Pet Obsessed: The cost of cute

Whether you’re a dog or a cat person, there’s no question that our four-legged friends provide us with the kind of companionship you just can’t put a price on. That didn’t stop the folks at USA-based www.mint.com from doing just that however. 

The company's latest info-graphic takes a look at the true cost of sharing your home with companion animals, along with the requisite cute photos. How much do Americans spend on pet food, supplies, and pet food? And how have the big pet supply retailers done during the economic downturn?

This info-graphic is based on the aggregate data from over one million Mint.com users, a representative sampling of US consumers, along with data from wiki.answers.com.

The blog posts to this information are interesting, too. Tell us what you think of mint.com's statistics.

Posted by Terri Perrin, PetLynx Online Communications Editor

2010 International SUAS Schedule Extended

Since 2006, the Summits for Urban Animal Strategies have been the voice for collaboration in the companion animal industry. Each October, executive level thought leaders from the four sectors of this industry convene to develop strategies that will move the industry forward toward healthier communities for pets and people.

The 2010 International Alumni Summit will again take place at the beautiful Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise Wednesday, 13 October to Saturday, 16 October 2010.

With a focus on "New Strategies & Codes of Conduct for Homing" the Summit has been extended and the schedule adjusted to allow more face time for Alumni attending this event. 
 

Summit registration includes the following:

• Wednesday Evening Welcome Reception
• Six Working Sessions on Homing
• Three Night's Accommodation in a Fairmont Room
• Continental Breakfast and Lunch on Thursday and Friday
• Your ticket to the Summit Awards Gala Friday night
• Continental Breakfast and Keynote Speaker Saturday
• Your summary of the 2010 Urban Animal Survey and speaker resources

Please visit www.tsuas.com to register, nominate delegates, purchase Summit Awards tickets or nominate recipients for the Summit Awards program.

For more information:

Judi Cannon
Program Manager
Direct: 705.930.7387
Office: 403.219.1088

Posted by Terri Perrin, Online Communications Editor

PetLynx Hits New Marks for Jan/Feb 2010

During the first 59 days of 2010, PetLynx registered 6,876 new entities of which 3,193 were pets and 3,683 were associates. At the end of February, the PetLynx Automated Recovery System stood at 319,868 registered entities of which 147,695 were pets and 172,173 were associates.

The business plan anticipated a 'many-to-one' ratio of 'associates' to 'animals' when designing the PetLynx model. At the end of February there were 16.5% more associates than animals registered in the PetLynx utility. Since associates are directly related to transactions, either as pet families paying for services or as industry stakeholders providing services, management sees the ability to grow future revenues as being directly related to the number of associates registered in the PetLynx utility.

In July of 2009 the PetLynx V1 rate rose to 94% for the first time. At the end of February, PetLynx had automatically assisted 147,696 recovery episodes and for the first time in history achieved a V1 recovery rate of 100%. The V1 recovery rate is calculated as the cumulative number of recovery episodes divided by the cumulative number of animals registered on the system at the same moment in time.

With the highest V1 rate in the world, PetLynx demonstrates the unique advantage its registration model has. PetLynx animals are registered for their entire lifetime with no additional cost unlike other services where the information chain breaks when fees to change records are refused.

These encouraging metrics provide evidence that PetLynx is the most effective and successful recovery service in the world today.

Posted by Terri Perrin, Online Communications Editor

Educational Blogs to Encourage Industry Collaboration

Did you know that in addition to this blog, PetLynx hosts three other blogs? Each one focuses on a specific target audience but all provide the latest news and information on developments that affect you in the day-to-day administration of your pet-related business or association.

We encourage you to check out any (or all!) of our blogs, subscribe to those of most interest to you and submit comments. Feel free to link to our blogs on your own site to deliver relevant content to your readers.

We believe that information sharing and industry collaboration are the missing pieces of the puzzle that will ultimately result in healthier communities for pets and people.

By continuously striving to increase pet registrations and add more community service providers, PetLynx™ is fulfilling its mandate to lessen the burden on animal shelters, rescue agencies and municipal agencies across Canada, while helping pets get back home… where they can be healthy, happy and safe.

Here's what PetLynx has to offer you:

HomeSafe™

Good news from people who help lost pets get HomeSafe™!

The HomeSafe™ blog provides pet families and community partners with lost and found pet-related stories of gratitude and inspiration, as well as general information related to lost and found pets, pet safety and how to better utilize the PetLynx utility. 

http://petlynxhomesafe.blogspot.com/

EZBits™

Tips and tools for creating a healthy community for pets and people

The EZBits™ blog is targeted to PetLynx™ Authorized Service Centers (ASCs), brand associates and community partners. In addition to providing tips and tools on how to better utilize the ShelterLynx™ and AnimalTRACS™ utilities, we also post information of general interest to the animal industry. We know you are all busy people, so we post stories with educational value for you to use in planning and program development or to share with your colleagues. http://petlynxezbits.blogspot.com/

Summit for Urban Animal Strategies™

Building healthy communities for pets and people and recognizing those who achieve success

The Summit™ blog is a forum for executive thought leaders to advance the state of the art in Urban Animal Strategies. In addition to providing news and information about upcoming National and Regional Summits, this blog provides insight into the North American Urban Animal Survey and other management-level information.

http://animalsummits.blogspot.com/

InfoStream™

Providing the companion animal industry with proven business services.

The InfoStream™ blog is targeted to our investors, industry partners and executive thought leaders. It provides updates on developments within PetLynx™ Corporation, including performance statistics, new partnerships, and other community collaboration milestones. http://petlynxinfostream.blogspot.com/

Posted by Terri Perrin, Online Communications Editor

Regional Summit Update

It is with great pleasure that the organizing committee for the Regional Summits for Urban Animal Strategies announces the sponsors and collaborators for this year's events that are happening across Canada the week of April 19th, 2010.

The Regional Summits gather industry leaders (unit and branch managers) from all sectors of the pet industry.  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.

PRESENTING SPONSOR:
Iams Canada 

SESSION SPONSORS:

Petsecure

CDMV

GENERAL SPONSORS:

Petsmart Charities of Canada

Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA)

Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) Canada

Canadian Kennel Club

Canadian Federation of Humane Societies

Destron Fearing

The collaborators play an important role in their region bringing new delegates to the events while fostering collaboration in their communities.  We would like to thank the Edmonton Animal Services, BC SPCA, OVMA, Ontario SPCA, Calgary Humane Society, and the Moncton SPCA.

We thank the sponsors and collaborators for sharing the vision of the Summits.  Without their support these events would not be possible.  Feel free to speak with a sponsor or collaborator regarding their reasons for participating in the Regional Summits.

This year's agenda is packed with high quality speakers and industry metrics never seen before.  We also have an exciting game that involves a door prize for each event - a microchip scanner from Destron Fearing.  Unfortunately we are limiting the number of delegates to 60 per event.

Register today to avoid disappointment.

Judi Cannon
The Summits for Urban Animal Strategies
Direct: 705.930.7387     Office: 403.219.1088

Posted by Terri Perrin, Online Communications Editor

Fur Flying in Los Angeles Over Dog License Drive

A recent news report on KTLA TV, featured on L.A. Times video, reported that the cash-strapped city is going to the dogs — literally.

The Los Angeles City Council voted February 23, 2010, to have two departments share information in order to track down people who haven't licensed their pets.

The City of LA estimates that two-thirds of the city's canine are unlicensed. Licenses cost $15 for a sterilized dog and $100 for an unaltered pet. Getting all dogs licensed would mean at least an additional $3.6 million in fees to the city.

The Department of Animal Services has eight full-time people whose job is to find and license dogs. The Department of Water and Power keeps a meter-reader database of homes with dogs. The council ordered the departments to coordinate to find (and license) those dogs that are currently not bylaw compliant.

This unusual use of a civic database would make for lively discussion during networking opportunities at the upcoming Regional Summits for Urban Animal Strategies!

Posted by Terri Perrin, Online Communications Editor

Agenda for 2010 Regional Summits for Urban Animal Strategies

Plans are well underway for the four 2010 Regional Summits for Urban Animal Strategies (SUAS), to be held across Canada this Spring.

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.   

Topics to be covered during the 2010 series include:

• An in-depth look at the 2009 Urban Animal Survey
• An introduction to the Homing Canada Initiative
• Case Study: Cat Licensing in The City of Calgary
• Feline Geonomics (Vancouver & Toronto)
• The Year of the Cat Initiative (Edmonton & Halifax)
• HomeSafe/RDog Launch

Plan to attend the Regional Summit nearest you:

Pacific Region ~ Vancouver, Monday, 19 April

Prairie Region ~ Edmonton, Tuesday, 20 April

Atlantic Region ~ Halifax, Thursday, 22 April

Central Region ~ Toronto, Friday, 23 April

Please register online at www.tsuas.com.
We regret that it is necessary to limit registrations to the first 60 delegates this year.

For more information contact: Judi Cannon
The Summits for Urban Animal Strategies 
Direct: 705.930.7387

Office: 403.219.1088

Posted by Terri Perrin, Online Communications Editor

Small Dogs Are a BIG Market

North American Urban Animal Survey Highlight

One of the purposes of the 2008 North American Urban Animal Survey (NAUAS) was to determine the size of the companion animal industry in Canada. The study indicated that there are more than 4.8 million households with cats and 4.4 million households with dogs.

The 2009 North American Urban Animal Survey (NAUAS), delved deeper into understanding how pet-owners feel about their animal companions and what factors drive their decisions to provide various levels of care – or not. It identified four distinct types – or segments – of dog owners and three types of cat owners.

The results of this research are intriguing! It revealed, for example, that “Dog Pleasers” – those who share the deepest bond with their dogs but are only “fairly responsible” dog owners – seem to favour dogs under 20-pounds. While this segment represented only 21% of the total dog-owning population, almost half of them owned little dogs…. And a significant number of these little dogs were over the age of five.

How can this information help my organization?

This type of data can assist you in planning and implementing targeted and effective humane education and responsible pet ownership messages, as well as market specific products and services to pet owners. Targeted marketing is more effective than taking a "shotgun approach." Time invested in sound research saves money in the long term!

Find out how to subscribe to the North American Urban Animal Survey.

Learn more about the National and Regional Summits For Urban Animal Strategies.

“Just Pets” or “Members of the Family”?

North American Urban Animal Survey Highlight

The 2009 North American Urban Animal Survey (NAUAS), presented at the 2009 Summit for Urban Animal Strategies, revealed that dog owners fit into four main categories:

· Engaged Dog Lovers (30%)

· Dog Pleasers (21%)

· Canine Traditionalists (22%)

· Canine Pragmatists (27%)

Why is this important to know and understand?

Recognizing that not all dog owners share the same level of affinity for their canine companions is vital for the animal welfare and animal services industries. It should influence how (and why) we market various goods and services to the general population.

While we would all like to believe that all dog owners view their pets as valued members of the family, this research validates that this is not the case. Canine Pragmatists, for example, have only a moderate emotional connection with their dogs and Canine Traditionalists are less bonded with their dogs, when compared to Dog Pleasers and Engaged Dog Owners.

In addition to providing a thorough analysis of how each of these four dog-owner segments and three cat-owner segments viewed their pets’ status in the family unit, the 2009 NAUAS also delved into various aspects of pet ownership, such as their roles and responsibilities as animal care providers, their understanding of spaying and neutering, the level of training they have provided for their pets and much more.

This timely and targeted research could prove to be an invaluable tool to help you with your marketing efforts!

Find out how to subscribe to the North American Urban Animal Survey.

Learn more about the National and Regional Summits For Urban Animal Strategies.

Regional Summit Dates Announced

The 2010 Regional Summits for Urban Animal Strategies are being held:

• April 19th Vancouver
• April 20th Edmonton
• April 22nd Halifax
• April 23rd Toronto

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.

Please register online at www.tsuas.com.
We regret that it is necessary to limit registrations to the first 60 delegates this year.

For more information contact:
Judi Cannon
The Summits for Urban Animal Strategies
Direct: 705.930.7387

Office: 403.219.1088