Pet industry mourns loss of groomer Lisa Keem

 

The Pet Industry has lost a bright, young talented dog groomer.

 

Lisa Maree Keem aged 33, was the owner if Foxy Fur Dog Grooming salon in Harvey Bay, and was a newcomer to the industry.

 

Her body was found more than 2 weeks ago in NSW mid north coast forest, and police are treating the cause of death as murder.

 

Lisa went missing on the 13^th of June and family & friends set up a group on facebook to try and find her. Police confirmed that the body found three days later was Lisa Keem. The facebook group with more than 4500 members will continue in memory of Lisa.

 

It is still unknown if Foxy Fur will reopen.

 

Investigators are keen to hear from people who might have seen a 1992 grey or silver-coloured Mitsubishi sedan, with NSW number plates, in Harvey Bay or on the NSW Mid North Coast between Friday 13 June and Sunday 15 June.

 

Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

 

A message from Lisa's family

“Lisa was the beautiful light in our Family that shone so bright and we will miss her dearly. She will be remembered for beauty, her strength of character, for her compassion for both people and animals and her love for her family.”

 

Lisa’s funeral service will be held this coming Thursday, 3 July 2008, at the St James Catholic Church, Woolley Street, Forest Lodge, Glebe Sydney. The service will commence at 10am.

In honor of Lisa, the family have requested that people wear an item of hot pink clothing.

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Preventer or Non-Preventer? NOAH knows

 

The National Office of Animal Health (NOAH) has conducted a survey in the UK and found that pet owners can be divided into two distinct groups: Preventers and Non-preventers.

 

According to NOAH, there is a distinction between pet owners who make a conscious effort to ensure their pet is protected from a wide range of medical problems and those who don’t because they see no incentive to do so.

 

The research was released in relation to the launch of the Pet Health Information website (www.pethealthinfo.org.uk). Their findings reveal that although both factions agree that responsible pet ownership is important - with love and attention resulting in caring, feeding and exercising their pets - disease prevention was not often viewed as a part of this love with just 55 per cent of dogs and 46 per cent of cats over that age of two being vaccinated against potentially fatal diseases.

 

NOAH believes the survey highlights an alarming lack of awareness relating to pet health issues, such as worming and vaccination, amongst some pet owners.  

 

“Despite being a nation of animal lovers, this research clearly shows there is a need to further educate existing and potential pet owners and to raise awareness of responsible pet care and ownership,” said NOAH CEO, Phil Sketchley. “Taking the findings of the research into consideration, we are hoping that www.pethealthinfo.org.uk will provide information and advice on a variety of pet related issues.”

 

Source: Steve O’Malley, UKPets, June 2008

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Aussie pet-sitters embrace online marketing tools

 

It’s easy enough to find someone to mind your house when you’re away, but what about when you have pets? An Australian couple tapped into this need by starting up their very own internet-based house-sitting service – dogs inclusive.

 

Mrs Myers, 36, a former secondary school teacher, and her social worker husband Malcolm, 40, began Happy House Sitters as a business on the side in 1999. The website links home-owners with much-needed house-sitters while they’re away, and has attracted nearly 200,000 visitors a year, making it the largest house and pet sitting website in Australia.

 

“We needed a point of difference from other services and could see the growth of the pet industry,” said Mrs Myers. “It’s our selling point and has given us a whole market.”

 

It was a slow beginning. The pair started the business up in a home office, keeping their day jobs and returning calls and answering web enquiries when they returned from work. They paid an information technology graduate to make the website, which also helped to save them some pennies.

 

She has also spent some time gaining support from animal businesses such as vets, groomers, pet stores, sites and expos, leaving promotional magnets with shop keepers in exchange for their business having a website link on her site.

 

The business has grown enough that Mrs Myers now runs it daily from home.

 

“It’s great because I can be a stay-at-home mum and have a business. I never set out to be an entrepreneur but I love this business. It’s my fourth child, behind my two girls and our beautiful Shihtzu, Lexie,” she said.

 

“Even with all the technology it still comes down to having empathy with customers. We are pet lovers running a pet-focused business. We really understand our clients and that shows in the way we deal with them.”

 

Source: Helen Carter, Herald-Sun, June 2008