ABOUT BestShepherd PEACHES —
Press Release: Thursday, May 14, 2009

The following article is about a BestShepherds.com dog named Peaches that achieved "Big-Time recognition" in the American Kennel Club's Companion Animal Recovery program. This is an excerpt from an official AKC press release:

AKC Companion Animal Recovery Celebrates Its Four Millionth Pet Enrollment

"Peaches" [a BestShepherds dog] is Honored
Along with Connecticut State Police K-9 Heroes

Hartford, CT – AKC Companion Animal Recovery (AKC CAR), the nation’s largest and only non-profit pet recovery service, announced today that "Peaches," a 5-month-old German Shepherd Dog from West Hartford, Connecticut, owned by Tom and Anne Decker, became its four millionth enrollee when his microchip identification number was added to its database. In a special ceremony at the State Capitol today, Peaches, along with Connecticut State Police K-9 officers were honored with the latest in pet recovery technology.

"From beloved family pets like Peaches to the working K-9s that keep our cities and borders safe to even the nation’s First Dog, "Bo" Obama who is an enrollee, AKC CAR is dedicated to the safe return of lost dogs," said Tom Sharp, CEO of AKC CAR. "To date, AKC CAR has helped reunite over 360,000 pets with their owners and donated hundreds of free lifetime enrollments to protect working law enforcement, military and service dogs. The more pets we enroll translates into more animals being safely returned home."

Giving Back
To celebrate AKC CAR’s historic milestone and staying true to its non-profit mission of "giving back" to the community, AKC CAR donated 50 microchips and free lifetime recovery service enrollment to all 80 Connecticut State Police K-9 officers. These working K-9s provide life-saving services to state residents and beyond. Being protected with microchips will aid in recovery should these valuable canine officers be separated or stolen from their human partners.

The Connecticut State Police K-9 unit will also receive a $5,000 Search and Rescue grant from the AKC CAR Canine Support and Relief Fund to help purchase GPS handheld units and a laptop for training search and rescue teams. The Fund not only provides grants to search and rescue teams, but also disaster relief to care for companion animals displaced by natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires.

As the lucky four millionth pet enrolled, Peaches’ lifetime AKC CAR enrollment will be upgraded to include Pet Poison Helpline™ support and Lost Pet Alert services. Peaches will also receive a new SpotLight GPS Pet Locator collar unit from Positioning Animals Worldwide (PAW) and a two-year service plan enabling "24/7" recovery assistance if the pet ever gets lost. A special rescue button on SpotLight can be pressed to alert recovery representatives that the pet has been found.

"My Dad was a veterinarian and I saw first hand how lost dogs ended up at his practice, and without the identification that would allow a safe return to their owners," said Tom Decker. "Peaches is a family member and having him microchipped will increase our chances of getting him back should he be stolen or run off chasing a squirrel. Knowing Peaches would be returned to us because of the microchip or his new SpotLight is a huge comfort."

"We are thrilled to team up with AKC CAR to provide Peaches and millions of other pets with the first-ever comprehensive tracking and recovery service," said Chris Newton, CEO of PAW. "SpotLight demonstrates the natural evolution of safeguarding your pet. We're glad to merge this advanced technology with the best recovery team to provide the most compelling level of pet protection available."