‘Yours’ readers and celebrities to decide the next PAT Dog of the Year
The readers of Yours magazine together with a celebrity panel will decide who will win Pets As Therapy’s coveted ‘PAT Dog of the Year 2007’ award.
The annual event, sponsored by Town & Country Petfoods’ HiLife brand, seeks out the winning Pets As Therapy (PAT) dog. This is based on testimonies submitted by medical staff and carers as well as patients and residents of hospitals, hospices, residential homes, special needs schools and similar establishments throughout the country that are regularly visited by the charity’s 3,000 volunteers and their dogs.
In its 28 August issue, Yours featured the finalists and invite its readers to join with a celebrity panel to cast their votes to decide the winning dog. At an awards ceremony in November the winner will receive a specially designed Birkdale crystal trophy, a cheque for £500 from HiLife and three months’ supply of HiLife dog foods. Five runners-up will each receive £100, a month’s supply of HiLife dog foods and a piece of Birkdale crystal.
Explains Pets As Therapy Chief Executive Maureen Hennis: "The event recognises the tremendous work carried out by PAT dogs and their owners, bringing much needed therapeutic support to over 100,000 people every week. It also helps us bring what they do to the attention of the public. We couldn’t do this without the invaluable sponsorship of HiLife and this year we are also delighted to welcome on board Yours magazine and its hundreds of thousands of readers. We are grateful to them for joining with us to make PAT Dog of the Year 2007 what I am sure will be the best yet."
"We are proud to be supporters of Pets As Therapy and in particular to have been sponsoring PAT Dog of the Year for the past five years," said Town & Country Petfoods Managing Director Tony Parkinson. "Having a leading publication like Yours as media partner further helps bring a much-valued focus to PAT’s very worthwhile work and raises the profile of both the event and the charity itself more than ever."
