Lisa Milton featured on Critter Care

Lisa Milton with Robert Church on Critter Care,
November 4, 2013

Summit for Urban Animal Strategies Production Manager, Lisa Milton, starred in a 30 minute segment on Critter Care with Robert Church earlier this month to discuss PetLynx, innovation, the Urban Animal Conferences and the SUAS.

Lisa has been a driving force behind the SUAS, an international event that celebrates animal welfare innovations and promotes mindful pet communities through collaboration between all sectors of the pet industry. 

"It does bring together every sector of the industry," said Robert Church in the interview. "All kinds of people sitting down at the table saying 'how do we work together to solve these issues and raise the bar of animal care across the board'. Because every sector has its issues… and yet animal welfare is everybody's business." 

This segment simply describes the importance of the Summits and Urban Animal Conferences and their significance in bringing about a catalyst for change across the industry. As individual sectors, agencies, organizations and individuals realize the potential that collaboration can bring, we are seeing positive and progressive steps towards creating healthy communities for people and pets. 

"It's about building value into your animal and your pet experience," said Lisa. "If we can do that in any way, though the National Recovery Service, the Summit Conversations, the Summit Awards and most importantly, our partners in the industry, we're building a better experience for the people out there who own animals."

Critter Care with Robert Church is a half hour program airing weekly on Shaw Television Channel 10 in Calgary, Alberta. Every week features different guests and pets sharing their unique brand of animal knowledge. 

New pet owner app to launch October 25

Urban Animal subscribers were introduced to Woof at the 2013 Regional Conferences in Toronto where co-founder Dan Seider shared his innovative vision for a social network for dogs. 

Woof is a community driven app for dog lovers, bringing local dog communities closer together. Woof is packed with many features allowing dog owners to network, find nearby parks and shops, share photos, keep track of their pet's health records and habits and includes a customized 'lost dog' element that will help make lost dogs a lost problem. 

"The bigger picture of Woof is to be part of a dog parents life through the entire process," said Seider. "One of the features we're particularly looking forward to will come from our partnership with the [Ontario] SPCA. By using their Meet-Your-Match program, anyone will be able to find nearby dogs up for adoption and even the ones that match their lifestyle and personality - it's like eHarmony™ for dogs."

Woof will launch globally on October 25. The app currently features nearly 1,000 dog parks mapped out in North America and Seider says developers are planning to add other countries over time. Woof is initially being launched FREE on iOS with an Android app soon to follow. 

WOOF

Summit 2013 Poll 1 WINNERS!

The 2013 Summit Awards gala is underway. Winners of the first poll have been announced! 

Community Compliance 

Ontario SPCA with 50% of the votes

Distinguished Service Provider 

Kitchener-Waterloo Humane Society with 61% of the votes

Product or Service Innovation 

Working on Our Future with 33% of the votes

Sheltering 

Animal Welfare Agency of South Central Ontario with 54% of the votes

Stay tuned for Poll 2 winners! 

Which Product or Service Innovation will win the 2013 Summit

Four finalists vie for the Urban Animal Industry's highest award in the category of Product or Service Innovation:

1. WOOF - Nova Scotia Department of Justice (Angela Poirier) is nominated for a program which pairs dogs and offenders for social and behavioral development that provides a mutual benefit.
2. Champion of Pet Owner Happiness - Pets Plus Us, RSA (Randy Valpy) is nominated for a program that recasts the way pet insurers, veterinarians and pet owners work together to achieve affordable health care.
3. Affinities Renewable - Nova Scotia SPCA (Kristin Williams) is nominated for a program that delivers renewable energy and as well as a sustainable source of funding for NSSPCA community services.
4. Poooh Busters is nominated for a program that delivers a novel waste removal and responsible waste handling business. 

The Summit for Product or Service Innovation recognizes an innovative product or service that improves the quality of life for people and pets in homes, in communities or industry sector(s). 

The 2013 Summit for Product or Service Innovation will be presented during the Awards Gala on Friday, 18 October 2013. This event is open to the public.

VOTE NOW!

Central Canada Showcase summary

The first stop on the 2013 Urban Animal Regional Conference tour, Central Canada was a sold-out event with more than 60 delegates attending from around the province. The Central Canada Showcases highlighted many innovative and interesting concepts which could be introduced in other regions across the country. 

WooF: 
A social network app for dogs, WooF allows dog owners to network, find nearby parks and shops, keep track of their pet's health records and habits and includes a customized 'lost dog' element that will help make lost dogs a lost problem. 

Observations from our Urban Animal Experience: 
Toronto Animal Services is taking evolutionary steps towards value added licensing. The City recognized that if animal licensing was mandatory, pet owners wanted to see value for their dollars. 

Spay/Neuter by the Numbers:
Ontario SPCA's high volume spay/neuter program operates two clinics in the province, each one performing about 25 surgeries per day. Clinics have serviced more than 37,000 animals in three years, the average cost to owner is about $103. 

Care for Cats:
In 2012, Care for Cats partnered with CVMA to focus on cat health care. Judi highlighted the program's past successes and put out a call for industry feedback as it transitions into its next phase.  

Following the Regional Innovation Showcases, delegates were asked to select the two presentations they felt should be invited to the Urban Animal Summit. As a result, Spay/Neuter by the Numbers and Observations from our Urban Animal Experience will receive invitations to showcase their successes at the national level in October. 

Justice for All

In 2012, the Nova Scotia SPCA in partnership with the Nova Scotia Department of Justice launched an initiative aimed at saving the lives of dogs and people. This initiative is the first of its kind in Nova Scotia and a unique approach to using animals to provide therapy. 

Working On Our Future, WOOF, will see offenders and officers offsetting labour strain through volunteer programs and a new canine therapy program to assist both dogs and offenders mutually achieve goals of skill development and socialization. This program will help dogs with behavioral challenges become more adoptable and offenders develop skills to be more productive in society. As a result, adoption revenues will increase and labour strains devoted to training and animal care will be eased.

William Thompson, an inmate at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility told the Chronicle Herald, "To have the opportunity to work with the SPCA and learn some animal-related work skills is something I greatly look forward to. It also keeps me motivated to be a model inmate." 

When the 2013 Regional Conference Tour stops in Halifax on 18 April, Captain John Landry and trainer Amy MacRae will present the WOOF concept during the Regional Innovation Showcase. This initiative may be a candidate for a 2013 Summit Award. 

Register now to Get the Facts, Have YourSAY, Move the Industry. 

Regional Innovation Showcase sneak peek

On Wednesday, 17 April, the Canada wide 2013 Regional Conference tour will launch. Members from all levels and sectors of the Urban Animal Industry will gather together in Toronto, Halifax, Calgary and Vancouver for the 7th annual edition of these regional events.

The 2013 Regional Conferences are a strategic component of the Urban Animal Program in North America. They feature the Pet Experience Workshops led by Dr. Jason Coe and a strong cast of local presenters showcasing innovative projects that can be replicated to move communities forward across North America:

• Atlantic Canada will showcase a unique partnership between the Nova Scotia SPCA and the Nova Scotia Department of Justice that prepares both dogs and offenders to achieve the socialization and skills they need to be successful in the community; The Atlantic Veterinary College and Cat Action Team from PEI will show how they have successfully spayed and neutered 8,000 feral and barn cats; The Fredericton SPCA will show the ‘TINY’ weight-loss challenge project which received international attention; Tuxedo Stan is sending his campaign team in to show how he raised the plight of cats by running for Mayor of Halifax and; a presentation by those involved in Wind Energy will show how energy and funding can be more sustainable. 
• Central Canada will showcase the experiences of Canada’s largest urban municipality and how they are guiding the development of future services for pets and people; The first place winner of the Nichol Pitch Competition from the Management Economics and Finance faculty at the University of Guelph, will present WooF, a new plan for exploiting ‘socialapplication’ for pet owners in Canada and beyond and; Ontario SPCA demonstrates how fixyourpet.ca has delivered.  
• Prairie Canada will showcase Green Calgary’s study of the Canine Carbon Footprint; Edmonton Humane will bring its renowned blog discussion of the future and affordability of pets in our communities; a post mortem presentation on the City of Vernon's decision not to ban the sale of puppies in retail outlets; Red Deer Petland and Alberta Animal Services have formed a unique partnership to promote adoption and fundraising and; urban planning for pets and people. 
• Pacific Canada will showcase the 2012 Let's Talk About Cats program launched by BC SPCA and Katie's Place in the community of Maple Ridge; Coquitlam will show how their program to repurpose infrastructure has achieved unusual results in their community; MLA Jane Thornthwaite introduced Mandatory Care standards for BC Breeders.