feb•04 OVMA Convention Highlites

volume 02 • issue 02
feb•04
In this Issue:
OVMA Convention Highlites
Congratulations to Doug, Cheryl and the rest of the
enthusiastic OVMA team for a well run trade show during the
Convention in Ottawa. It is a pleasure to be involved with
a great team and such a well-run event. We understand
more than 800 registrants attended the three-day event
and it seemed that we talked to all of them at our booth.
• New PetLynx ‘Animal Card’!
pg 2
• Introducing New Staff
pg 2
• Operation CAMStrat Readied
pg 3
• Bits & Bytes
pg 4
This convention was only the second industry trade show for
PetLynx. Elizabeth Carey and the PetLynx team did a splendid
job and made up for any lack of experience with a great deal
of enthusiasm. Its was surprising to find how many people
were already aware of Operation RECover and other PetLynx
offerings. Almost 200 attendees signed up for the PetLynx draw.
PetLynx
also
sponsored
Thursday’s
session
entitled,
‘Animal Welfare’.
This session featured presentations by
Dr. Randall Lockwood, Mr. Michael Draper and Dr. Alec
Martin.
This all day session explored the well established
connection between violence against animals and violence
against people. Discussion of the role of the veterinarian
in reporting this type of activity was spirited. Robert Van
Tongerloo, CEO of the Canadian Federation of Humane
Societies [CFHS], moderated the session on behalf of PetLynx.
And who can forget the wonderful serenade on
evening by vocalist Darren Osborne. Showtunes and
ushered out the remaining guests at the tradeshow
evening. Darren, we all wanted to stay and hear more.
Friday
more,
Friday
Really!
And the winners of the PetLynx ‘Get Connected’ Draw are:
first prize
Dr. Susan Vetrovsky
second prize
Ron Bridges, RVT
third prizes
Robin Ferguson (OVC 2006)
Dr. Dana Clark
Dr. Paige Willis
Dr. Daniel Scorgie
Each of these winners also nominated a local shelter/
rescue
agency
that
is
receiving
a
similar
prize
from PetLynx in recognition of their local support
of
Community
Animal
Management
Strategies.•
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10 More Weeks of Winter!!
It’s official! There will be at least ten more weeks before we see
the last of the snow at ThunderRidge Ranch. Seventy more days
to enjoy our favorite season? Count on it!
Early Monday morning February 2, 2004, long before ‘Willy’ and
‘Phil’ had made the predictions for which they are famous,
Theresa, that covert member of Saskatchewan’s armed forces
came out, and in the moonlight of the Ranch’s south field, saw
her shadow. ThunderRidge is bracing for more winter and those
spring snows that can wreak havoc on the early bananas.
kittywarmer
PetLynx
Welcomes
New Staff
How accurate are the predictions of this pint-sized rodent, you
ask? Accurate enough that long underwear, mittens, sweaters
and snowshoes were all sold out of the local UFA before noon. Oh
yes, all the signs point to another one of those seasonal transitions
we will remember.•
PetLynx Animal Card
gets a new look!
Version number three of the PetLynx Animal Card has been
approved, tested, and is currently being assembled. The card
retains the Code 39 Barcode, but has a fresh new look that will
be more accepting of the co-branding programs contemplated
with a number of clients. The ‘Animal Card’ is an integral
part of the Community Animal Management Strategy, as it
provides all service providers with access to the animal record.
Through this ingenious device, airlines, transfer agents and
government agencies can access the ‘electronic passport’
of the animal to determine ownership, insurance, vaccination
history and care profiles that are in place. Later this year,
we hope to trial the automated claims management aspects
of the system using the same card. This will allow veterinarians
access to the health benefits of current medical insurance
or the pre-authorized medical finance programs that cover
their efforts.•
SHANE
Shane O’Reilly graduated from
the University of Calgary in 2002
with a Bachelor of Commerce
in Human Resources. He is
beginning his career as the
newest member of the Client
Care Team. Prior to joining
the
PetLynx
Corporation,
he worked for the Telus
Convention
Centre
with
the
Client/Event
Services
department. Shane hopes
to
become
a
valuable
member of the PetLynx Client
Care
Team
using
his
communications
skills
and
his natural interest in animals.
TARA
Tara Wolf brings four years of
managerial experience and
over six years of customer
service to the Client Care
Team. Before coming to
PetLynx,
she
worked
for
Calgary Co-op as a supervisor
and
assistant
manager.
Tara brings a very efficient
approach to problem solving
and a cheery telephone
manner to our Client Care
Team.•
Vision of the Lynx:
‘Our dream has always been to build a great
company, a company that will prosper, a
company that will endure into the future
further than we ourselves can see’.
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Operation CAMStrat™
Readied for Delivery in March!
Community Animal Management Strategy, code named
‘CAMStrat’, is one of the most important initiatives to be launched
this year. Beginning in March we will be introducing this concept
through our media campaigns and joint communications with
CFHS to every shelter and rescue organization in Canada.
figure 1.0
Later in the year, we hope to bring new applications to
municipalities and veterinarians so that eventually every service
provider in the pet industry will be able to access the PetLynx
SuperNET with the specific, individual functionality they each
require.
Everyone can see that existing databases have been insular.
These islands of information have not served anyone particularly
well, but not everyone understands why. The answer is very
simple to understand. In Figure 1.0, you see the entire market
represented with the very narrow sliver of market penetration that is
spread across more than six companies vying for competitive
superiority in the microchip business.
This sliver represents
4% or less of the total market for identification services and
has been developed with millions of dollars of investment and
years of effort. It’s no small wonder none of the entities have been
able to be profitable or achieve success. It’s also no wonder
that a National Recovery Service did not develop.
figure 2.0
Now to be fair, the early markets for any new technology are
difficult. The work accomplished by these pioneers and even
the mistakes that were made along the way have provided us
with some benefit as we determined our technology and business
model. For this reason Operation CAMStrat has been developed
to provide microchip distributors and manufacturers with the
lowest cost access to the PetLynx SuperNET that will exist in the
market.
Preferred Share Exchange
Figure 2.0 shows the Community Animal Management overlay
and shows how specific the PetLynx SuperNET provides each
entity with a different view and access to the information they
require. Although we don’t wish to maintain Community Animal
Management as our exclusive development we do hope
even casual observers will see how pervasive it has been in the
development of our vision and business model. It certainly is one
of the primary differentiators between us and others who would
serve this industry.•
The management and directors of PetLynx Corporation are
pleased to advise that the program to exchange Series I and Series
II Preferred Shares of the company for Common Voting Shares of
the company was completed. Over 6.9 million Common Voting
Shares were taken up by 29 of 30 shareholders in this class. There
are currently 21,979,740 Common Voting Shares outstanding,
which brings the pre-transaction [PP-V] value of the company to
more than 9.3 million dollars.•
PetLynx AGM on April 22nd
The PetLynx Board of Directors have set the date, time and
location for the Annual General Meeting of the Corporation.
Common Shareholders of record on March 10th, 2004 are invited
to mark their calendars and plan to attend this event in the
Macleod Room of the Telus Convention Centre. Other members
of the public will be invited to attend a luncheon and general
presentation following the AGM.•
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PetLynx Corporation,
Business Development Centre,
Box 3607, Airdrie, Alberta,
Canada, T4B 2B8
Email: editor@petlynx.net
‘Our attempts lay no claim to
perfection; but they represent the
most that could be done in the time
and with the data at our command.’
– Sir James Murray,
Oxford English Dictionary.
A bit of corrective surgery
occupied me during midFebruary and as I convalesced
back at the ranch this week, I
turned my attention to the book
‘The Meaning of Everything’,
by
Simon
Winchester,
Oxford University Press, 2003.
Winchesters’s book chronicles
the undertaking of the greatest
editorial project in modern
times. It is a very instructive and
enjoyable read. What a great
get-well gift from my colleagues
at
PetLynx
Corporation.
Imagine, more than 70 years
of research and editorial effort
to provide over 22,000 pages
of definitions and 2.5 million
illustrative quotations in the 20
volumes of the Oxford English
Dictionary [OED]. In honour of
the 75th anniversary of the first
completion of this work, Oxford
University Press is offering a
number of specially priced
opportunities.
Go to www.
oed.com if this interests you.
Of course only the casual
observer wouldn’t understand
that the English Language is
constantly changing. It morphs
almost with a sense of joy, as
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culture and fashion dictate.
It freely borrows from all other
languages and always has.
It is then no surprise it was a
most difficult language to
describe. It completely defies
those who have tried to be
prescriptive in the cataloguing
of its words and meanings. As
most writers know, just as they
feel comfortable with the use
of a word it may fall from favor,
leaving us in a most awkward
situation. For this reason those
who still edit the Oxford English
Dictionary must soldier on in the
full knowledge they will never
have it completed in any final
sense. This understanding has
forced an iterative approach
to the mission.
Animal Crackers
A turkey was chatting with a bull. “I would love to be able to get to the
top of that tree,” sighed the turkey. “But I just haven’t got the energy.”
“Well, why don’t you nibble on some of my droppings?” replied the bull.
“They’re packed with nutrients.”
The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave him
enough strength to reach the first branch of the tree. The next day, after
eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a
week, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree.
He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the
tree.
Moral of the story:
Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won’t keep you there.
Bits & Bytes:
The Service Development Team has begun to reap the
benefits of the investment in the new Panther™ Architecture.
Upgrades to the ShelterLynx Utility were demonstrated to the
Calgary Humane Society on January 28th and have created
quite a bit of excitement and anticipation.
Creating the PetLynx SuperNET
is no different. To borrow the
words of Murray noted above,
we are producing functionality
for each entity in this industry,
fully
comprehending
that
within months or years we will
be required to reshape and
refactor our Utility to meet the
evolving needs of the client.
For this reason, it is imperative
that we invest resources in the
processes and architecture
that will most favor constant recreation and industry evolution.
This
accomplishment
will
provide us with a competitive
advantage that outlasts our
lifetime. And it can be done!
The process and rigor brought
by Sir James Murray to the
editing of OED outlived him and
continues to be used even to
this day, almost 150 years later.
‘It is very impressive… the progress you have made in the last 18 – 19
days is phenomenal…’
– Calgary Humane Society
The next release is fast approaching, and will contain
some exciting improvements to ShelterLynx, QuickSearch,
AutoMatch™, and Lost & Found.
The Client Care Team has re-equipped with the Client
Relationship Managment software ‘Maximizer’. This software
will now be used to track, schedule, and implement PetLynx
Client activities.
OVMA conference draw prizes were well received: “I would
like to thank you again very much for this wonderful prize. I am
also very happy that the Lanark Animal Welfare Society will be well
connected now. Well done!” •
– Dr. Susan Vetrovsky
InfoStream is a publication of PetLynx™ Corporation
Copyright © PetLynx™ Corporation 2002 - 2004
Our PetLynx team is striving
towards this lofty goal while
delivering adequate evidence
of a profitable business model
and the wise investment of our
resources each day. You will
acknowledge this is the way
we must progress this project!•
Distributed to clients, vendors, staff and shareholders
of PetLynx™ Corporation
ISSN 1708-9166
ISSN 1708-9174
InfoStream (Print)
InfoStream (Online)
Subscriptions are provided at no charge.
Please contact the editor at editor@petlynx.net
to subscribe.
Comments and opinions expressed in this
publication are not necessary those of
PetLynx™ Corporation.
Information may only be extracted/duplicated
with written permission from the editor.
Executive Editor
Larry R. Evans
Editor
Elizabeth A. Carey
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