Honoring Hero Dogs and Cats at the Rose Parade

If you didn't see the 2018 Rose Parade on January 1st, you missed seeing the Lucy Pet Paws for Life float that honors hero dogs and hero cats.  The float featured brave animals that have saved and protected human lives. From Tara the Cat who fought off a stray dog who attacked the family toddler, to Sirius, the military working dog who served bravely alongside his handler, 22-year-old Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Ashley, who was killed fighting in Afghanistan. Also featured was Jax the K9 officer in the Oxnard Police Department, rocket the Search and Rescue dog, to Surfin Jack a therapy dog. Here is a clip of the TV coverage about our Lucy Pet float:
Lucy Pet Paws for Life Rose Parade 2018 KTLA5 Coverage from Lucy Pet on Vimeo.
As a side note, Lucy Pet is proud to honor these hero pets. It is part of the mission to help animals through their Lucy Pet Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) charity. Lucy Pet also has really great dog and cat food where proceeds go to help support the Lucy Pet Foundation. Check out Lucy Pet Formulas for Life dog and cat foods, at local pet stores or online too. Lucy Pet also has Cats Incredible litter, an awesome litter that actually stops ammonia from forming in the litter box.

Honoring Pet Heroes Who Have Saved Human Lives

On January 1st, 

Lucy Pet

​ will be participating the annual Tournament of Rose​

’s 

​parade, in Pasadena, CA. This will be Lucy Pet's ​

third Rose Parade, and we couldn’t be more excited

​! The Rose Parade is an opportunity for us to share our message about helping animals, and raising awareness of the Lucy Pet Foundation.​

We're especially proud of this year's float. 

The Rose Parade theme this year is “Making A Difference,” and our float, “Paws for Life,” honors animal heroes who, all together, have saved over 200 human lives! Look for us during the second half of the parade; we are float number 79. Tune in to the Rose Parade on January 1st starting at 8 am PST, or watch it live on Amazon Prime.

Paws for Life Lucy Pet Rose Parade 2018
Visit https://www.lucypetproducts.com/rose-parade/2018-pawsforlife/ for more info

We worked with Fiesta Parade Floats—the most award-winning float builder in Rose Parade history to create an amazing float, fit for our animal heroes! Thousands of volunteers worked hundreds of hours to create our spectacular float, using organic plant materials including flowers, seeds, petals, bark, leaves, and more. 

Watch the Rose Parade on Monday, January 1st, to see the brave animals that have saved and protected human lives on our incredible Lucy Pet “Paws for Life” float. From search and rescue dogs to a fearless feline, we salute these courageous animals for putting themselves in the line of danger to rescue and defend humans in need.

To read more about our float, visit the Lucy Pet website.

Celebrate International Assistance Dog Week with Lucy Pet & KTLA

Help Lucy Pet and KTLA TV celebrate International Assistance Dog Week!  Upload a photo of your pet to Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag #PickMyHeroLucy and tell us why he or she is your hero. To enter click here.

Guide Dog Heroes Brunch Honoring Betty White

Today I attended the 6th annual Heroes Brunch, an event benefiting the Guide Dogs of the Desert. The Guide Dogs of the Desert are one of my favorite non-profit organizations in Palm Springs. I am proud to have had the opportunity to work with them for over five years already. This year's honoree was Betty White. No doubt you already know that this amazing lady has won seven Emmy Awards during her 60+ year career in Hollywood. You probably are already aware she is known as an animal advocate, having helped numerous shelters and animal related causes throughout her life. In addition to all this, she has also been a huge supporter of non-profit guide dog programs for many years. I've also been involved with Guide Dog fundraisers for several years and had the opportunity to see Betty White's passion for these incredible dogs. Betty White's current dog 'Pontiac' is a retired guide dog. She told me that "old dogs have a special place in my heart' which is why she adopted Pontiac.

Dick Van Patten, Betty White and his wife Pat Van Patten

Actor and animal lover Dick Van Patten attended the Heroes Brunch to day, in support of his friend Betty White. His pet food company, Natural Balance Pet Foods (for whom I work) has long been a supporter of guide dog schools nationwide. It was great to see Betty White and Dick Van Patten together, sharing a few laughs, and helping raise awareness about the important work guide dogs do to help visually impaired people.

Dick Van Patten, Betty White & Tom Sullivan

Dick told me he and his wife were so happy to be with their friend Betty as she was honored for her work to help the Guide Dogs of the Desert of Palm Springs. Seated next to Betty in this photo is Tom Sullivan. She and Tom are long time friends and also co-authors of The Leading Lady, a true story about Mr Sullivan's first guide dog Dinah, and the impact she had on both of their lives (Betty ended up adopting Dinah when she retired from her work as a guide dog). It was a great event, I'm so proud of what Natural Balance does to help this wonderful organization here in our beautiful desert.

September is National Service Dog Month

For the past several years I've considered it a privilege to work with and help raise money for non-profit guide dog organizations across the US. 

Right here in Palm Springs, the Guide Dogs of the Desert are a local organization that really helps change lives for the blind and visually impaired. It takes 2 years and $40,000 to train a single guide dog, which is given at no charge to a visually impaired person. My employer, Natural Balance Pet Foods has been a big supporter of guide dog programs for many years. Once again we are partnering with Petco to help with another fundraiser. 

This year, we've expanded it to National Service Dog Month. There are many types of service dogs; and this September we are highlighting Guide Dogs and Military Working Dogs. Our co-founder Dick Van Patten is passionate about helping non-profit animal organizations, so this comes naturally to our company. When we learned about a new National Monument to honor Military Working Dogs, we wanted to help raise money to get the monument built. Part of the funds raised during Service Dog Month will help fund the monument.

This is the first time in history that an animal is being elevated to National Monument status. Approved by Congress and signed by the President, the challenge now is to raise private funds to get the monument built. Check out this video message from Dick Van Patten and Jimmy Van Patten about National Service Dog Month:

I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Washington, DC to go to Congress and help with this project. I met with US Congressman Walter Jones (NC), who sponsored this project in Congress.

John Burnam, Congressman Walter Jones and Rick Rockhill

I'm so honored to be associated with this project, it makes me feel proud to work for Natural Balance Pet Foods. From September 2nd through September 22nd, you can go to any Petco store nationwide and donate at the register to help support National Service Dog Month. 

This September, please consider making a donation at your local Petco to help support and honor Service Dogs. Guide Dogs and Military Working Dogs deserve our support!