Eukanuba and Longtime Partner Canine Companions Celebrate 50 Years of Service Dogs

For over 30 years, Eukanuba has supported Canine Companions with science-based, premium dog food tailored to the unique needs of service dogs.

ST. LOUIS, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- July 2025 marks 50 years since the creation of the concept of the modern service dog. EUKANUBA™, a leader in science-based, premium dog nutrition and part of the Mars, Incorporated family of brands, is proud to partner with the first and largest provider of service dogs, national nonprofit Canine Companions®.¹ 

In 1975, Canine Companions trained Abdul, the first service dog trained to assist someone with a physical disability.² He and his handler, Kerry, were the first of more than 8,300 service dogs to graduate from Canine Companions, improving the lives of children, adults and veterans with disabilities and providing specialized support to professionals working in healthcare, education and criminal justice. 

For more than 30 years, Canine Companions and Eukanuba have been dedicated to a mutual commitment to provide premium nutrition through all stages of life, developing an understanding of the relationship between this nutrition and the unique physical and mental performance of Canine Companions puppies and service dogs. 

"Fifty years of service dogs means 50 years of life-changing bonds between task-trained service dogs and their recipients," said Jason Taylor, vice president, Eukanuba. "Eukanuba is honored to support both the ongoing legacy and daily nutritional needs of Canine Companions dogs through all stages of development and celebrate the impact they make, particularly during this milestone year."

"Canine Companions is proud of our longstanding partnership with Eukanuba to provide premium nutrition for our life-changing service dogs," says Jeanine Konopelski, Canine Companions chief marketing officer. "Eukanuba and Canine Companions are a perfect match – fueling service, awareness and ultimately, more independent futures."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one in four U.S. adults have a disability.³ Many face physical barriers to meeting daily needs, such as turning on light switches and carrying a grocery bag. One in four service dogs from accredited programs in North America come from Canine Companions. Currently, hundreds of people are on the waitlist to receive a Canine Companions service dog, which is provided at no cost to the recipient.⁴

In celebration of Canine Companions' 50th anniversary, their National Conference will take place in Santa Rosa, California, from July 18–20, 2025, featuring a keynote address reinforcing the brand's partnership and commitment to nutrition from Racquel White, vice president of corporate affairs, Royal Canin North America, and nutritional education from Eukanuba.

To learn more, visit www.eukanuba.com/us/canine-companions or canine.org.

References 

1. Canine Companions. "Canine Companions New Look, Same Exceptional Mission."
   Canine Companions, 18 May 2021, https://canine.org/news/brand-announcement/. 
2. Canine Companions. "Who We Are." Canine Companions, n.d., https://canine.org/about/who-we-are/. 
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. "Disability Impacts All of Us." Disability and Health, 15 July 2024, 1 MB PDF, www.cdc.gov/disability-and-health/media/pdfs/disability-impacts- all-of-us-infographic.pdf. 
4. Canine Companions for Independence. "Help End the Wait." Canine Companions, 2025, https://canine.org/helpendthewait/.

About Eukanuba
With over 50 years of research, Eukanuba offers a complete food lineup, and delivers exceptional, customized nutrition. Eukanuba's products cater to all types of dogs and are categorized according to life-stage, size and health-and-performance requirements. For more information visit www.eukanuba.com. 

About Canine Companions:
National nonprofit Canine Companions is celebrating 50 Years of Independence. In 1975, a door towards greater independence was opened for people with disabilities — and it all started with a dog. Canine Companions invented the concept of the modern service dog to assist people with physical disabilities, empowering people with disabilities to live with greater independence. As the first and largest provider of service dogs, Canine Companions serves adults, children and veterans with disabilities and professionals working in health care, law enforcement, and educational settings. Since our founding in 1975, we have provided these services at no cost to the recipient. Canine Companions is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) and has eight locations across the country serving all 50 states. Learn more at www.canine.org or call 1-800-572-BARK (2275).

About MARS, INCORPORATED
Mars, Incorporated is driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As an approximately $55bn, family-owned business with 150,000 Associates, our diverse portfolio of leading pet care products and veterinary services serve pets all around the world and our quality snacking and food products delights millions of people every day. We produce some of the world's best-loved brands including ROYAL CANIN®, PEDIGREE®, WHISKAS®, CESAR®, DOVE®, EXTRA®, M&M'S®, SNICKERS® and BEN'S ORIGINAL™. Our international networks of pet hospitals, including BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, VCA™ and ANICURA™ deliver high quality veterinary care and ANTECH ™ offers breakthrough capabilities in pet diagnostics. For more information about Mars, please visit https://www.mars.com/. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Media Contact: AmyJo Hasselquist, [email protected]

SOURCE Eukanuba