General News www. pettradeworld. comPET TRADE WORLD OCTOBER 2009 13 Blue peter chooses rescue pup as latest team member Dogs Trust, the UK's largest dog welfare charity, has rehomed Barney a 9 month old Dachshund/ Red Setter cross to Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton. Barney will become the 9th Blue Peter dog, following in the pawprints of a long list of famous pooches including Petra, Patch, Shep, Goldie, Bonnie, and Meg. He will share the sofa with current Blue Peter dogs Mabel and Lucy, Cookie and Socks the cats and Shelley the tortoise. The charity hopes that Barney will help inspire the dog owners of tomorrow to consider a rescue dog as a pet. Dogs Trust chief executive Clarissa Baldwin, says: " We are thrilled that Blue Peter has chosen a rescue dog as their latest canine team member. Barney is a charming little pup who was brought to one of our rehoming centres when he was found as a stray. He immediately impressed staff with his winning personality and they knew that he was destined to be a star! We wish Barney and Helen all the very best, and we all look forward to keeping up with their exciting adventures each week on the show." Good for Blue Peter raising the profi le of rescue dogs - Ed ¦ Dogs Trust rehomes dog to presenter Helen Skelton Helen Skelton Pets at Home choose IDM Software to protect margins Pets at Home have chosen LossManager, from IDM Software to help improve their loss prevention effi ciency and protect their margins. LossManager is the latest product from a team who have over 15 years experience pioneering solutions in this fi eld. It allows retailers to analyse data across their entire estate, integrating information from multiple sources and promoting collaborative working with other retail departments to quickly pinpoint and tackle losses. When combined with information from internal audit and other systems such as stock movement, cash movement, operator attendance and CCTV, retailers can very quickly get to grips with the bigger picture of internal loss. Scott Holland, Head of Loss Prevention for Pets at Home, recognised that by implementing data mining as a core element of his loss prevention strategy he would be able to effi ciently support the continued success and growth. Scott said: " While the vast majority of our colleagues operate to the highest ethical standards, I wanted a system that would help my team quickly identify and deal with the inevitable isolated cases of employee dishonesty that occur; however, much more important to me was to fi nd a supplier that had the expertise and vision to look beyond just the fraud and help me deliver the much higher returns available to Pets at Home by tackling process based losses". Scott continued: " After a thorough review of the suppliers and products available we chose IDM because they demonstrated an excellent level of expertise, which was evident in the vision and thought leadership that they shared with us and their genuine desire to work in partnership with us". Khuram Kirmani, CEO of IDM Software, said: " We are delighted to be working with Pets at Home. We have always prided ourselves on working closely with our clients to push the boundaries of data mining in Loss Prevention and are enthusiastic about helping Scott to deliver his goal of higher returns from a more holistic approach". ¦

General News 1 4 PET TRADE WORLD OCTOBER 2009www. pettradeworld. com Shocking stray dog fi gures force legislation rethink Dogs Trust calls for compulsory microchipping to halt stray dog problem A staggering 107,228 stray and abandoned dogs were picked up by Local Authorities from UK streets in the last year, according to Dogs Trust's 2009 Stray Dog Survey. This represents an unacceptable increase of 11% and is the highest increase recorded since records began in 1997. Dogs Trust strongly believes that 2008' s change in stray dog law in England and Wales, whereby police no longer hold statutory responsibility for stray dogs, may explain this sudden increase. The charity also fears that the current fi nancial crisis may have had an impact in some areas. With over 9,000 unclaimed stray dogs put to sleep by Local Authorities, the charity is calling on the Government to introduce compulsory microchipping for all dogs in the UK. It hopes this will reduce the problem and help reunite owners with their lost pets and trace abandoned pets back to irresponsible owners. In the last year, of those stray dogs that were returned to their owners, 31% were returned due to being microchipped - with compulsory microchipping many more could be reunited. The annual survey, conducted by GfK NOP on behalf of Dogs Trust, shows a startling increase from the previous year. Despite the sustained eff orts of both animal welfare organisations and Local Authorities, on average 12 stray and abandoned dogs an hour are now handled by Local Authorities. Each hour: . 5 are reunited with their owners . 3 are taken to welfare organisations . 1 is rehomed from the Local Authority kennels . 2 are in kennels for their seven day holding period . 1 dog is put to sleep Dogs Trust Chief Executive Clarissa Baldwin says: " This is the largest annual increase since our records began in 1997. Previously we had seen a steady decline, but the latest statistics show a huge jump in the number of stray dogs both handled and put to sleep by Local Authorities. Some dog wardens mentioned the recession could have been an attributing factor to the increase, while others cited the change in the stray dog law last April. We believe that the time is right to review the Control of Dogs Order and are calling on the Government to introduce compulsory microchipping of all dogs in the UK. Microchipping is an essential part of being a responsible dog owner and has helped so many people become reunited with their beloved pets." Compulsory microchipping already has signifi cant support in the UK. Over 90% of Local Authorities and veterinary surgeons and almost 90% of dog owners are in favour of its introduction according to Dogs Trust research. To date 45 MP's have signed a supportive Early Day Motion ( EDM) for the campaign and the charity has received additional support regionally from local MP's from all three of the main parties. ¦ If you haven't yet started preparing for the festive season then now is the time to start with the release of Petbrands' Christmas Catalogue. With some juicy special off ers to tempt you, they have every aspect of Christmas covered for pets. Christmas stockings come fi lled to the brim with doggie-designed treats, chew toys come in plush fur fabric for pampered pups and Christmas crackers are stuff ed with nutritious, healthy bites. With Buy- 2- get- one- free off ers on many bestsellers and discounts for new trade customers, this year could be a cut- price celebration for pets!' For more information telephone 08714 722 322, email sales@ petbrands. com or visit www. petbrands. com ¦ www. petbrands. com/ christmas Christmas is coming!