Company to provide support to Heartland Canines for Veterans
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio, April 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Petland, Inc. is excited to name the Heartland Canines for Veterans organization as one of its national charities.
Heartland Canines for Veterans is a 501(c)(3) organization that provides companion, service and therapy dogs for disabled veterans.
“Since 1967, Petland’s focus has been matching the right pet to the right customer and enhancing the human animal bond,” said Elizabeth Kunzelman, Director of Public Affairs. “We are very pleased and honored to support the work of Heartland Canines for Veterans and are grateful to be able to help enhance a veteran’s life with a furry best friend and companion.”
The mission of Heartland Canines for Veterans is to provide companion, service, and therapy dogs for disabled veterans. Heartland Canines for Veterans was established as an active 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in 2015 and is led by a team of Missouri Pet Breeders. Heartland provides dogs that have been donated by professional breeders from the Missouri Pet Breeders Association. Each one of these dogs undergoes about 12-14 months of professional training to be able to aide veterans in the following areas (but are not limited to these): PTSD, seizure response, hearing disabilities, mobility assistance, and diabetic alerting. Heartland works with an affiliate veterans’ organization, Compass Quest, to identify candidates and their needs. Since their founding, they have placed two dogs and currently have four in training.
The average cost to raise and train each service dog is $7,200. Petland, Inc. has committed to supporting the cost of one dog per year for five years.
Veterans can go to the www.heartlandk9s.org website for more information and to fill out an initial application.
Petland, Inc. is a franchise operation with quality, full service retail pet centers across the United States, Canada, Japan, China, Mexico, South Africa, Brazil and El Salvador. For more than 47 years, Petland Pet Counselors have been dedicated to matching the right pet with the right person and meeting the needs of both. To its customers who already have pets, Petland is dedicated to enhancing their knowledge and enjoyment of the human-animal bond. Petland was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in south central Ohio. For more information on Petland, visit www.petland.com.
