Fort Smith Area K9 Units Receive Tracking Devices, Inspired by Hero

FORT SMITH, Ark., Aug. 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Mars Petcare and Whistle are teaming up to create a safer world for K-9 officers by donating Whistle GPS Pet Trackers for all K-9 officers in the Greenwood Police Department, Fort Smith Police Department and Sebastian County Sherriff's Department. Members of the Fort Smith community banded together with Mars Petcare and Whistle following a local tragedy. Greenwood Police Department K-9 officer, Kina, was shot in the line of duty and it took search crews two days to find her and begin treatment.

Russell Hayes, Mars Petcare Arkansas Site Director, where Cesar and Sheba brands are made, was touched by the community's efforts.

"Pets are an important part of our families, and when we look at the K-9 officers who serve our community, they have a special place in our hearts as well," he said. "As a long-standing member of the Fort Smith community, we knew immediately that we wanted to contribute once we heard about the community's mission to support Kina and our other K-9 officers."

Following the shooting and disappearance of K-9 Kina, Fort Smith residents were determined to raise funds to equip all of their K-9 officers with GPS trackers – ensuring their K-9 officers can be easily found after fleeing a situation. Mars Petcare and Whistle were inspired by Kina's story and the community's efforts to protect the dogs who take on the special role involved in serving as a K-9 officer. The companies partnered together to outfit the K-9s with Whistle GPS devices and fund the first year's subscription fee, allowing the community's fundraising efforts to go toward future years' device subscriptions, ensuring a safer future for Sebastian County K-9 officers.

"Service animals are raised to care for humans in a remarkable way. New technology, like Whistle GPS Pet Tracker, is being used to help protect them in return," said Ben Jacobs, Co-founder and CEO of Whistle. "We know that K-9 officers are trained to flee a situation when necessary. Because of this inspiring effort from the Fort Smith community, the K-9 officers' teams will be able to quickly find and track any K-9's location when they need it most."

For more information on how Mars Petcare and Whistle are working to improve the lives of pets, visit https://www.facebook.com/ABetterWorldforPets or www.whistle.com.

About Mars Petcare US

Mars Petcare is the world's leading pet nutrition and health care business that strives to make A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS® every day. We believe that pets make our lives better and that pet ownership brings joy and benefits which should be accessible to everyone. In the United States, Mars Petcare food brands include PEDIGREE®, IAMS®, ROYAL CANIN®, GREENIES®, CESAR®, NUTRO® and SHEBA®. Veterinary practices include BANFIELD® and BLUE PEARL®. Specialty brands include WISDOM PANEL® Canine DNA Tests and WHISTLE GPS Pet Tracker. The company's WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition® is a leading scientific authority on pet nutrition and wellbeing. Mars Petcare has more than 37,000 Associates worldwide. For more information about how we're creating A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS™, visit https://www.facebook.com/ABetterWorldforPets.

About Whistle

Whistle is the pet tech brand born out of a love for pets. Founded in 2012 by Ben Jacobs, Steven Eidelman, and Kevin Lloyd, Whistle is on a mission to equip pet owners with simple tools that help them stay connected to their pets from anywhere. The award-winning flagship product, Whistle GPS Pet Tracker, combines best in breed location tracking with activity monitoring to offer the 150 million pet parents in the U.S. peace of mind about their best friends. For more information about Whistle visit www.whistle.com or www.facebook.com/whistlelabs or www.twitter.com/whistlelabs.

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SOURCE Mars Petcare US