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IMMEDIATE RELEASE: RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE, KIDS, PARENTS, VETERANS BENEFIT FROM 133rd WESTMINSTER KENNEL CLUB DOG SHOW AS UNO & DAVID FREI ARRIVE Animal Planet’s Show ‘Drs. Foster & Smith Faithful Friends’ Educate and Encourage Pet Parents about Therapy Dogs and Their Benefits This Saturday New York, NY (Feb. 5, 2009) – Several recent “Best In Show” Winners from the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show have become part of its’ “Angel On A Leash” program. Over the years, these champions and now therapy dogs, have been visiting health care facilities, schools, hospices, correctional facilities, extended care residents and crisis clinics. On Saturday at 9 AM, Animal Planet’s hit show “Faithful Friends presented by Drs. Foster & Smith Pet Supplies” highlights the work of numerous animals and people who daily enrich patient’s lives through the power of the human-animal bond. In 2008, Uno the “Best in Show” Champion together with David Frei, the voice of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, visited injured Iraq veterans at the Walter Reed Hospital and numerous Ronald McDonald Houses from coast to coast. Their celebrity status allowed them to visit the White House, sign hundreds of autographs, walk the Red Carpet with stars like Matthew Perry, Jennie Garth and Brad Garrett, and further the awareness of these amazing unconditional friends. “Uno walks in to a room, and immediately the energy changes. His presence gives patients and parents alike a chance to think about things other than the challenges they feel every day.” said David Frei, who is also president of Angel On a Leash. “I can’t tell you how many times a parent has told me, this is the first time my child has taken a step out of the stroller or had a smile all week.” A therapy animal can bring sparkle to a dull day, provide a lively conversation, and rekindle old memories of previously owned pets. Therapy dogs come in all shapes and sizes; real dogs with real personalities and real love to share. They provide interventions in education, mental health, occupational therapy, and therapeutic recreation, physical therapy and stress management. “We have had children lift of the ear of a dog, and tell him of their abuse and we have seen a Cockatoo bring out a smile and words from a patient that hasn’t spook in a year” said Robin Cohen, PET Manager of the Helen Woodward Foundation and guest on Saturday’s show. Robin shares her experience of over 4,000 visits with a variety of animals from a dog, cat, rabbit, bearded dragon, a horse and a cockatoo that has made over 15,000 visits. “The therapy animal does not recognize that a child has no hair due to chemotherapy, it does not recognize that the elderly person has I.V. lines or has lost weight” said, Dr. Marty Smith, Co-Founder Drs. Foster and Smith Pet Supplies, who added “people relate to the dog or other therapy animal because it doesn’t see them as sick, just a person that desires unconditional love and a faithful friend.” The 133rd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show will take place Feb. 9-10 at Madison Square Garden in New York City and can be seen on USA and CNBC. During the Pre-Event activities of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, Uno and David Frei will be visiting a Ronald McDonald House with Josh Bleill, an Iraq veteran from Greenfield, IN, whom they visited at the Walter Reed Hospital in 2008. They will also be attending the “Angel On A Leash Best In Show” Benefit that is sold out on Saturday night at the Affinia Hotel in New York. ‘This was one of the most rewarding shows to write and produce, these four-footed therapists and their pet parents enhance the health and well being of people everyday.” stated Tony Loiacono, Creator and Executive Producer of Faithful Friends, he added “to see a therapy dog stimulate a child stricken with a neurological disorder like Autism to a smile or encourage a spontaneous reaction by a Alzheimer patient is just amazing” -###- About Doctors Foster and Smith: Doctors Foster and Smith, a privately owned company, is the #1 catalog and online seller of pet supplies and pharmaceuticals in the industry. Doctors Foster and Smith is known for empowering pet owners by providing extensive veterinarian-supported advice, proprietary information and quality pet products, serving millions of pet owners from coast to coast via their extensive website and publications, and the television series “Faithful Friends presented by Drs. Foster and Smith Pet Supplies” on Animal Planet as produced by Heads & Tails, Inc. Dr. Race Foster and Dr. Marty Smith have become the nation's foremost authorities on pet wellness, pet care and pet-owner education, earning an unmatched reputation for the scope of their veterinary expertise on dogs, cats, fish, birds, reptiles, pond life, small animals and equine. For more information, visit -###- For additional information about Doctors Foster and Smith’s Faithful Friends, please contact
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