National Pet Day Mark your calendar for April 11 and

3500 BCE WALKING THE DOG

The dog collar is believed to have been invented in Mesopotamia, based on a wall painting depicting a man with a collared dog on a leash.

900 BCE HELLO KITTY

Phoenician traders bring the first domesticated cats to Europe.

National Pet Day is April 11, although if you’re a pet owner, you know there’s not a day that goes by that you don’t celebrate your animal companion! So hug your hedgehog, bond with your bunny, and cut your kitty some catnip! That critter makes you happy — and that’s not all. Over the past 10 years, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has been a partner in research to determine the physical and mental benefits of having a pet. It turns out that not only can pets steal our hearts, but they also contribute to overall cardiovascular health by lowering cortisol, cholesterol, and blood pressure levels.

History of National Pet Day

Colleen Paige, animal welfare advocate, and pet and family lifestyle expert, founded National Pet Day in 2006 to celebrate the joy pets can bring to us. But she also wanted to bring attention to the ongoing needs of many pets of all kinds waiting in shelters to be adopted. She encouraged people who want purebred dogs and cats to contact rescue organizations instead of going to a breeder. “Don’t shop! Adopt!” has become the holiday motto.

In 1973, the Humane Society of the United States estimated that 13 million cats and dogs enter shelters every year. Some were strays, some were surrendered by owners who could no longer care for them, some were seized in legal actions. Today, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, approximately 6.5 million companion animals enter shelters nationwide. And 1.6 million cats and 1.6 million dogs find their furever homes.

Colleen’s holiday got its start in the U.S., but it soon expanded internationally. Pet lovers now mark the day in the U.K., Ireland, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Spain, Guam, Scotland, and many more nations.

Celebrities have also taken up the cause. National Pet Day has been promoted by 1866 DOGGED DEFENDER

Taylor Swift, Ellen De Generes, Ricky Gervais, Cee Lo Green, Jimmy Fallon, Willy Nelson, Kevin Bacon, Seth Myers, and Carrie Underwood, among others.

And social media has helped spread the celebration and promote Colleen’s cause. When President Barack Obama was in office, he warmed political hearts on both sides of the aisle with his posted pic of Bo, one of the two Portuguese water dogs who shared the White House with him. Bo was rehomed when he couldn’t get along with an older dog owned by a family in Texas.

Henry Bergh founds the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in New York after witnessing a carriage driver in Russia beating a fallen horse three years earlier.

2017 ONE-TRICK PONY

Japanese feline Maru is certified as the most viewed animal on YouTube after 10 years of diving into boxes.

The press release 4 Legs & A Tail received in spring of 2020 did not include K-9 Kidz and their generous friends that sponsored a fundraiser for Nitro's vest. The following is an updated press release to thank K-9 Kidz for their help in this donation.

Lebanon Police Department’s K9 Nitro has Received Donation of Body Armor

Lebanon Police Department’s K9 Nitro has received a bullet and stab protective vest thanks to a charitable donation from non-profit organization Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. K9 Nitro’s vest was sponsored by a fundraiser hosted by K-9 Kidz LLC and was embroidered with the sentiment “Honoring those who served and sacrificed.”

K9 Nitro joined the Lebanon Police Department K9 Unit in November 2018. He is partnered with K9 Officer Nicholas Alden. Officer Alden and K9 Nitro graduated the 42nd Drug Detection Course through the Vermont Police Canine Academy in February 2019 and graduated the Vermont Police Canine Association’s 39th K9 Patrol & Evidence School and the 2019 K9 Tracking

Nitro showing off his new vest thanks to K-9 Kidz fundraiser

& Evidence School in November 2019. K9 Nitro is a male German Shepherd purchased from Hop River Shepherds in Connecticut. To learn more about the Lebanon Police Department’s K9 Teams, please visit the Police Department’s website.

Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. is a 501c(3) charity located in East Taunton, MA whose mission is to provide bullet and stab protective vests and other assistance to dogs of law enforcement and related agencies throughout the United States. The nonprofit was established in 2009 to assist law enforcement agencies with this potentially lifesaving body armor for their four-legged K9 officers. Since its inception, Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. provided over 3,500 U.S. made, custom fitted, NIJ certified protective vests in 50 states, through private and corporate donations, at a value of $5.7 million dollars.

The program is open to dogs actively employed in the U.S. with law enforcement or related agencies who are certified and at least 20 months of age. New K9 graduates, as well as K9s with expired vests, are eligible to participate.

The donation to provide one protective vest for a law enforcement K9 is $950.00. Each vest has a value between $1,744 – $2,283, and a five-year warranty and an average weight of 4-5 lbs. There is an estimated 30,000 law enforcement K9s throughout the United States.

For more info or to learn about volunteer opportunities, please call 508-824-6978. Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. provides information, lists events, and accepts taxdeductible donations of any denomination at http://www.vik9s.org or mailed to

P.O. Box 9 East Taunton, MA 02718. Spring 2021