"It's a combination of joy, gratitude and pride," Veterinarian Dr. Jon Remer said. "We are going to be able to have all Sebastian County service dogs protected as far as knowing their location. That's something we felt was important and we've accomplished it."
An anonymous donor also donated a GPS collar to Greenwood K-9 Kina.
"Seven [collars] are being donated in combination with Whistle Corporation, the owner of the modules and Mars Petcare," Dr. Remer said. "They have contributed 50 percent in and Mars Pet Care is underwriting the first year of service for all the service dogs."
The GPS tracking collars will help K-9 officers in more ways than one.
"It'll be great for them," Mars Pet Care Plant Manager Russell Hayes said. "Not only will it give them GPS tracking, but these Whistle devices also provide information back on the chloric intake that the pets need. It's an activity tracker on top of a GPS tracker."
Dr. Remer is one of the brains of the operation and he said he never imagined the outcome of his idea would be this big.
"We just feel very good to know we have a local corporate citizen in Mars Pet Care that was willing and able to help us with this endeavor," Dr. Remer said. "I think they understood the concern that we had and through their company largess, through their generosity, they were able to make this happen for us, and we certainly appreciate it."
These collars are just one way Mars Pet Care has supported local officers.
"It makes me proud for the company I work for, that we would get involved and just open our hearts to the community in this way," Hayes said. "Our partnership with the K-9's, from our agility course that we have here at the site to now doing this, we love being involved with supporting those officers."
The presentation of the GPS Collars for K-9's will be on Friday (Sept. 16) at the Mars Pet Care Facility gazebo at 10 a.m.