Pet Product News - October 2016

CHEWS HAPPINESS

Tavor White, CEO Boulder, Colo.

After a trip to Bhutan, which measures its country’s progress in Gross National Happiness, a concept that focuses less on making money and more on protecting the environment, my wife and I moved to the Colorado mountains and brought a puppy named Bouncer into our lives. When finding safe, high-quality dog products with “good vibes” proved difficult, we got an idea: Why not start working with the Bhutanese and create great products that promote happiness?

We work very closely and collaboratively with our extremely talented artists. We create new supply chains and are intimately involved in product design, microloan financing, equipment procurement, material specification and qualification, and handmade fabrication scale-up.

All of our dog creations are handcrafted in Bhutan from luxurious yak down. Working with partners in a developing country 8,000 miles away is not easy, but we now employ eight to 10 Bhutanese women master weavers and knitters who would not otherwise have a source of income. We provide them a means to support their families, empower them by providing them with their own source of fairly traded incomes and enable them to maintain their traditional woven arts.

CENTRAL GARDEN & PET CO.

Kevin Jones, senior brand manager, pet health and wellness Walnut Creek, Calif.

We teamed up with Code 3 Associates Inc., a 501(c)( 3) nonprofit dedicated to providing professional animal disaster response and resources to communities, to protect animals during disasters. From April 1, 2016, through Sept. 30, 2016, for each bottle of Adams Shampoos and Adams Sprays sold by retailers in the U. S., Central Garden & Pet, the makers of Adams Flea & Tick Control, donated

$1 to Code 3 to help animals in need during times of disasters—up to $150,000.

Code 3 has conducted recognized animal-related disaster and law enforcement training throughout the U. S. for more than

25 years and provides professional technical animal rescue and recovery to communities affected by man-made or natural disasters.

FIDOBIOTICS

Aden Hirtle, digital marketing specialist Ogden, Utah

This year marks our second year supporting the Humane Society of Utah by providing a gift basket for its annual Wags to Wishes Gala, which raises funds to support the society.

We also support Best Friends Animal
Society and its annual Strut Your Mutt cam-
paign in Salt Lake City. Last year, as an event
sponsor, Fidobiotics provided 300 product
samples for gift bags and donated 100 boxes
of product for giveaways.
We’ve also donated over 300 samples of
our Immuno Boosto line to the Animal Shelter
of the Wood River Valley and the Animal Care
Center in West Bountiful, Utah, to help dogs
who might be experiencing allergies, food-
related illnesses and/or seasonal ailments.
During the holidays, we will donate more
than 200 units of Good Guts and 200 units
of Immuno Boosto to the Humane Society
of Utah.

FLUFF & TUFF

Ellen Lawson, owner Bloomfield, Mich.

We give back through product donations and our annual holiday charity toy. Organizations have included Peace and Paws, Start a Snowball, Montgomery County Shelter in Maryland, The Ronald McDonald House of Western Washington and Alaska, The Fix Foundation and The Barking Lot Rescue/Shelter. We just debuted our fourth annual Holiday Charity Toy: the Candy Cane.

The toy is available from October 2016 to January 2017 through our independent retail partners, and we donate 100 percent of the profits from the sale of these toys through the Fluff & Tuff Charitable Foundation, whose mission is to make a big difference for small organizations that are committed to helping animals in need.

HIKARI SALES USA INC. Chris Clevers, president Hayward, Calif.

We are strong supporters of Pets in the Classroom because we feel that investing in exposing kids to aquatics, as well as other pets, provides a fantastic opportunity to not only impact the lives of children in a positive way by exposing them to animals and to nature, but also to, in a grassroots way, bring more people in to aquariumkeeping. It’s a true investment for the long-term future.

When it comes to support, we provide funds, product and volunteer hours. Exclusive of industry organizations, we are the largest cash donator to Pets in the Classroom. We donate product that brings donations that help us donate more funds to Pets in the Classroom, and we donate our staff’s time in a big way to make this program a success.

INTERNATIONAL
VETERINARY SCIENCES

Ara Bohchalian, CEO Anaheim, Calif.

This year our giveback focus has been on providing K9 police officer dogs and military working dogs (MWDs) with proper supplement programs.

IVS has sponsored an ongoing, 12-month supplement program for multiple Southern California active duty police K9 units in addition to the U.S. War Dog Association, where we donated more than $11,000—or

40 cases—to these brave MWDs coming off
of active duty and in need of all the support
and health benefits they can get.

We currently are in talks to expand our giveback program to other military dog associations and police K9 divisions throughout the country.

KRISER’S NATURAL PET

Brad Kriser, founder and CEO Multiple locations in California, Colorado, Illinois and Texas

Our amazing Kriser’s customers, and the Kriser’s Pack, raised $20,000 and used it to help Wings of Rescue send off four Freedom Flights of dogs and cats to communities and no-kill shelters with the space and need for adoptable friends. Wings of Rescue is a nonprofit organization, supported entirely from donations, and in May, hundreds of our customers chose to round up their transactions to the nearest dollar in order to support the program.

NORDIC NATURALS

Jackie Hansmann, marketing Watsonville, Calif.

During Q3, we partnered with a Los Angeles school and Carter’s Kids—a nonprofit organization founded by TV personality Carter Oosterhouse that is dedicated to creating and promoting awareness of fitness and self-esteem for America’s youth as a way to encourage healthy play and activity—to build a playground.

This quarter, we are partnering again with Paws and Stripes, a 501(c)( 3) nonprofit organization based in New Mexico that delivers comprehensive and lifelong support to our veterans while saving the lives of shelter dogs that would otherwise face euthanasia.

NULO PET FOOD

Jeremy Humble, vice president of brand and marketing Austin, Texas

Throughout 2016, Nulo will donate 10 meals of pet food to a local animal shelter for every ace that Nulo ambassador John Isner serves at select ATP World Tour events. He ranked 2nd in 2015 on the ATP World Tour for 1,260 aces served. To say the least, Isner’s dominant serve is one of the toughest in the world to return, and Nulo is going to be giving away a lot of pet food.

OXBOW ANIMAL HEALTH Deann Venditte, marketing coordinator Murdock, Neb.

Since the mid-1990s, Oxbow Animal Health
has provided a discount on its feeds to
rescue organizations through its Oxbow
Cares program. Since 2001, we have awarded
monetary funding through the Oxbow Rescue
Grant program to organizations seeking
medical support, feeding needs, educational
programs and building renovations.

In addition to the programs available to rescue organizations, we proudly supply them with product support, literature, community outreach and professional advice on nutrition.

PETSAFE/RADIO SYSTEMS CORP. Tracy Mulder, marketing manager for PetSafe brand Knoxville, Tenn.

Last year PetSafe contributed more than $3.5 million in volunteer support, grants and product donations to organizations working to improve animal welfare or youth education.

Other charitable works include:

• $100,000 and thousands of products
donated to U. S. shelters last year
• A team of PetSafe associates dedicates
countless hours to organize the annual Knox-
ville K9 Cancer Walk and PetSafe Black Tie
& Tails Gala, which supports Morris Animal
Foundation
• The PetSafe Shelter Product Program
sends products to qualifying animal rescue
groups in the greater Knoxville area
• Since 2014, PetSafe brand has donated
more than $20,000 to Peaceful Kingdom for
the Go North Transport Collaborative
• Last year, the PetSafe Philanthropy
Committee donated over half a million dollars
and 160,000 products to pet welfare causes
in the U. S. and around the world

P.L.A. Y. (PET LIFESTYLE
AND YOU)

Natalie Hennessy, public relations and integrated marketing manager San Francisco

From working directly with local shelters to donating products through our Warm Bellies Initiative with the Petfinder Foundation and contributing to fundraising event efforts, animal welfare always has been a staple of our business.

P. L.A. Y. gives back in a variety of ways including funds, products and volunteer hours. Currently, 2 percent of the purchase price from our Under the Sea Toy Collection and Bugging Out Toy Collection benefits the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

In our newest partnership with ZERO—The
End of Prostate Cancer, we donate 10
percent ( 20 percent during the month of
November) of the purchase price from our
Mustache Beds to help end prostate cancer
by advancing research, encouraging action,
and providing education and support to men
and their families.

Our Scholars Helping Collars Scholarship, now in its fourth year, awards one high school student who can best describe the impact he or she made in the life of a rescue animal or animal welfare cause a $1,000 scholarship toward their college education.

Our team also volunteers annually within our local community. For example, we host bi-annual adoption events with Muttville Senior Dog Rescue, a local rescue in San Francisco, at our headquarters. With every adoption, we give away a free eco-friendly round or rectangle pet bed.

RADAGAST PET FOOD

Tracey Hatch-Rizzi, co-founder and vice president Portland, Ore.

Radagast supports WildCat Ridge Sanctuary, a 501(c)( 3) nonprofit, no-kill, “last hope” sanctuary in Scotts Mills, Ore.

We support the incredible work they do, providing beautiful lifetime homes for captive and abused wildcats. They have rescued hundreds of wildcats and hybrids that have the most amazing, and often very sad, histories.

We have donated several tons of food, both Rad Cat and other meat products, to help keep the big (and small) cats fed. They also have a yearly fundraiser that we happily provide monetary support for because they rely solely on fundraising and donations.

Leading the Charge for Charity
The pet industry’s compassion and
generosity extends to programs for
animals as well as their environment
and the humans who love them.

To read more Paw It Forward
coverage, please go to page 58
of the USA Marketplace.
A young cougar developed feline
panleukopenia, or distemper, and refused
to eat anything but Rad Cat Turkey. Caden
is now 10 years old and beautiful, with
slight nerve damage from the illness.
Kriser’s raised $20,000 to help Wings of Rescue send off four Freedom Flights.