H1N1 Confirmed in Canadian Ferret & American Cat

November 6, 2009: Yesterday, PIJAC Canada received notice that the first confirmed case of H1N1 in a ferret was reported to the Nova Scotia Veterinary Medical Association.

In addition, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) put out a press release yesterday stating that there has been one confirmed case of a cat in Iowa contracting the H1N1 virus from the owners.

Please take notice of this PIJAC Canada bulletin to learn more on what you should do.

The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association has also posted an information sheet on their website for pet owners.

Questions for PIJAC Canada?
(p) 1-800-667-7452 or 1-613-730-8111
(e) memberservices@pijaccanada.com.

Bones of the Business

Tips for Working Smarter from PetSmart

Challenge: PetSmart Charities has announced some changes to its grant structure. How will the adjusted application process impact your agency?

Solution: Don’t panic! The PetSmart team is ready to answer questions and provide helpful resources. They have also prepared a 20-minute Webinar on their website that walks you through the challenges and the process.


Here’s what you need to know:

• Emergency Relief grants and Canadian grants are not affected by these changes.
• Discard all old grant applications. (New application forms are on the web site.)
• Choose programs that focus on spay/neuter for free-roaming cats and targeted spay/neuter programs for cat owners.
• Start planning for next year’s funding deadline, which will be in early 2010.
• If you have a current grant with PetSmart Charities, you will need to wait until your current project is complete before applying for a new grant.
• Equipment grants for spay/neuter clinic have their own application process.

View the Fall 2009 issue of PetSmart Charities Quarterly newsletter for the complete story.



Used by permission from PetSmart Charities, Inc. 
Learn more with free webinars.

A Measure of Performance

What is the PetLynx PetMeter™?

This component of the PetLynx system lets you view the PetLynx Utility at work.

The numbers are a live-to-screen generated account of active lost and found reports and, most importantly, a live glimpse of the AutoMatch™ Google-like search engine.

The unique AutoMatch™ search engine performs searches for lost pets against pets admitted to any shelter or pound through AnimalTRACS™ or ShelterLynx™, as well as those from found reports and those registered in the central database, to produce a list of potential matches. The owners are then contacted automatically by email for a happy reunion. In the upper half of the PetMeter™, the Live System Snapshot refreshes every time you connect, to show the system activity in real-time. This includes the number of:

• Active Lost Reports
• Active Found Reports
• Potential AutoMatchs™.

In the lower half of the PetMetre is an estimate of the number of animals lost, found, adopted and euthanized throughout North America. These numbers are aggregated from a painstaking summary of data:

• Canadian Federation of Humane Societies [CFHS]
• Humane Society of the United States [HSUS]
• Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science
• National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy
• Animal People
• USA Today - Pet Population Study

No one is sure how accurate these numbers are, but our research has uncovered a margin of error in reported euthanasias across North America that may be as high as 30%. Wow! Can't we get a closer number than that? You bet we can! But the industry has to collect and share data in the same format. That's where PetLynx comes in.

On a completely industry-neutral basis, we have developed the AnimalTRACS™ Utility to collect and present this data for everyone in the industry. As the list of contributors and therefore the accuracy grows, we all get a better understanding of the problem and the solution for each of our communities. Want to know more? Click here.

Secrets Inside a Dog's Mind

Do you ever wonder... What is my dog thinking?

According to a recent article in TIME magazine, many animals have some level of social intelligence, allowing them to coexist and cooperate with other members of their species. But dogs have evolved an extraordinarily rich social intelligence as they've adapted to life with us.


Perhaps understanding how (and what) our dogs think could help us be better pet guardians and, for those of us involved in animal welfare, to provide better care for abused, abandoned and stray dogs.


Read the full story of the Secrets Inside a Dog's Mind.

A 'Cure' for Pet Euthanisia?

Can a $75 million program, funded by a billionaire doctor’s foundation, offer the solution to pet over population?

In the September issue of Science Magazine, David Grimm reports that humane organizations throughout the United States can’t surgically sterilize homeless cats and dogs fast enough to control their numbers. Developing countries with dangerous feral dog populations – such as China and India – fare even worse. As a result, nearly four million dogs and cats are euthanized in United States’ animal shelters each year – and millions more are put to death in less humane ways around the globe.

“The amount that municipalities in the U.S. spend to catch, house, and kill our pet cats and dogs is staggering,” Found Animals Foundation Founder, Gary Michelson, M.D., shared with Science. “Surely we should be able to come up with a more cost-effective and humane approach.”

The solution could be a program announced last October by Dr. Michelson’s nonprofit foundation, Found Animals, the $75 million Michelson Prize & Grants in Reproductive Biology. The aim of the Program is to encourage researchers to develop a low cost, non-surgical sterilant, for cats and dogs. The Program offers $50 million in funding to approved researchers and a $25 million prize to the winning solution.

“There are a lot of very bright people out there who haven’t applied their research direction to dogs and cats, in part because there’s been no money,” added Found Animals Director of Scientific Research, Shirley Johnston, Ph.D., D.V.M, a veterinarian and expert in animal reproduction.

Want the full story? Click here.

"HAPPY" Act Would Reward Responsbile Pet Parents in the USA

Technically speaking, it is known in the United States as the "Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years" Act. The Street name for this proposed legislation is the "Happy Act"—a federal bill that would reward responsible pet parents by allowing them to keep more money in their pockets come tax time.

We all want to give our animal companions the best care we possibly can, but it seems that pet care costs are always on the rise—and these days, it’s harder than ever to stretch the family budget. That’s why the ASPCA supports the HAPPY Act, which would amend U.S. tax code to allow qualifying pet care expenses, including veterinary care, to be tax-deductible.

While there is no similar legislation proposed in Canada, we thought this was an notable development in the status of companion animals in our society. It is encouraging that they are rising about the status of "chattel" to valued members of our families! It is reassuring to see that the Companion Animal Industry's efforts to promote responsible pet ownership are making an impact.

If you are a US Citizen, you can help support the HAPPY Act!
Visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center online for more information.

Twitter-A-Critter

Celebrities use Twitter
to help save the lives
of shelter pets.

Adopt-a-Pet.com, North America’s largest non-profit pet adoption web service, announces the official launch of TwitterACritter, a new social media campaign that uses Twitter to spread the word about adoptable pets in shelters.

On the campaign web site, www.TwitterACritter.com, pet lovers can select one of the 130,000 homeless dogs, cats, and other pets listed on Adopt-a-Pet.com and tweet a link to that pet's information.

"TwitterACritter is a fun, easy way for people to actively save the life of a shelter pet, even if they can't adopt one themselves or afford to donate," says Abbie Moore, executive director of Adopt-a-Pet.com. "Homeless pets are powerless to promote themselves to potential adopters, so it's up to those of us who love animals to lend a hand, and a set of thumbs, and tweet about them. In these difficult economic times, when so many pets are being relinquished to shelters, they need our help more than ever."

Already the campaign has gotten a boost from several celebrities who have participated and encouraged their Twitter followers to do the same. Since the TwitterACritter feature became available in mid-August, Kevin Nealon, Alyssa Milano, Denise Richards, Kristin Chenoweth, and several other celebrities have taken up the cause and tweeted links to shelter pets listed on Adopt-a-Pet.com. According to Moore, "In each case, immediately after the celebrity's tweet, hundreds of their followers tweeted homeless pets as well… and their followers tweet, and so on and so on. The celebrities create an avalanche of compassion."

"The bottom line is that if enough people see a shelter pet, that pet gets adopted. There is no better way to expose shelter pets to as many potential adopters as possible than through Twitter," continues Moore. "It's no exaggeration to say that a single tweet can save a life. Imagine the impact it would have if everyone tweeted just one critter a day!"

Check out TwitterACritter to see photos of celebrity participants.

Investment in PetLynx™ is Money Well Spent

AutoMatch™ system is automatic, effortless and more accurate

Dianne Martyn, Kennel Manager, of Kennel Inn Animal Control in Aurora, Ontario, says that it has only been about ten months since they joined the PetLynx network and they have already realized significant savings… of time, financial and human resources, and lives!

“Using PetLynx™ has enabled us to eliminate the need for time-consuming manual record keeping, tracking and matching of lost and found reports,” explains Martyn. “With our previous manual system we relied on people telling us what breed of dog (or cat) they had found and this was not always accurate. Since PetLynx matches based on the physical description of the dog and the matching is done automatically, the AutoMatch™ feature ensures better accuracy, wider distribution and a broader range of potential matches.”

Martyn says that Kennel Inn staff and volunteers like the fact that the system is “pro-active”, with their voicemail system directing both people who have lost and those who have found pets to go to the PetLynx™ website to register information and post a photograph.

“People who have lost or found pets are impressed with services when phone contact is made and we are able to instantly find their report and mention the animal by name,” adds Martyn. “This is a level of personalized service that simply could not be previously achieved. Also, the timing, in terms of dogs and cats being return to owner more quickly, has improved dramatically. In many instances, matches are made in the community and we never have to admit the animal into the shelter.”

“Using PetLynx has definitely been a time-saver,” concludes Martyn. “Although using PetLynx™ added some new tasks, the previously labour-intensive and arduous task of manually searching for matches is now done for us automatically, accurately and effortlessly. It is a fabulous service."

Honouring Your Volunteers

Volunteers are the backbone of any nonprofit organization.

Part of the joy that comes from working in animal welfare is getting know these hardworking and dedicated individuals who give so much of themselves to help companion animals.

Even though animal welfare volunteers receive so much love and gratitude back from the animals they care for, they still appreciate receiving recognition from their peers.

One way an organization can reward its volunteers is to nominate these individuals for the PetSmart Charities Lifesaving Volunteer Award. This is a special way to recognize volunteers who go above and beyond to help your agency fulfill its mission.

Submit the story of one of your volunteer's amazing contribution to you agency and why he or she deserves the award. Submissions are accepted throughout the year, and winners are picked quarterly.

Lifesaving volunteers are featured in the PetSmart Charities Quarterly newsletter with an article and photo. They will also earn their agency a one-time $500 award!

To nominate a volunteer, please email: tspencer@PetSmartCharities.org

Used by permission from PetSmart Charities, Inc.
Learn more with free webinars at: www.petsmartcharities.org

Challenges With Microchip Databases

What is the difference between a microchip database and the PetLynx automated recovery system?

There is no doubt that the introduction of the pet identification microchip was (and still is) a phenomenal development for the companion animal industry. It is remarkable how something as small as a grain of rice has had such a significant impact on our ability to return lost companion animals to their owners!

That said, the microchip has its limitations. Microchip databases contain basic descriptions and contact information only, and this information is not easily managed by the animal guardian or accessible to someone who has found a lost pet. To discover if a lost pet has a microchip (or not) the person who finds it need to have access to a microchip scanner... and that's not always possible.

PetLynx's automated recovery system is different in that it works with or without identification. Matches are made according to a very basic physical description. Once this information is input into the system, AutoMatchTM actively searches lost and found reports from your community and surrounding Authorized Service Centers to find matches.

An automated recovery system is also more user friendly and effective in that it allows users to serve themselves over the Internet, rather than calling in to facilities and organizations and it provides matches automatically, reducing the need for manual searches.