Hill’s Pet Nutrition names assistance dog of 2017

Hill’s Pet Nutrition has named its Assistance Dog of the Year for 2017.

Scout, a five-year-old golden retriever from Texas, acts a companion dog for Duncan, a 17-year-old boy with cerebral palsy. He provides practical support for his owner, while also acting as a companion and social bridge to others.

“Assistance dogs work every day to improve the quality of their owner’s lives,” said Jolle Kirpensteijn, DVM, PhD, chief professional relations officer at Hill’s Pet Nutrition. “This competition was an opportunity to work with our veterinary healthcare team colleagues to celebrate the outstanding contribution that assistance dogs make and to champion the amazing organizations that train them.”

Hill’s partnered with the veterinary journal Clinician’s Brief for the competition. Veterinary professionals were encouraged to nominate outstanding assistance dogs. A panel of independent veterinarians then selected three monthly winners and Scout was selected from the three as the grand prize winner. The other two monthly winners are Honey, a German Shepherd, who assists a wheelchair-bound veteran in Florida, and Lena, a Doberman pinscher who alerts her owner if she is going to have a seizure.

Scout will receive a two-year supply of Hill’s Science Diet pet food and the Hill’s will make a $1,000 donation to Canine Companion for Independence, the organization that trained Scout. Lena and Honey will each receive a one-year supply of food.

You can watch a video about Duncan and Scout or read the stories of different service dogs of the week submitted for 2017.

Photo credit: © iStock/Cylonphoto

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