Top Dog Randy Valpy achieves industry's top honours

A founding partner of the Urban Animal Program, Randy Valpy recognized the value of a collaborative industry during the first ever Summit for Urban Animal Strategies eight years ago. Since that day, Valpy has made multiple commitments to the program and the industry which validate his strong collaborative goals and resolution to creating healthy communities for people and pets. 

Pets Plus Us "Top Dog" Randy Valpy (left) with
PetLynx president & CEO Larry Evans

As a veteran industry innovator, Valpy continues to develop talent and shares his expertise with the industry and with pet owners through conversation and best practices. He has developed programs to educate pet owners on the cost of care and the importance of a safe and healthy pet and in fact, based his business model on this notion.

In recognition of these efforts, Valpy was awarded with the 2013 Summit Award for Individual Achievement. The Summit for Individual Achievement, sponsored by IAMS Canada, recognizes an individual who is currently active in the companion animal industry and who is well regarded for their achievements.

Former head of Western Financial Insurance Company, Valpy is one of Canada's best known industry leaders. Following his departure from WFIC, Valpy accepted the challenge to create a new pet health insurance division of Royal Sun & Alliance which launched earlier this year - Pets Plus Us. 

"It's an honour to be recognized both personally and for Pets Plus Us for our commitment to pet owners," said Valpy. "We believe that every pet deserves a loving home and proper care but we recognize that pet owners need financial tools and information to help them make decisions. That's why we've created products to enable pet owners to make the best choices for their pets." 

About Pets Plus Us
The Pets Plus Us community includes resources that help pet owners with everything from recovering a lost pet to finding a local dog park to learning more about a specific breed of dog or cat. Pets Plus Us is a place where pet owners can come to ask a vet a question, learn about how to be a responsible pet owner and even post pictures and videos of their four-legged friends. You can join the community of pet owners at petsplusus.com, facebook.com/PetsPlusUsCA and twitter.com/PetsPlusUsCA.

Pets Plus Us is a division of Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada (RSA), part of the RSA Group of companies in, Canada. RSA is one of Canada’s leading home, auto, travel and commercial insurance providers.

About the Summit Awards

The mission of the Urban Animal Program is to illuminate successful strategies for urban animals and to recognize those who lead the Urban Animal Industry. The Summit Awards are the highest honour conferred upon recipients by the Urban Animal Industry and an essential element for delivering on this mission.
The Summits are presented annually by members of the Urban Animal Program using an academy style system of nominations followed by an election using secret ballots and an electronic process. Winners of the 2013 Summits include individuals, agencies and organizations from all sectors of the urban animal industry.
The 2013 award program demonstrated the greatest level of engagement by members of the Urban Animal Program to date: 56 nominees in 12 categories; 1,642 eligible voters and just under 700 ballots cast. The Summit Awards were announced at the 2013 Summit Awards Gala on Friday, 18 October 2013, in Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada.