chair, Associate Director of the Canadian Institute for Food Safety, Dean of Graduate Studies, and Interim Dean of the Ontario Veterinary College. Dr. Gyles studied E. coli for most of his career and he was one of the first people to identify how a toxin produced by E. coli could cause illness in swine.

In 2006, Dr. Gyles was named the OVC Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumnus. Dr. Gyles is also the recipient of the Roche Diagnostics/CSM Award which is considered to be the highest honor of the Canadian Society of Microbiologists. He has been a strong contributor to scholarly literature, is the Editor-in-Chief of of the Canadian Veterinary Journal, and is the co-editor of a textbook on bacterial pathogenesis.

Mary Lou Leiher, Urban Animal Mentor

Ms. Leiher works with Toronto Animal Services and is the Board Secretary for the Association of Animal Shelter Administrators of Ontario. She was an Urban Animal Nominee in 2014 for launching the Blue Paw Pet Licensing Rewards program. This program provides exclusive offers and discounts on pet-related products and services to owners who license their cats and dogs. This program encourages communication throughout the pet community creating a more positive environment and experience for all pets and their owners.

Louis McCann, Founding Sponsor, Urban Animal Mentor, Alumni

Mr. McCann has had a lifelong passion for animals and supports progress towards a more collaborative future. Equipped with a degree in Wildlife Management and certification from the McGill Institute of Management, Mr. McCann became the Director of Cruelty Investigations and Director of the Wildlife department for the Canadian SPCA in Montreal. Currently, Mr. McCann is the Executive Director of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council of Canada; the voice for Canadian Service Providers, Suppliers and Retailers. He holds the longest tenure of any Executive Director in the Canadian Industry.