History of the Pet Home Rescue Lifeline
Pet Sounds
by Rosaline Duane
rduane@nsnews.com
West Vancouver’s Shane Gray found the inspiration for his latest business venture while he was vacationing in Spain.
Gray and his wife were on their way to the airport to catch a flight home when they stopped off at a local Spanish market.
There they found a small, dark French bulldog puppy with extra large ears, and decided on the spur of the moment to bring it back to Canada with them.
As Suki settled into her new home in West Van, Gray started to think about a Mothers Against Drunk Driving commercial he had seen.
The commercial told the story of John Banovich, who was critically injured in 1997 when a drunk driver allegedly smashed into the car he was driving. Banovich was in a coma for days, and as his family and friends gathered at the hospital waiting and hoping for his recovery, his dog was at home waiting too. In the confusing days after the tragic incident, Banovich’s dog was left for three days without food and water, but somehow survived.
After seeing the commercial, Gray started wondering what might happen to Suki if both he and his wife were injured or killed and the dog was home alone.
It wasn’t long before Gray came up with the idea for Pet Home Rescue, a unique service that provides pet owners with a way to inform rescue personnel that the person being attended to has a pet that needs to be taken care of.
When customers purchase one of Pet Home Rescue’s products, they register with the Lifeline database, where information is collected about the pet and the person who should be contacted to become a guardian of that pet in the event of an emergency.
Pet Home Rescue offers wearable products that identify the wearer as a pet owner. The brightly coloured wristbands, key chains and wallet-size cards include a toll-free number for the responder to call to activate the Lifeline.
Lifeline operators then contact the person registered by the pet owner as the guardian of the pet to care for the animal. The database also includes an option to identify a permanent guardian for the pet in case the pet owner dies.
Gray noted that the products help relieve family members of some of the stress of caring for a pet when they are dealing with a loved-one’s injuries or death.
It’s one less thing for them to worry about, says Gray.
Since the toll-free number works in both Canada and the United States, the products are also well-suited to families who are travelling in North America without their pets, says Gray.
Pet Home Rescue has been in operation since December 2005, and already the Lifeline subscriber list is growing fast. Most of the subscribers have registered online, but Gray is now putting together a retail program. Currently, the products are available at the 35 retail locations of the Yappetizers Treat Company, but Gray is hoping to add more retail locations.
This isn’t Gray’s first foray into the business world, as he has held senior positions in sales and distribution for software and communications companies including Telus Mobility Inc. He has also founded two companies including a feedback-oriented marketing company called Quality Solutions Incorporated.
He says Pet Home Rescue was to be a side business, but has now become a full-time venture.
Although he had to go all the way to Spain to get the idea for the business, Gray says the concept for the Pet Home Rescue system was a simple case of “find a need, fill a need.”
As for Suki, now eight months old, Gray laughs as he points out that the small dog has finally grown into her big ears.
For more info visit the website – Healthy Happy Dogs Pet Home Rescue Lifeline.
published in The North Shore News on 02/05/2006
You may have seen Shane on one of several news shows on TV. The media have jumped on this fantastic idea!