Bellevue, WA, Jan. 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pet Partners, the nation’s leading organization registering therapy animals for animal-assisted interventions, is excited to announce their inaugural Pet Partners Pet of the Year fundraising competition is now open for nominations. Pet candidates and their human teammates will raise funds for Pet Partners’ Therapy Animal Program which brings unconditional love, happiness, and healing to millions of seniors, patients, veterans, children, and others in need around the world.
The competition is open to all pets, not just therapy animals, and proud pet parents and pet lovers across the country are encouraged to nominate their own pet or someone else’s pet to participate in the six-week fundraising competition for the national title of 2022 Pet Partners Pet of the Year, which kicks off on February 1 and runs through March 15. The title will be awarded to the pet whose team raises the most funds during the competition. All pet candidates, teammates, family, and friends will be invited to join a live virtual celebration on Pet Partners’ Facebook page on March 16 as they crown the 2022 Pet Partners Pet of the Year and award the winner with thousands of dollars' worth of prizes for their fundraising and awareness-building efforts, including taking part in a professional photoshoot, being featured on the cover of Pet Partners’ national magazine, participating in national media interviews, and many more fabulous pet-oriented prizes.
“At Pet Partners, we are motivated by connection, compassion, and a commitment to sharing the human-animal bond with everyone who can benefit from time spent with an animal, and we know pet parents feel this same connection with their beloved pets,” said C. Annie Peters, President and CEO of Pet Partners. “Through fundraising events like Pet Partners Pet of the Year, thousands of registered therapy animal teams are able to make millions of visits annually.”
A Facebook Live event on January 10 at 12:00 p.m. PT/3:00 p.m. ET will officially announce Pet Partners’ new signature event, Pet of the Year, moderated by renowned pet expert and radio host Steve Dale. During this virtual event, Dale and Pet Partners’ staff will discuss nominating candidates, signing up to participate, making donations, all the fun prizes, and more!
Funds raised through Pet Partners Pet of the Year competition support Pet Partners’ Therapy Animal Program, which is made up of visiting therapy animal teams who bring comfort and joy to members of the public, typically in facility settings such as hospitals, nursing homes, schools, libraries, airports, and at workplace well-being events. Pet Partners teams make millions of visits per year, touching lives and improving health around the world.
For more information on Pet Partners Pet of the Year, please contact Jamie Baxter at jamie@theimpetusagency.com or visit petpartners.org/petoftheyear.
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About Pet Partners
Pet Partners is the national leader in demonstrating and promoting the health and wellness benefits of animal-assisted therapy, activities, and education. Since the organization’s inception in 1977, the science proving these benefits has become indisputable. With thousands of registered teams making millions of visits annually, Pet Partners serves as the nation’s most diverse and respected nonprofit registering handlers of multiple species as volunteer teams. Pet Partners teams visit with patients in recovery, people with intellectual disabilities, seniors living with Alzheimer’s, students, veterans with PTSD, people who have experienced crisis events, and those approaching end of life, with the goal of improving human health and well-being through the human-animal bond. With the release of its Standards of Practice for Animal-Assisted Interventions and international expansion, Pet Partners is globally recognized as the industry gold standard. For more information on Pet Partners, visit www.petpartners.org.
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