Bandar Utama’s Central Park was a hive of activity recently over the weekend, taking on a carnival atmosphere of sorts. The merriment was in celebration of certain four-footed creatures who are beloved all around the world as perhaps the most endearing friend of mankind. We’re talking about dogs, of course, and the event Paws Day Out 2022 with Royal Canin – a leading brand in health through nutrition for cats and dogs – came as part of its Take Your Pet to the Vet campaign.
Besides engaging with “pawparents” and their dogs within a fun environment, the event was specifically aimed at raising awareness about their global campaign to highlight the importance of veterinary care for pets, in order to enable them to lead better and healthier lives.
The Take Your Pet to the Vet (TYPTTV) campaign in Malaysia follows a survey conducted in December 2021, which sought feedback from pet owners in all states across the country. In a rather disconcerting finding, the survey results showed that more than four in 10 pet owners do not take their pets to the vet for regular check-ups, but only when the pet is unwell. More alarmingly, the survey also found that more than 15% of pet owners surveyed said that they have not taken their pet to a vet at all.
“Royal Canin, as a health through nutrition company, we aim to MAKE A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS by delivering tangible health benefits to each cat and dog through precise nutrition and services to promote the well-being of cats and dogs. We do this in a respectful, responsible, and sustainable way towards pets, people, and planet. We are dedicated to help improving the health of pets across the globe by emphasising the need for preventive care, an often forgotten yet crucial habit for pets’ health and wellbeing. That’s why we also raise the awareness in Malaysia, so our team can engage with the pet owners in Malaysia and emphasise on the importance of speaking to the vet and getting your pets a regular check-up.” said François-Regis Ponçon, General Manager of Royal Canin’s Southeast Asia cluster (Indonesia/Thailand/Malaysia/Philippines).
Paws Day Out 2022 sought to engage with dog owners and their pets with a host of fun, human and animal-friendly activities and initiatives, including free health assessments for pets by Royal Canin vets who were on-site to provide preliminary check-ups for dogs.
Pet owners were also given digital vouchers, which can be redeemed at any Royal Canin partner veterinary clinics, in addition to other goodies and redemption giveaways.
However, more enamouring was the fact that the event also sought to get pet owners to pledge “I will take my pet to the vet” – a rather sweet but significant gesture, which received positive response and participation from visitors.
“We had more than 120 dogs present the entire day, and it was heartening indeed to see so many dog ‘pawrents’ coming forward to pledge to take their pet to the vet. In total, we received 123 pledges which were substantiated with 130 veterinary voucher redemptions following the event! This is very important to us at Royal Canin, because we see our responsibility extending far beyond ensuring the quality of our products, to also promote and champion the complete wellbeing of pets through responsible pet ownership and the discovery of joy from owning a pet and remind us to take care of our pet’s health since they make a better world for us” said Teh Meng Li, Marketing Head of Royal Canin Malaysia.
Stemming from the positive response at the event, Francois and Meng Li also said that Royal Canin will conduct events periodically to continuously encourage more pet owners to kickstart a regular practice of taking their pets to the vet. These include a similar event, which will be held soon, specifically aimed at cats and cat owners.
Today, Royal Canin works closely with pet professionals, including veterinarians, animal nutritionists and professional breeders to not only to design the most precise nutrition for cats and dogs, but also to develop a variety of services, monitoring and diagnostic tools to help owners understand and care better for them.
