Ned Flaxman from Zoetis presents a cheque to Anne Clilverd (second left), Chair of Pets as Therapy, accompanied by some of the charity's volunteers

Zoetis Partners With Pets As Therapy To Recruit More Volunteers

7 years ago
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Posted
9th November, 2016 08h50

Zoetis is supporting Pets as Therapy (PAT) in a fund-raising campaign to increase awareness for the charity and boost the number of PAT volunteers to 20,000 by 2020.

Launching the initiative with a £10,000 donation, Zoetis will be raising additional money through sales of Simparica, the monthly flea, tick and mite treatment, which is the only product indicated for 99% of ticks found in the UK. In addition, Zoetis will donate £1 to Pets as Therapy for every pack of Simparica sold through their e-voucher promotion.

Pets as Therapy provides community based, animal assisted therapy to people in need throughout the UK. Over 5,000 volunteers share their time and their pets by visiting residential homes, hospitals, hospices, schools, day care centres and prisons.

In addition to enhancing the lives of people in care, Pets as Therapy is working with schools to improve literacy skills with its read2dogs scheme.  Around 6,000 children per week are currently benefiting from the initiative.

All breeds of dogs and cats can become part of a PAT team, as long as they have been with their owner for more than six months, are over 9 months of age and able to pass a temperament assessment. It is very important that the PAT pets are in optimum health so Zoetis will be providing free Simparica to 5,000 PAT dogs to help protect them from fleas and ticks.

It is hoped that, with help from Zoetis, PAT’s recruitment drive to attract more volunteers will be given a huge boost to help the charity achieve its 20,000 goal.

Ned Flaxman, Zoetis companion animal business unit director, comments: “We nominated Pets as Therapy as our chosen charity this year because it really demonstrates the huge benefits people gain from pets, especially those most in need. It calls itself a humanitarian charity with people at its heart, but that’s only half the story. Those inspiring and dedicated volunteers who give up their time to help others are assisted themselves by their loyal pets. It’s a perfect example of people and animals working in partnership to benefit others.

We are hoping that the Simparica promotion will raise awareness, as well as funds, for PAT and encourage more pet owners to volunteer for the charity. There are also huge opportunities for vet practices to embrace the campaign and help enlist support for PAT with their local community.”

Anne Clilverd, Chair of Pets as Therapy, adds: “Pets as Therapy has some very exciting and ambitious plans as we head towards 2020, so we are delighted to partner with a company such as Zoetis that is known for its innovative and forward-thinking approach. With Zoetis’ help, we are looking forward to working more closely with vet practices and forming an even stronger PAT community.”

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