Merrick’s teams up with K9s For Warriors

K9s For Warriors and Merrick Pet Care are joining together to help American military veterans and shelter dogs. Merrick’s support will aid K9s For Warriors’ mission of pairing specially trained rescue dogs with veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disability (PTSD) and/or traumatic brain injury (TBI), helping them readjust to civilian life.
“More than half a million war veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disability and struggle to see that there is life after combat,” said Shari Duval, president, K9s For Warriors. “K9s For Warriors offers these Warriors a home to heal – and the support of a service dog – so they can go back out into the world again and feel safe.”
As K9s For Warriors exclusive dog food partner, Merrick will provide each service dog with all their meals and training treats as they train for their service of empowering their Warriors to return to civilian life with dignity and independence. The dogs will enjoy healthy recipes made in Merrick’s kitchens which start with USDA-inspected deboned meat, fresh produce and contain high-quality and levels of protein. Merrick uses no ingredients from China, and handcrafts its recipes in its Hereford, Texas, USA, kitchen.
“K9s For Warriors takes shelter dogs and turns them in to heroes,” said Greg Shearson, CEO of Merrick Pet Care. “These dogs know what their Warriors need without having to be told and if we can play a role in helping them do their job by providing them with superior nutrition and quality care, then we should be proud.”

America's VetDogs working to change US military veterans' lives

Service dogs like Benjamin from America's VetDogs change the lives of US military veterans.
Proper nutrition and feeding a quality petfood are especially important for dogs that act as service and guide dogs, said Wells Jones, CEO of the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind and America's VetDogs, which train dogs to serve US military veterans and blind people. Speaking as the closing keynote for Petfood Forum 2014 on April 2, Jones discussed how his organization selects, breeds, trains and feeds its dogs that are matched with veterans like Joseph Worley, who served in Iraq as a Navy corpsman and also spoke.

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America's VetDogs, founded in 2003, trains dogs to assist veterans of all eras and active military personnel with tasks such as standing up, walking, opening and closing doors, retrieving objects, barking for alert and much more. Jones said America's VetDogs also now partners with petfood company Bil-Jac to offer a line of dog treats whose sales support veterans. The organization is a part of the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, which was originally established in 1946 to assist veterans who lost their vision in World War II.
The foundation has its own breeding program for the service puppies in both programs, with some of the dogs being descendants from dogs first bred in the 1960s. Jones explained that the foundation relies on volunteers and prisons to raise the puppies and teach them basic obedience at 7-8 weeks of age for about a year, at which time the dogs return to the foundation's program for formal service dog training. In order to enter the service dog program, dogs must pass a multi-level skills test, including retrieving of metal, wood, plastic and cloth, and a public access test. Dogs are primarily labrador retrievers and golden retrievers, as well as standard poodles, german shepherds, and a labrador retriever and golden retriever mix, he said.  
After a dog has completed its service dog training, it is carefully matched with a student. Jones referred to these service dogs as a "designer dog," meaning that the foundation works to understand exactly what a person needs in the dog, and then a service dog is selected to meet their precise needs, taking into account capability, lifestyle and pace. 
Once a student is matched with the right service dog, the student usually comes to the foundation's campus in New York, USA, to complete a training program that takes 12 days. Jones explained that the foundation's campus includes a student residence hall with 17 private rooms where students stay during their training, a training center equipped with kennels and training space, and a veterinary center.  

Service dogs change lives
Following Wells, US veteran Joseph Worley spoke with his service dog, Benjamin, about the dramatic impact on one's life that these service dogs make. 
Worley joined the Navy in 2002, and he lost his left leg in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004. Worley explained that he was working as a medic and was running toward a vehicle that had been hit by an IED, when he was also hit by an IED. 
Two years after putting in an application for a service dog from America's VetDogs, Worley received Benjamin in October 2008. Worley said that after he returned from Iraq, his family gathered around to support him. "Despite that support system, when Benjamin entered my life, he became an integral and vital part of that," Worley said. 
Worley explained that Benjamin not only helps him physically by helping him brace to stand up, stabilize him when walking, retrieve objects and more, but he also added, "Benjamin gives me confidence." 
"These animals can save people's lives and change people's lives," said Worley. 

PetSmart, Canine Companions partner to help wounded military veterans

A new partnership will help more wounded veterans get access to and information about a potentially life-changing assistance dog. PetSmart for Patriots is a joint endeavor between PetSmart and Canine Companions for Independence, in support of Canine Companions' Wounded Veterans Initiative to help partner assistance dogs with the military veterans who need them. Since 1992, Canine Companions has placed 102 assistance dogs with military veterans, with the number of dogs placed tripling since 2008. Many of those dogs have been placed with men and women who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and returned with spinal cord injuries, limb amputations and deafness.

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"This program is very personal to me-as a combat veteran, I know how hard it is to come back and transition to civilian life," said Bruce Thorn, PetSmart senior vice president of store operations and services. "It is that much harder to transition when you've been injured. To be able to have a service dog who loves you unconditionally and is able to help you live a better life, is priceless."
 PetSmart is teaming up with Canine Companions not only financially, but also to raise awareness of assistance dogs among veterans. In the next 6-12 months, veterans with disabilities will be able to visit any PetSmart store and learn about Canine Companions and what they need to do to get their own assistance dog. In addition, a number of patriotic-themed services in PetSmart stores will roll out in the summer of 2014 to honor the nation's brave men and women in uniform. A portion of proceeds from special grooming packages, PetsHotel services and training activities will benefit Canine Companions.
"Canine Companions is pleased to team up with PetSmart to help expand the reach of our Wounded Veterans Initiative and ensure that all dog lovers-whether they're veterans or not-are aware of the important work that assistance dogs can provide," said Corey Hudson, CEO, Canine Companions for Independence and a Navy veteran. "Over 50,000 servicemen and women in the U.S. military have been wounded since the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Hearing loss is the most prevalent service-related disability for military veterans and an assistance dog can significantly improve these veterans' lives."

US Paralympian thanks petfood industry during Petfood Forum 2013 keynote

Assistance dogs trained by C.H.A.M.P., including Twix, help their disabled owners perform many daily tasks.

U.S. Paralympic medalist Kerri Morgan gave the keynote address at Petfood Forum 2013 on Tuesday, April 16, thanking the petfood industry for making safe, quality foods for service dog, Twix.
Morgan, a winner of two bronze medals at the 2012 London Paralympics, acquired her service dog Twix, a black Labrador Retriever, from C.H.A.M.P. Assistance Dogs Inc. C.H.A.M.P., Canine Helpers Allow More Possibilities, is a St. Louis, Missouri, USA-based nonprofit organization that trains and places service dogs for people with disabilities, at no cost. 
Morgan, who was born with a disease that left her disabled since age 1, explained that although she was independent before getting Twix, her support dog helps her perform tasks much quicker than she could, saves Morgan’s energy and helps decrease her pain. Morgan received Twix after the dog underwent two years of specialized training to become a support dog. Twix is trained to perform a variety of tasks to aid Morgan in everyday life, from holding her lunchbox and picking up shoes, to retrieving her dropped keys and holding open doors. Morgan and Twix even demonstrated a “Go 911” command, where Twix is trained to fetch a special 911 phone and bring it to Morgan in the case of an accident. 




Morgan and Twix demonstrated their "Go 911" command during her keynote speech at Petfood Forum 2013.

She noted the importance of creating safe, nutritious petfood not only for companion animals, but also for service animals, whose owners rely on the dogs daily. 

Companion animal session to be offered at Alltech Symposium

Members of the pet industry can gain practical knowledge from the companion animal session being offered at Glimpse2020, the 29th annual Alltech International Symposium, taking place in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, May 19-22. 
The session features a lineup of presenters, including Debbie Phillips Donaldson, editor-in-chief of Petfood Industry, as well as veterinarians, corporate leaders and researchers representing companies such as Proctor & Gamble, Champion Petfoods and Ainsworth Pet Nutrition.
Presentations will address topics including how to lower disease through nutrition, the role of DHA in the future of pet health, the holistic pet movement, building brands for the petfood industry, global trends for the future of petfood development and advancing pet health through nutrigenomics. Break-out session tracks will also offer attendees the chance to participate in focused discussions ranging from algae and agriculture’s carbon footprint to nutrition and marketing.
Registration for Alltech’s 29th Annual International Symposium is open now and available for an early discount price of US$599 until April 15 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Standard registration after April 15 will be $850.

Trouw Nutrition donates Kevlar vests to working K-9s

Deputy Justin Biggs' German Shepherd, Boss, received a Kevlar vest donated by Trouw.

Each year, Trouw Nutrition, supplier of premix and specialty ingredients, gives back to companion animals for their hard work and dedication. Trouw's most recent donation was of 10 Kevlar vests to help protect working K-9s--dogs in the military, law enforcement and homeland security that are put in danger each day when doing their jobs.
Trouw purchased the vests from Kevlar for K-9s, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to help protect America’s working K-9s. One of these vests would reportedly cost nearly US$840 for a department to purchase for a K-9.“It was a good match,” said Lesley Gerard, marketing project coordinator for Trouw. “We are always looking to ways to give to pets.”




Scott Saalborn's Dutch Shepherd, Brix, from the Quincy, Illinois, USA, police department also received a Kevlar vest.


Trouw donated the Kevlar vests to 10 different locations throughout the US during the 2012 holiday season. Recipients included police and sheriff’s departments in California, Georgia, Illinois and Indiana.
“These vests are a vital tool to help us protect our partner,” said Deputy Justin Biggs of the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department in Illinois, whose partner, Boss, received one of the donated vests.