Bourse Rolf C. Hagen, pour les leaders de la relève, des services du commerce de détail.

Le Sommet sur les Stratégies pour animaux urbains, du Programme des leaders émergents, offre des bourses aux nouveaux leaders de l’industrie qui s'engagent dans l’avancement du bien-être des animaux de compagnie au Canada. Les bourses sont décernées en reconnaissance à ceux qui ont dévoué leurs carrières à l’avancement des soins animaliers et à l’évolution de l’industrie. Cette année, le sommet offre la Bourse des services de détail et commerciale nommée Rolf C. Hagen, en son hommage.

En 2010, la première bourse avait été créée pour permettre aux nouveaux leaders d’assister au Sommet national des stratégies pour animaux urbains et de vivre l’expérience de la collaboration entre les divers secteurs de l'industrie, dans un effort commun pour l’avancement du bien-être des animaux de compagnie au Canada. Cela donnait aussi l’opportunité à d’autres leaders de rencontrer de nouveaux collègues engagés dans un travail similaire et de découvrir de nouveaux talents qui pourraient se joindre à leurs équipes.

Jusqu’à deux bourses peuvent être décernées aux leaders gagnants. Elles incluent un forfait complet de délégation et une aide au voyage pour assister au Sommet national des stratégies pour animaux urbains, au Lac Louise, en Alberta, en octobre. Les autres catégories de bourses aux leaders émergents sont :

• La  Bourse Jerry Aschenbrenner (2013) – Contrôle animal/services
• La Bourse Frederick Lynn Webster (2014) – Santé animale/bien-être
• La Bourse Frederic Addison McGrand (2014) – Refuge et secours

L’annonce des gagnants des bourses se fera en août et les leaders émergents recevront leurs prix au souper de la Fondation pour animaux urbains, en octobre.

Rolf C. Hagen Scholarship for Emerging Leaders in Retail and Commercial Services

The Summit for Urban Animal Strategies’ Emerging Leader’s Program offers scholarships to up and coming industry leaders engaged in the advancement of pet wellbeing in Canada.  Scholarships are named in recognition of those who have dedicated their careers to the advancement of animal care and industry evolution.  This year the Summit launched the Retail and Commercial Services scholarship which they have named for Rolf C. Hagen. 

In 2010 the first Emerging Leaders Scholarship were launched to provide opportunities for up and coming industry leaders to attend the National Summit for Urban Animal Strategies and experience the collaboration that takes place between pet sectors in an effort to advance the wellbeing of Canada’s pets.  This also provides a chance for other leaders to meet new colleagues engaged in work similar to their own and also highlights potential talent for organizations looking to add to their teams.

Up to two scholarships can be awarded to the winning leaders.  This includes a complete delegate package and travel assistance to attend the National Summit for Urban Animal Strategies in October.  Other Emerging Leader Scholarship categories include:

• The Jerry Aschenbrenner Scholarship (2013) -  Animal Control/Services
• The Frederick Lynn Webster Scholarship (2014) - Animal Health/Wellness
• The Federic Addison McGrand Scholarship (2014) - Humane and Rescue

Scholarships winners will be announced in August and the Emerging Leaders will be recognized at the Urban Animal Foundation Dinner in October. 

Hometown company, RC Pet Products win the Prize at the Western Pet Expo

With summer quickly approaching timing couldn’t be better to talk about The Ultimate Cooling Coat by RC Pet Products, our big winner in the 2014 Western Pet Expo New Product Competition.  Founded by entrepreneur Rory Carr in 1988, RC Pet designs products for pets of all walks of life, from those that never leave the home, to those that enjoy their time playing, working and competing outdoors.  We spent some time with Angela Welch, of RC Pet Products to get a good perspective on the organization and the Ultimate Cooling Coat.

Angela, can you please give us a history lesson on how RC Pet Products came to be?

Rory Carr started RC Pet Products in his basement in Whistler over 26 years ago. He wanted to design pet products that helped strengthen the bond between guardian and pet, while looking good and performing superbly under all conditions. We’re always looking for ways to improve our products, by talking with the people who use them, observing the pets that wear them, and using them ourselves every day.

RC Products is now headquartered in Vancouver, BC and employs 50 people, including in house manufacturing of all our collars and leashes.

You have coats in your product line for rain and cold weather, what inspired one for the warmer months?

Not all dogs are built for the heat.  We wanted to design a coat that allowed our canine companions to comfortably enjoy the sunny outdoors just like we do!  It uses a unique combination of PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) fabric and Air mesh.  The PVA absorbs more water and stay cooler longer, while the air mesh allows for air circulation and a lighter overall weight

Sounds like a lot of research, what was involved in the development phase?

Lots of research on the best fabrics, testing different designs to find something that allowed full range of motions of the dog while reducing overall weight and still providing maximum cooling effects.  We tested this jacket with Agility dogs and they were particularly excited for its launch. 

How does it work?

The coat contains both the PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) fabric and Air mesh which can hold water.  PVA holds up to 3 times its weight in water and is a similar fabric to car shammies and other ultra-absorbent cloths.  Depending on the humidity of the climate and the exposure to direct sunlight on average the PVA will stay wet for approximately 4hrs and then stiffen when dry, so it’s easy to know when you need to rewet the coat.

With distribution across North American since February, how has the response been?

The response for this coat has been great. People love the look and the fit and see a real need in the market for a cooling option that isn’t too heavy. 

Congratulations again to RC Pet Products on their win and thank you to all the visitors who took the time to vote.