More 2010 Regional Summit Highlights

"Intelligent, forward thinking... such a welcome change and a breath of fresh air!" was how one delegate described the presentation given by Bill Bruce, Manager of The City of Calgary Animal and Bylaw Services, at the 2010 Regional Summits for Urban Animal Strategies. The events were held in four cities across Canada the week of 19 April.

More than 85% of delegates who completed the post-Summit survey said that Bruce was: 

• an effective and engaging speaker
• an expert on the subject matter
• delivered relevant and useful content, and
• conveyed information in ways they could relate to.
  

Bruce's lecture focused on the success of The City of Calgary's cat licensing program and provided attendees with insight on how they can effectively duplicate the program in their own communities.

"We did our research before implementing cat licensing," explained Bruce. "We recognized that we had an average of 9,000 cats a year entering the shelter system in Calgary. Of these, only about 17% had traceable identification. As a result, the return to owner and euthanasia rates were dismal. The problem, we recognized, was not necessarily one of pet overpopulation but a need for people to become more responsible pet owners. Once we understood the problem we developed a program to get the public to understand it."

Since introducing voluntary cat licensing in June 2006, and mandatory licensing in January 2007, The City of Calgary has exceeded its initial estimate of having about 20,000 licensed cats. More than 50% of cats in Calgary are now believed to be licensed. Licensing has resulted in returned to owner rates increasing to about 60% and euthanasia rates changing from 36% to 18%.

Want to learn more about how you can connect with other thought leaders in the companion animal industry? Check out the International Summit for Urban Animal Strategies to be held at Lake Louise, Alberta, 13 - 16 October 2010.

Posted by Terri Perrin, Online Communications Editor

Last Chance RSUAS Registration!

This is it!  The cross Canada tour of the Regional Summits for Urban Animal Strategies is about to begin.  Thursday April 15th is your last chance to register for your regional summit.

Pacific Regional Summit ~ Monday April 19th, Vancouver 

Prairie Regional Summit ~ Tuesday April 20th, Edmonton 

Atlantic Regional Summit ~ Thursday April 22nd, Halifax 

Central Regional Summit~ Friday April 23nd, Toronto

These events foster collaboration with all pet industry stakeholders in the region and help to find solutions for current companion animal issues.  All delegates will have a chance to participate in a valuable continuing education program that focuses on the business case "Cat Licensing in Calgary." This program will be delivered by Bill Bruce from The City of Calgary Animal & Bylaw Services.

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 International 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.

Speakers 
Bill Bruce ~ Manager Animal & Bylaw Services, City of Calgary
Dr. Elizabeth O'Brien ~ DVM, Diplomate American Board of Veterinary Practitioners
Dr. Leslie Lyons ~ Associate Professor of Genetics UC Davis Veterinary Medicine

Registration

$150 plus taxes includes your breakfast, lunch and reception. 

A Destron Fearing microchip scanner will be awarded as a door prize!

Click here for the agenda for each event.     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

Calgary Animal Shelters at Full Capacity

Vacationing owners and the recession result in kennels being filled to capacity CALGARY, August 12, 2009 ~ A story published in today's Calgary Herald revealed that Calgary's two largest animal shelters are in crisis. The City's shelter is getting close to capacity, with 70 cats and 44 dogs waiting to be claimed by their owners or be adopted into new homes. Similarly, the Calgary Humane Society is overrun with 484 cats and 95 dogs.

"We always get a bit of a spike in our numbers in August," said Bill Bruce, The City's director of Animal & Bylaw Services. "But it's our return-to-owner statistics that really slump out on us because of [the fact that people are on] vacations. We have trouble reaching the owners to let them know their pet is here. At some point--after 10 to 14 days of trying to reach them and getting no response to our calls -- we have to act in the animal's best interests, which is not to keep it languishing in a shelter forever and it gets adopted."

"[Capacity] is usually high this time of year," said Calgary Humane Society spokeswoman Pamela Amos, noting it is kitten season so some owners are surrendering the mother cat and her entire litter. The shelter has also noticed an increasing number of owners turning over their pets due to the recession.

Local Service Providers: City of Calgary Animal & Bylaw Services, Calgary Humane Society