2015 Summit Award Winner - Retailer

The Summit for Retailer of the Year recognizes an organization in the retail sector that has achieved a remarkable relationship with pet families and has improved the experience of pets and people in the community(ies) they serve. Our winner this year is...

Evan Ropp, Homes Alive Pet Centres

Homes Alives Pet Centres won with 77.4% of the votes for providing outstanding services to pet families and communities in Alberta for nearly four decades.

Three generations of the Ropp family have dedicated their lives to serving and finding ways to improve the wellbeing of pets in their area. Beyond operating two successful independent pet supply stores, the Ropp family make a difference for their communities by: 

• Publishing a pet care blog focusing on safety, care, nutrition and rescue pets available for adoption
• Developing a Learning Centre page focused on care tips
• Using social media to drive engagement and conversations about pet safety & wellness www.facebook.com/homesalive www.twitter.com/homesalive www.pinterest.com/homesalive/
• Providing space for rescues on Saturdays to amplify their message and profile one of their rescue pets in the Featured Friends portion on their website: www.homesalive.ca/blog/tag/Featured-Friends/
• Providing a binder system listing available pets for those rescues that choose to use it, bulletin boards, etc.
• Assisting community pet partners by collecting food
• Offering 15% discounts on products that are donated rescue partners
• Networking and collaborating with humanitarian initiatives locally such as Youth One, Streets Alive and Bridges of Hope Rescue.

Homes Alive Pet Centres partner with Edmonton Humane Society, Humane Animal Rescue Team, CaliCan, Infinite Woofs, Greater Edmonton Area Rescue Society (GEARS), Berkeley's Place Lethbridge - Ridge Rescue, Lethbridge Humane Society, PAW Society, Last Chance Cat Ranch, Prairie Pitbull Rescue, and Windy City Canine Rescue.

Urban Animal is grateful to Pets Plus Us for sponsoring the Summit Awards.

Atlantic retailer awarded Emerging Leader Scholarship

Anna McNeil-Allcock

InfoStream Staff Writer 

Pet nutrition blogger and social media savvy Rodney Habib earned the attention of Urban Animal subscribers last year when he was awarded the 2013 Retailer of the Year Summit. His efforts to create healthy communities for pets and people led him into Urban Animal programs as a 2014 Innovation Showcase at the Atlantic Urban Animal Regional Conference where he was nominated by his peers for a 2014 Rolf C. Hagen Emerging Leader Scholarship. 

In September, InfoStream announced the scholarship would be presented to Habib and he began his journey toward Urban Animal Alumni status. InfoStream staff writer Anna McNeil-Allcock caught up with Rodney in his Halifax-based pet retail shop - Planet Paws Pet Essentials - to find out a bit more about this future thought leader. 

Anna McNeil-Allcock (AMA): How did you come to be involved in the pet industry?

 

Rodney Habib (RH): I grew up in Nova Scotia, in a Mediterranean family that did not believe in owning pets. When I was 18, I moved out of the house to attend Dalhousie University and immediately got a kitten. I named him Scribbles because he ran around the house with a pencil in his mouth, leaving scribbles all over the walls.

 

I wanted the very best for him and only purchased food from the Veterinarian. In 2007 Scribbles was affected by the melamine contamination of pet food. Pets in our community started dying. My neighbour had a husky, whose heart exploded, with no real explanation. Scribbles began bleeding from his ears and never recovered from kidney failure and spent the rest of his life requiring support.

 

AMA: That must have been very difficult. How did it affect the course of your career? 

RH: I had a B.Sc. and an advanced degree in Animal Nutrition in order to do my job, which included importing and selling veterinary products in Europe. So I began researching the pet food industry. I was surprised at the lack of rules, standards and regulations. In fact, I became very angry….at everyone…. and decided to start writing about it. I am a terrible writer, but I thought I could get the message out using Facebook.

 

Within 8 months Facebook sent me a message informing me that I had one of the fastest growing pages compared with a million other pages.

 

A real turning point in my life was when my high school english teacher said to me, “Sometimes we must let go of the life we planned so as to accept the one that is waiting for us". So I left pharmaceuticals and started blogging full time.

 

In 2012 my followers persuaded me to open up a brick and mortar store of trusted sources of pet foods and supplies. Since then Planet Paws Essentials, in Dartmouth Nova Scotia, has won a number of awards, but my passion still lies in getting the message out to the world. My goal is to personally inspire every pet owner on the planet. I want to change the world, and I will.

 

AMA: What was your experience at the Summit and how might it help you in your mission?

 

RH: The summit was amazing, especially for it’s ability to bring people together. I was able to sit down casually with leaders in the Veterinary sector to discuss pet nutrition, which is a very rare opportunity.

 

AMA: What was the highlight of the Summit for you? 

RH: Watching all of the innovations happening in the pet world was also a great experience. It was a good exercise for me to spend three days listening rather than talking.

 

I really see the value in the Petlynx database for identifying problems in the pet food industry immediately. It will allow us to catch patterns early and prevent another incident like the one that ruined the last years of Scribble’s life.

 

AMA: What is your current "Pet Experience?" 

Today I share my life with my three healthy dogs and they are helping me to change the world.

 

For more information on Rodney Habib and Planet Paws Pet Essentials, visit  http://planetpaws.ca/ and https://www.facebook.com/planetpaws.ca

Planet Paws Pet Essentials recognized as leading retailer

Top Left to Right: Councillor of Dartmouth East, Darren Fisher / Manager of Planet Paws, Mandie Richard / CEO of Pet Lynx, Larry Evans / Pet Nutrition Blogger and Founder of Planet Paws, Rodney Habib / Co-Owner of Planet Paws and my Father, George Habib / The Nova Scotia Minister of Energy & Communications, Andrew Younger / Assistant Manager of Planet Paws, Ashley Jewer / 

Bottom Left to Right: Planet Paws Blogger, Sarah MacKeigan / Planet Paws Blogger, Lise Blinn.

Retailers are quickly learning the importance of commanding both physical and online presence. With more and more consumers shopping online and using the web for information, social media plays a vital role in brand recognition and retail sustainability. 

The Summit Award for Retailer recognizes a retailer of pet products and services who has developed a reputation and frequent connection to pet families that has enhanced the lives of pets and people in the community(ies) they serve. In 2013, three Canadian retailers vied for this award. On October 18, the 2013 Retailer honour was won by Planet Paws Pet Essentials with 54% of ballots cast. 

Planet Paws owner and manager, Rodney Habib, launched his pet nutrition social media page as a means to research and educate pet parents after his own pets were affected by tainted pet food. Today, the Planet Paws Facebook page has nearly 12,000 'Likes' and reaches and audience of 168,000 each week. This level of traffic has been achieved in just over a year. 


The shop's physical presence in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, hosts community events and store initiatives to raise funds for local schools, education programs, animal shelters and community initiatives. 

As a member of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council of Canada and the American Pet Products Association, Rodney Habib has been recognized globally as a leader in pet nutrition and retail. His podcast for Rogers Communication, In the Dish, has become the largest pet podcast in Canada with 150,000 listeners each week. In addition to being recognized by the Nova Scotia Legislature, Habib writes for Dogs Naturally Magazine and is cast as one of the experts on a TV reality show called Fat Dog Fit Dog, which is currently filming in Nova Scotia. 

Planet Paws fundraisers contributed $75,000 to a local off-leash park, $15,000 to community rebuild programs, $5,000 to local schools and $5,000 and 9,000lbs of food to rescue organizations. Habib has also been recognized provincially by the Boys & Girls Club of Canada and received the Golden Apple Award from Nova Scotia for educating children on pet health and well-being. 

With these achievements, it is no wonder Rodney Habib and his colleagues at Planet Paws have garnered the highest level of recognition from their peers in the Urban Animal Industry.  

Visit UrbanAnimal.com for more information on Summit Awards and past winners.

Summit - Retailer Award

The International Summits for Urban Animal Strategies awards recognizes agencies, individuals and organizations from all four sectors of the industry. Retailers of pets and pet supplies are vital instructors for many pet families, either new or old. 

Presented by PIJAC (Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council of Canada) the Retailer Award recognizes the retailers' role as the closest and most frequent connection to pet families and honours them for outstanding effort as a retailer of companion animals, pet products and/or pet-related services that enhance the lives of animals in their community. 

NOMINATION FORM

The 2011 winner of the award was the Petland branch in Kamloops, B.C. Judy and Kevin Chaben, owners of the store, immersed themselves in their community, becoming involved in fundraisers and charitable organizations. Judy Chaben also takes great pride and passion for living the Petland Mission statement by matching the right pet with the right family and meeting the needs of both.