Merck Animal Health Announces HomeAgain® Helps Campaign Finalists

MADISON, N.J., Sept. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Merck Animal Health's pet recovery service, HomeAgain^®, announced finalists for its "HomeAgain Helps" campaign, which honors exceptional shelters throughout the country that have made a lasting difference in the lives of lost and unwanted pets. The eight finalists, who were chosen from thousands of nominations, were selected based on providing exceptional service to pets in need through work such as reuniting lost pets, celebrating adoptions, engaging in animal rescue efforts and aiding in pet population control. The finalists' profiles are now available:

"The work that these shelters do and the differences they make in our communities are often overlooked," said Kathleen Heaney, D.V.M., director of companion animal technical services, Merck Animal Health. "They provide lost and unwanted pets with so much more than just food, water and shelter. Often times, their efforts – socialization, behavioral training, veterinary care – help transform shelter animals into adoptable pets. It's because of their significant contributions that we embarked on this campaign to acknowledge their commitment and true spirit of giving."

The public is encouraged to visit the HomeAgain Helps site to vote for the winner through Sept. 30. Winning shelters will be announced during National Shelter Appreciation Week in November. The grand prize winner will receive a prize package valued at $30,000, with four runner-up shelters each receiving a smaller prize package valued at $9,000.

HomeAgain is an advanced lost pet recovery service dedicated to the safety and well-being of pets. As the leader in microchip and pet recovery services in the United States, HomeAgain partners with veterinarians, shelters and volunteers to reunite more than 14,000 pets each month. For more information, visit www.homeagain.com.

About Merck Animal Health
Today's Merck is a global healthcare leader working to help the world be well. Merck Animal Health, known as MSD Animal Health outside the United States and Canada, is the global animal health business unit of Merck. Through its commitment to the Science of Healthier Animals™, Merck Animal Health offers veterinarians, farmers, pet owners and governments one of the widest range of veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines and health management solutions and services. Merck Animal Health is dedicated to preserving and improving the health, well-being and performance of animals. It invests extensively in dynamic and comprehensive R&D resources and a modern, global supply chain. Merck Animal Health is present in more than 50 countries, while its products are available in some 150 markets. For more information, visit www.merck-animal-health.com or connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter at @MerckAH.

Merck forward-Looking Statement
This news release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Merck's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends toward health care cost containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; Merck's ability to accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk; dependence on the effectiveness of Merck's patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.

Merck undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in Merck's 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC's Internet site (www.sec.gov).

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SOURCE Merck Animal Health