AVC Lunch and Learn tour explores client experience and pet experience

Dr. Drew Van Niekerk
InfoStream Staff Writer 

This month I had the opportunity to travel to four Canadian Veterinary Schools and share a lunch and learn discussion about the ‘Experience Economy’ and how it relates to the veterinary industry. The Pet Experience discussion in the Alliance for Urban Animals has highlighted a need for dissemination of collaborative, simple and effective messaging to pet families and communities.  These messages need to be delivered from all sectors of the animal industry in mutual support of each of the other sectors. Often we become isolated in our activities within our sector of the industry, and fail to see our very important role in providing support to the entire animal industry.

Students are buried in heaps of detailed study on anatomy, physiology, medical and surgical disease management. It is important to be able to retract from the minutia to consider application in the broader context of service provision, and the growing demand of the pet owner to ‘connecting’ on a deeper level for animal care. These connections form the basis of trust and lead to more engaged and proactive pet family behaviours, benefiting the well-being of pets and health of communities.

Our students, animal industry professionals of the future, are extremely fortunate to have pet families demanding a deeper level of trust and connection than ever before. This level of trust has much stronger and long-lasting effects on the health and well-being of animals in communities than was ever possible in a past era of ‘pushing’ information and messaging about ‘responsible pet ownership’.  

It is indeed a pleasure to share these concepts with the young and fertile minds of tomorrow’s leaders.

Facts and Evidence: Obstacles to a Positive Pet Experience

Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) Canada is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the highest level of pet care and to representing all elements of the Canadian pet industry in an equitable manner. PIJAC Canada is a founding member of the Urban Animal program.

 

Summit 2014 is pleased to present PIJAC Canada:

'Obstacles to a Positive Pet Experience: The Pet Owner Challenges Survey'

Directed by Susan Dankert, Communications & Research Coordinator

During Summit 2012, delegates observed a requirement for factual knowledge of the pet owner experience. A subsequent search of existing literature showed a lack of information that described this experience from the pet owner perspective.

At Summit 2013 a decision was made to gather evidence of the challenges faced by pet families. Two initiative arose from this decision: An initiative by Urban Animal to gather videos of pet owners talking about pets in their lives; and, The development of a survey to poll Canadian pet owners.

During spring 2014, PIJAC Canada spear-headed a nation-wide survey to ask Canadians about the obstacles they faced caring for their pets. The PIJAC Canada presentation will reveal what pet families had to say and discuss the implications and opportunities for future engagement.

Register for this conversation

Animal Sourcing and the Pet Experience

Animal sourcing can have a positive or negative impact on the pet experience, as evidenced by recent headlines, where a Calgary man is charged in the deaths of a cat and dog in a high profile animal cruelty case. 

Information released about the case indicates the man obtained both animals from Kijiji, a popular Canadian online classified site and critics are condemning the practice of buying and selling animals online. 

The 2014 Urban Animal Regional Conferences, which wrapped up last week, focused on animal sourcing as delegates explored the impacts on the urban animal industry and opportunities sourcing presents to industry organizations. In particular, conference attendees - who represent all urban animal industry sectors - discovered the profound impact of negative messaging associated with sourcing and the confusion for pet families when it comes to welcoming a new pet into their home. 

Keynote speaker, Dr. Drew Van Niekerk, outlined the importance of industry working collaboratively to create positive pet experiences and the consequences of competition among sectors. When a family is looking to source a pet, he said, the different and negative messages about every source are overwhelming and have the potential to lead to bad pet experiences. 

"All the negativity they receive is about 'who cares the most'. It's not about who does a good job or what kind of result they produce," said Van Niekerk. "And ultimately, we in our industry are stuck on using negativity as our marketing capital. That is our fundraising capital. But it's negative and it has long-standing impacts on our society and their trust of us in this industry." 

Those against online pet sales argue the sites support puppy mills and backyard breeders by providing a marketplace for disreputable breeders. 

"Homing online is difficult on a one-off basis. In this case, the 'source' becomes an unskilled individual," said Van Niekerk. "Breeders, rescues and other third party adopters are the best sources to be using online resources. They are the 'source' not Kijiji, who is the 'medium'. We should let legitimate, trained animal sources home animals in a more modernized and effective manner, regardless of where they do it." 

A petition asking Kijiji to remove the sale of animals from its site, and only promote adoption from registered animal rescue groups and shelters is circulating the Internet. Dr. Van Niekerk suggests "this will only move the problem to a different venue where the demand for pets will be supplied. It is far more effective to promote the responsible homing of pets, than it is to shut down the venue. The Internet is not the problem here." 

RELATED READING: 

Man charged in death of cat and dog in animal cruelty case - CTV Calgary

Pet store pup sold with problems - CTV Vancouver 

Kijiji Canada stop puppy mills and prohibit the sale of household pets - Petition 

YourSAY Poll 2014-1 is STILL OPEN!

There are still three days to take the first Pet Experience poll hosted by Urban Animal Polls & Surveys. Participation in this poll will help the urban animal industry understand the gaps in a positive pet experience and work towards recasting the dilemmas as opportunities to create healthy communities for pets and people.

Share this poll with your consumers, members and friends and family by using this link: http://survey.constantcontact.com/poll/a07e8zl1b7jhs4qzcld/start.html

Get the facts, Have YourSAY, Move the Industry.