InfoStream Newsmakers of 2012

2012 was an exciting year for the companion animal industry. Many companies and organizations welcomed new faces, the 2012 Regional Summits and 2012 Summit for Urban Animal Strategies were delivered and successful in bringing together industry leaders who are, in turn, working together to create a healthy and collaborative communities for pets and pet families. 

Here are a few of the highlights from 2012: 

VCA Antech buys Associate Veterinary Clinics - VCA Antech purchased AVC, which has some 40 clinics in Canada including critical care and specialty services. The transaction brought VCA's financial commitment to about $75.5 million. 

Nancy Carey's stint as CKC Executive Director - Carey accepted the executive director position with the Canadian Kennel Club in January 2012 and unexpectedly vacated the same position 10 months later.

Randy Valpy announces newly created pet health insurance division of RSA - Shortly after leaving Western Financial Insurance, Valpy announced RSA's intention to break into the pet insurance market. Further details on this exciting venture will be available later this month. 

Dog and Cat breeder regulations were introduced into BC legislature - Industry leaders commented on these groundbreaking regulations, giving them the official nod of approval.  

Industry leaders voted that Animal Welfare is an essential ethical element of everyone involved with companion animals - The four sectors of the companion animal industry were recreated to fall under one singular 'Animal Welfare' umbrella.  

Summit 2012 winners announced - Industry organizations, agencies and individuals nominated for the Summit Awards eagerly awaited the results of this prestigious award ceremony. 

2012 Pet Trends - Pet trends of 2012 included natural and organic food and toys, high tech pet products, spa treatments and businesses for pets and vehicle safety devices for pets. Research showed that the companion animal industry is a thriving market. 

Summit 2012 Delegate Survey results announced - Attendees of Summit 2012 provided positive feedback for the annual Industry gathering. Conversations started at Summit 2012 will be the theme for Summit 2013 - Delivering an Awesome Pet Experience in the Modern Urban Lifestyle.

Thank you to everyone who made this a successful year. Your collaborative efforts, forward thinking and commitment to the industry will undoubtedly lead to an even more successful 2013. 

Happy New Year! 

Delegates Share Industry Challenges During Regional Summit Tour

During the 2012 Regional Summits tour in Toronto, Halifax, Red Deer and Vancouver, April 18-19 and 23-24, delegates shared their ideas, struggles and burning questions that the industry is facing. But it all led back to, how do we create healthier communities for pets and people?  

Check out two videos from the 2012 Regional Summits:

• Industry Delegates Questions - Dr. Lisa Chen exercise 
• Photos from the 2012 Regional Summit tour

To view the complete library of videos, please visit the PetLynx website and click on the YouTube link.

For more information on the Regional Summits and the International Summit coming this October, please visit tsuas.com.

Regional Summits Wrap Up in Vancouver

The 2012 Regional Summits ended for another year in Vancouver at the Vancouver Airport Fairmont Hotel, April 24, 2012. 

Companion animal industry advocates shared issues and events in the BC region and how other Provinces could work more collaboratively.

Check out this year's attendees:

For more information on the Regional Summits and the upcoming International Summit, click here.

Red Deer Summit Stop a Success - onto Vancouver

The Red Deer stop of the 2012 Regional Summit tour finished yesterday. Industry leaders discovered how they could work with others in the industry and saw real-time evidence of others working collaboratively.

 

Check out this year's attendees:

 

 

 

Don't forget to follow the Regional Summits as they are tweeted in real time on the PetLynx Twitter account. 

Follow the Summits @petutility with hash tag #rsuas as the tour ends today in Vancouver.

Halifax Summit Complete - Next Stop Red Deer

The Atlantic leg of the 2012 Regional Summit tour wrapped up yesterday in Halifax. Companion Animal Industry leaders discussed the challenges they're facing in their communities, while discovering how the industry can work more collaboratively.

Check out the Atlantic attendees:

Don't forget to follow the Regional Summits as they are tweeted in real time on the PetLynx Twitter account. 

Follow the Summits @petutility with hash tag #rsuas as the tour continues on Monday in Red Deer and finishing in Vancouver on Tuesday.

Breeder Certification for Cats and Dogs

Can the industry create a level playing field for legitimate breeders of puppies and kittens in Canada?


For more than two years the companion animal industry has been working on Breeder codes of ethical conduct, a breeder certification program and automated record keeping for compliant breeders.

Tomorrow PetLynx executives will brief the industry on the new programs that will be introduced across Canada during the Regional Summits for Urban Animal Strategies.

"This development is one of the most exciting initiatives to be brought forward in the companion animal industry,"  said Joe Mauro, Vice President, PetLynx Corporation. "The industry has finally developed a response to breeder issues plaguing municipalities and pet families."

Important story lines include:

• One set of standards for basic breeder compliance across the industry
• Breeders use modern (cloud) technologies to record breeding activities and maintain compliance files
• Brand holder certification programs in nutrition, pharmaceuticals, kennel clubs, humane societies and licensing agencies are managed online
• Certification brands are appended to each animal record and appear as sale marks when the animals are adopted online or at breeder facilities
• Confirmation, agility, performance and other brand supported programs are facilitated
• Online portals like Kijiji can be confident they are supporting compliant breeders
• Pet families see breeder disclosure and brand values at time of adoption

Contact Danielle (403.219.1088) if you would like to attend one of the events or require more information. 

Community Leaders and Urban Animal Issues

The industry is facing unprecedented changes to the way companion animals are entering and being served in urban Canadian communities:

• The developing online marketplace has disrupted the relationships between the traditional providers of dogs, cats, goods and services and the pet families they serve.
• Visits to healthcare providers are trending downward.
• The incidence of relinquishment and abandonment is trending upward.
• New regulations for breeders, retailers and other service providers are being implemented in many communities.
• Meanwhile, stakeholders are asking if the National Companion Animal Coalition (NCAC) speaks for the whole industry.

The conversations around these elements of the companion animal industry have not always been inclusive.  The 2012 Regional Summits for Urban Animal Strategies are positioned to gather the input of community leaders who have the best interests of a healthy community for pets and people in mind.

SUMMIT REGISTRATION    Get the Facts, Have YourSAY™, Move the industry

There still may be Iams or Petsecure $100 vouchers available. If you need assistance contact Judi Cannon 1.705.749.6607 or judi.cannon@petlynxmail.com

Jason Coe on Pet Relinquishment and Abandonment

Across Canada, large populations of pets are surrendered or abandoned  because of a variety of animal and human-related factors. Communities need to address this important societal issue.  Why does it happen?  What can we do to eliminate this problem? What are the roles of the breeder, the retailer, the shelter, the vet, the pet family to create sustainable human-animal relationships?

Jason B Coe DVM, PhD 

At the four Regional Summits across Canada – April 18, 19, 23 and 24, 2012 – Dr. Jason Coe, of the University of Guelph, will create discussion on pet surrender and abandonment, but leading retailers, breeders, shelter operators and veterinarians are required to think outside the box and make this conversation valuable.

Dr. Coe's goal of the Regional Summits Session I - Industry Facts and Evidence, is to position participants to make an impact in their community and region – while assembling the strategic and tactical ideas that can make a difference across the nation.

Summit Registration   Get the Facts, Have YourSAY™, Move the industry

There may be Iams or Petsecure $100 vouchers still available, contact Judi Cannon if you need assistance 1.705.749.6607 or judi.cannon@petlynxmail.com

Kate MacDonald on National Collaboration

The 'new economy' with its developing 'online marketplace' challenges our industry to maximize outcomes through collaborative activities.

Learning how to disagree in industry, so that all service providers perform for the pet families and the communities they serve, is challenging.  Kate MacDonald, Chief Executive Officer at the Ontario SPCA, will share experiences and collaborative activities that have had a dynamic impact in the province of Ontario.

Kate intends that participants at the 2012 Regional Summits, learn how to maximize impact for animals and communities through collaboration.

Discover:

• What collaboration is
• How the collaborative process works
• Examples of collaboration and the synergies
• Topics and a network for future collaborations:
• Education (developing culture and expectations)
• Community services (interventions like shelter, rescue, spay/neuter, relinquishment, palliative and benevolent health)
• Cruelty investigations/prosecutions
• Pet Family services (behaviour assessment, socialization and recreation)

Building a national conversation on collaboration with all industry thought leaders will benefit communities across Canada. 

Summit Registration   


Get the Facts, Have YourSAY™, Move the industry


There may be Iams or Petsecure $100 vouchers still available, contact Judi Cannon if you need assistance:
1.705.749.6607 or Judi.cannon@petlynxmail.com

 

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.

  

 

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. 

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.