10 October 2014

PetLynx registers 1 MILLION PETS!

Anna MacNeil-Allcock 
InfoStream Guest Author

The little dog from Prince Rupert, B.C. is HomeSafe (or one of a million) 

Wandering alone and homeless on the outskirts of Prince Rupert, B.C., the little brown dog was not aware of how his life was about to change for the better.  The BC SPCA gathered him up and began the routine search for some type of identification. He had no tag, no tattoo, and when they got him back to the shelter, the microchip scanner found nothing. Little did they know that this little brown dog would be a milestone in the world of pet identification.

Meanwhile in Vancouver, a professional couple were finally ready to bring a dog into their lives. Using the BC SPCA website, Zsuzsanna Hollander was able to learn about all of the dogs for adoption in B.C.

She fell in love with the little brown dog in Prince Rupert and she booked a flight to meet him face-to-face.  When asked, ‘what is the rush?’ She replied, ‘he is looking for a family and we are looking for a dog, why wait?’

The BC SPCA found Zsuzsanna to be a perfect match for the little dog but stressed that identification is a priority for him since he had already been lost once in his young life.  

As Zsuzsanna stepped off the plane with the newly named Cocoa, she was stepping into the world of pet ownership.

Keeping him safe and sound required some preventative steps. For example,

A plethora of information is involved in keeping Cocoa safe and sound.
First he had numerous identification numbers attached to him, such as a license number registered with the city, a tattoo number registered with the veterinary clinic and a microchip number registered with the microchipping company.

Second, his veterinarian numbers and medical information need to be easily accessible by all his care providers like the doggie daycare, pet sitter, or dog walking service to keep him safe in an emergency.

With all this in mind Zsuzsanna opted to register Cocoa with PetLynx.Net, a database system that holds all his information securely and helps search for him if he were ever lost. Little did she know that Cocoa was the One Millionth pet to be registered with PetLynx.Net 

Cocoa’s PetLynx Profile includes all of his identification information (license number, tattoo and microchip number, photograph and written description of unique physical characteristics) as well as the contact numbers for his service providers (Veterinarian, Dog Walker, Dog Sitter and Doggie Daycare and pertinent medical information (allergies, medications, or conditions).

“This is an important milestone that reflects the growth of a mindful pet owning society," said Veterinarian Drew VanNiekirk, president of PetLynx.

Cocoa wears a little green tag on his collar with the PetLynx website and his PetLynx ID Number. If he is separated from Zsuzsanna, whomever finds him can fill in a ‘Found Report’ on the site, and Zsuzsanna will automatically receive an email.

Until he is found, the PetLynx system will automatically search for reports of dogs with similar geographical and physical details. The automated HomeSafe system sees more than 2000 pets returned to owner every month. In total, 300,000.

If Cocoa were to lose his collar and tag, the system will still acknowledge and highlight any Found Reports matching the physical description and location where he was last seen.

"This milestone deserves a celebration," said Larry Evans, business director of PetLynx. "It reflects positive changes in the status of pets in our society. With more than one million pets in the system, it makes sense for humane societies to check PetLynx when they find stray animals." 

To celebrate, Zsuzsanna and Cocoa will be presented with a number of gifts from Canadian members of the Alliance for Urban Animals; PetLynx, Pets Plus Us pet insurance, Tisol gift certificate, and Kijiji. 




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