Poor U.S. Economic Data Prompts Municipally Owned Animal Control Agencies to Move to PetPoint

OAKVILLE, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - July 21, 2011) - Pethealth Inc. ("Pethealth" or the "Company") (TSX:PTZ) – Economic data from the United States relating to job losses and municipal budget cuts is prompting more animal control organisations to seek outsourcing their software and data hosting needs to Pethealth Inc., owners of the PetPoint animal management application.

Introduced in 2005, nearly 1,700 animal welfare organisations have now licensed PetPoint, the most widely used software among animal welfare organisations in North America. As a hosted solution, PetPoint allows licensed animal welfare organisations to outsource their animal management software and data hosting needs, saving them thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars a year in IT-related infrastructure costs. Over the course of 2011, these organisations are expected to account for nearly 900,000 pet adoptions and 2.5-million intakes of animals.

While PetPoint quickly became the leading software of choice for humane societies, SPCAs and rescue groups, many municipally owned animal control agencies were initially reluctant to license the application due to restrictions on third party data hosting. Recently, however, a growing number of these same municipalities have turned to PetPoint, recognising that in an era of fiscal restraint and job cuts at the state and local levels, IT outsourcing is now an effective way to reduce costs while maintaining the necessary degree of public service.

"Recent U.S. job numbers and this month's weekly initial job loss claims reveal job loss at the state and local levels, while regrettable, help to explain why more municipally owned animal control organisations are looking at companies like ours to help reduce IT costs and create operating efficiencies," said Mark Warren, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pethealth Inc. "The reported job losses in the government sector and the ongoing fiscal crisis make PetPoint an obvious choice for these organisations to satisfy their management software and data hosting needs."

PetPoint 4.0, the latest version launched in May, is available free of charge to all animal welfare organisations using the Company's 24PetWatch microchip program. The City of Irving Animal Care Campus in Texas is an example of one of the larger animal control agencies to move to PetPoint.

"PetPoint has not only allowed us to significantly reduce our operating costs with respect to our IT-related infrastructure, but has also improved the daily operations of our facility," says Fred Sanderson, Animal Services Manager for the City of Irving Animal Care Campus in Texas. "As a flexible, integrated platform through which we can easily track animal history, medical information, and licenses, as well as perform timely, professional reporting, PetPoint has become an invaluable tool for our municipal animal care and control department."

Among the most recent municipal animal control agencies to license PetPoint is the Henry County Animal Care and Control in Georgia.

"As the Chairperson for the Animal Welfare Association of Georgia, I have heard several members sing the praises of the PetPoint animal management system," says Gerri Yoder, Director of Henry County Animal Care and Control in McDonough, GA. "I have heard about ease of access, fabulous training and technical support, as well as the collateral advantages of using the system, such as the complimentary gift of pet health insurance for adopters, reduced cost microchips, and Petango. It is with great excitement that I can announce we are now part of the PetPoint family. I look forward to quickly and easily computerizing our calls for service, shelter animals, adoptions, rescues, traps, bite reports, incident reports, statistical information and more with this user-friendly system."

Of the nearly 1,700 licensed users, approximately 200 are municipally owned animal control agencies. Additionally, a number of licensed users that are registered tax-exempt, non-profit organisations (501c3s) have also contracted with their local municipalities to fulfil animal control functions.

"PetPoint provides the most comprehensive data collection resource during animal intake coupled with diversified reporting capabilities," says Frank Valente, President and CEO of the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast in Palm City, FL. "This has helped us improve our communication with our county partners. We are able to better quantify the impact of the services we provide for our community with more detailed and effective reporting. In addition, we do not have to export data into other formats or create formulas to break down data, which helps us operate more efficiently in house."

Pethealth's 24PetWatch microchip program also provides animal welfare organisations significant cost savings compared to alternative brands over and above the savings generated through using the PetPoint animal management application.

"By combining PetPoint with Pethealth's 24PetWatch microchip program we are now also saving over $12,000 a year in the cost of our microchips," added Sanderson.

Over 4.5-million dogs and cats are now registered in the Company's lost pet recovery database with the 24PetWatch call centre offering 24/7/365 lost pet recovery services.

About Pethealth

Pethealth is a leading provider of companion animal services in North America. In addition, the Company is the leading provider of management software to North American animal welfare organisations through its SaaS-based application and is the leading provider of pet related database management services to the North American companion animal industry. Pethealth offers a unique range of products and services for veterinarians, shelters and pet owners through a number of wholly owned subsidiaries using a range of brand names including PetCare, 24PetWatch, PetProtect, petPals Direct, ShelterCare, PetPoint, Petango.com and ThePetangoStore.com.

Pethealth is based in Oakville, Ontario. To find out more about Pethealth, visit the website at www.pethealthinc.com.