The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) and the Pet IndustryDistributors Association (PIDA) previewed a new Pet Store Pro Zoonotic DiseasePrevention chapter during the SuperZoo pet industry trade show today in LasVegas. Zoonotic diseases, also known as zoonoses, are diseases caused bybacteria, viruses and parasites that can be transferred between animals andhumans. Pet Store Pro is a free online training resource for independent petretailers on pet store best practices.
“The pet care community’s role as partners in pet care together with companionanimals and their loving owners means we also have a responsibility to doeverything we can to deter the spread of zoonotic diseases,” said Mike Bober,president and CEO of PIJAC. “This new Pet Store Pro Zoonotic DiseasePrevention chapter further demonstrates PIJAC, PIDA and the responsible petcare community’s commitment to taking proactive steps to protect human andanimal health and helping foster lifelong relationships between people andtheir pets.”
“It is essential that a retail pet store’s employee training program includebest practices to maintain their own health and safety and those of the petsthey care for,” said Celeste Powers, CAE, president of PIDA. “This newZoonotic Disease Prevention chapter is a welcome addition to the Pet Store Protraining suite that helps independent retailers be conscientious petcaretakers as well as run successful, profitable businesses that provideexemplary customer service.”
The new chapter describes proper hygiene and handling practices inside retailstores to help reduce the transmission of germs and bacteria. These includecleaning guidelines, cautions for staff or customers with existing healthconditions and hand washing protocols. The chapter also outlinesrecommendations for sanitizing enclosures and handling animals and their food,bedding and waste.
Lessons are designed to help store associates identify and explain humansymptoms and clinical signs of specific diseases that may occur in dogs, cats,small animals, fish, birds, reptiles and amphibians, as well as how to respondto and report suspected zoonotic disease in both animals and humans.
“We at PIJAC and PIDA worked with Dr. Tom Edling, DVM, MSpVM, MPH, along withother specialists and experts across the pet care, veterinary and health carecommunities to develop this chapter,” said Savonne Caughey, PIJAC’s directorof government affairs. “Their input, along with content from fact-basedresources such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s HealthyPets, Healthy People initiative, makes this an outstanding resource that willhelp protect human and animal health for years to come.”
Source: www.pijac.org
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