Erica Coomber and Amy Pawson on 'Integrated Retail Adoption Centres'

Amy Pawson, Director of Operations of Petland Canada Company Store Division in Calgary, and Erica Coomber, Shelter Administrator, Alberta Animal Services in Red Deer, work in a spirit of collaboration and innovation to operate a pet adoption program that is making a significant difference in their community and beyond. We are thrilled that they will deliver the Integrated Retail Adoption Centres Keynote address at the 2014 Regional Summits for Urban Animal Strategies in Toronto and Halifax. We can hardly wait to hear about their most recent developments, so we invited Infostream Guest Author Terri Perrin to ask them for a program update. 

Infostream (IS): Please give us an overview of your program and how your organizations came to work together.

Erica Coomber (EC): I met Robert Brissette, President of Petland Canada, at the 2011 Regional Summit for Urban Animal Strategies held in Red Deer. Robert spoke about how Petland was no longer going to be selling puppies and kittens and how he wanted to work with local animal shelters to re-home pets. I jumped at the opportunity! Alberta Animal Services transferred their first adoptable pets to the Red Deer Petland’s existing facilities in May 2011.

In 2012/13, Petland built the current in-store adoption centre that has 12 dog and 12 cat runs. It opened in May 2013. Alberta Animal Services has four dedicated adoption specialists managing this location and we average 30+ adoptions per month. The program is so successful that we partner with rescue agencies across Alberta and the North West Territories, to transfer in dogs from other areas.

Amy Pawson (AP): Petland decided to adapt our kennel area and provide space for community rescue partnerships in all of our company stores locations across Canada. This was new territory for us and we didn’t know what to expect or who would partner.

We had the opportunity to attending the Regional and National Summits; this is where we met the team from Alberta Animal Services. It was definitely a highlight for us. We are thrilled with how the partnership with them has worked out. All of our locations now have in-store adoption programs. Each store is a little different, involving a variety of community partners.

IS: So the program can be replicated in other regions?

EC:  Absolutely! But it takes hard work, dedication and forward thinking. You can’t be afraid of change. I have to admit it was scary at first but I always kept the interest of my shelter animals in mind. No matter what, it is always about saving lives. It takes two to make it work … just like in a marriage.  We maintain our great working relationship by keeping in constant communication and, when situations arise, we come together to find solutions and work it out as a team.

AP: I agree and stress that, as our industry becomes more and more competitive, collaboration is the key to making these types of programs work.

IS: How would you suggest other organizations get started?

EC: Come to Red Deer and tour our adoption centre, then sit down with Amy and me. We can show you how it works. If you think this is something you can bring to your community, we can help you along the way.

AP:  Once you have the concept, reaching out to others who have successful programs as a resource is essential. Have a plan  to create a foundation and building blocks to bring it all together. There are a lot of things to work out… and much of it we have overcome through trial and error. I am open to collaborating with everyone because the purpose is to find homes for animals.

IS: You were part of the inaugural Innovation Showcase program and you presented at the 2013 Regional and Annual Summits for Urban Animal Strategies. Tell us a little about your respective experiences on this journey.

AP: Every Summit I have attended has been an excellent experience. Each year I get to know people better. Canada is large and so, to be able to share and gather ideas from each region, celebrate them, and capture the joy of pet ownership and why, at the end of the day, and break down barriers. The networking is, by far, the most valuable. You get to meet people that you may not have met otherwise, form partnerships and come together as an industry.  Speaking on behalf of Petland company stores, this would have been a different journey without the Summit experience. It would have been a lot harder to form the invaluable relationships.

EC: I was terrified to get up in front of my colleagues in the Animal Industry but after it was all over, and seeing that many of them support us — some even cried — that feeling of accomplishment was unforgettable. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed sharing our story. I am so excited to be presenting again this April. I want our program to be shared across Canada and, thanks to PetLynx and my peers who voted for us, we will be able to do that! PetLynx has a great team of people and I just love them all.

IS: What are you planning for your April 2014 Municipal Collaboration Keynote in Toronto and Halifax?

AP: Our first presentation was about the concept. Now we want to share the journey… the negatives and positives, the hard costs and operating challenges. There will be more statistics and it will be more detailed as to how we got this far and where we are going with it.

IS: What about your own personal Pet Experiences? We always love to hear what drives people’s individual passion for pets.

AP: I love animals – obviously! My passion started as a child. My father’s side of the family bred dogs and we had dogs, cats and hamsters growing up. I ended up in the pet industry because of this and secured a part time job at Petland. Fifteen years later I am still here! To see someone hold an animal for the first time is a great experience. It brings happiness to me. The human animal bond is amazing. I really believe that pets make life better!

EC: I have been passionate about animals since I was a little girl. I took in my first stray cat – Zoey – when I was six-years-old. She followed me home from school and I begged my parents to let me keep her. I will never forget that moment when I experienced my first bond with an animal. The feeling of love that a pet gives you is unexplainable. Since then, I have always looked out for animals and always helped them. I swear that I had my own animal shelter growing up! Thank God my parents accepted my love for animals. 

IS: How may our readers contact you?

Amy Pawson Amy.Pawson@petlandcanada.com 1-403-723-3818

Erica Coomber: coomber@riversidekennels.ca 1-866-340-2388 or 403-347-2388

IS: Thank you so much for sharing your stories with us. You are doing great work and are to be commended for your efforts.