Petland K-9 Support Grows to 26 in Ohio

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio, May 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Petland is proud to announce its support of 26 service dogs in the Central Ohio area with the recent addition of Hilliard Police Department's three K9 units.

Petland's national Community Service outreach includes offering support to local police, sheriff and fire departments. The support is most often a feeding program, supplies or fundraising for specific items, such as bite-suits or training gear.

In March, the Petland store in Hilliard began a feeding program for the Hilliard City Police Department K-9 unit, which includes Officer J.D. Lightfoot and his K-9 partner Eros, Officer Jim Large and his K-9 partner Oz, and Officer Tony LaRosa and his K-9 partner Kane.

"K9 units from the Hilliard Division of Police have served our community since 2006.  Our K9 units have performed a variety of functions that include detecting narcotics, searching buildings, recovering evidence and locating suspects who have fled from the police, all of which continue to contribute to the effort to make our community a safe place to live, work and play," said Sergeant Lightfoot, K-9 handler for the Hilliard Division of Police.

Petland stores in Ohio currently support K-9 police units in Athens, Fayette, Gallia, Jackson, Licking, Perry, Pike, Morgan, Ross and Vinton counties. In Ross County, Petland also provides support for the Fire Department K-9 and PJ, a Canine Companion Therapy Dog with the Child Protection Center

"PJ has touched the lives of numerous children and hopefully that made their process through all their trauma seem a little bit better. PJ and I appreciate all the supplies that Petland was able to provide for her," said Ashley Muse, PJ's handler. "PJ wouldn't have been possible without the support of our community."

In addition to providing support to K-9 units in the central Ohio area, Petland franchisees around the country provide a variety of assistance for their local units. On a national level, Petland, Inc. recently named the Heartland Canines for Veterans organization as one of its national charities.

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 501c3 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.

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 49 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.

SOURCE Petland, Inc.

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