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Petco Foundation awards $5,000 grant to MWDTSA

This photo shows a retired military working dog who attended a Petco Foundation Helping Heroes fundraising event.

The Petco Foundation is investing $5,000 in MWDTSA’s care package program! This grant will help purchase supplies that can be hard to find in a combat environment. We send items such as thermometers, paw protection, grooming products, and collapsible water bowls to enhance safety and comfort for our four-legged troops. Many of the teams we support serve in remote areas and harsh climates. They regularly tell us they value the supplies we send each quarter.

Since its founding in 2006, MWDTSA has sent over a million dollars of care packages to deployed MWD teams. “These packages are the only piece of mail that some MWD teams will receive during a combat deployment. This grant from the Petco Foundation is an integral part of our quarterly care package program. We are grateful for the steadfast generosity of the Petco Foundation and their supporters,” said Nikki Rohrig, MWDTSA’s President.

The Petco Foundation’s annual Helping Heroes campaign funded the MWDTSA grant. The campaign, which takes place each October in Petco locations nationwide, supports the life-changing work of service, therapy and working animals.

For more information about MWDTSA, visit https://www.mwdtsa.org/. For more on the Petco Foundation, visit petcofoundation.org and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram by using the hashtag #HelpingHeroes.

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About Military Working Dog Team Support Association, Inc.

A national, all-volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit, MWDTSA supports Military Working Dog teams in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard. Each team consists of a dog and a handler, and their mission is force protection—explosives detection, tracking, patrolling, specialized search, and drug detection. They put their own lives at risk to save the lives of other soldiers and civilians every day. To learn more about how you can help MWDTSA support both ends of the leash, contact president@mwdtsa.org or visit https://www.mwdtsa.org/.

About the Petco Foundation

At the Petco Foundation, we believe that every animal deserves to live its best life. Since 1999, we’ve invested more than $260 million in lifesaving animal welfare work to make that happen. With our more than 4,000 animal welfare partners, we inspire and empower communities to make a difference by investing in adoption and medical care programs, spay and neuter services, pet cancer research, service and therapy animals, and numerous other lifesaving initiatives. Through our Think Adoption First program, we partner with Petco stores and animal welfare organizations across the country to increase pet adoptions. So far, we’ve helped more than 6 million pets find their new loving families, and we’re just getting started. Visit petcofoundation.org to learn more about how you can get involved.

 

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“It takes a village”

This photo shows the Soda Pup "Heart on a String" rope toy, along with the front and back of a card we enclosed in each care package describing the collaboration with Dita the Hairmissile Dog. It takes a village to fill each care package.

We often say, “It takes a village” to fill our quarterly care packages. Four times a year, we send out approximately 200 large USPS Flat-Rate boxes, and we aim to fill them completely. Many thanks to the following Q1-2019 corporate donors…

Scout Troop 171 in Boulder, Colorado periodically sells coffee to raise money for backpacking trips and Scout camps. This year, they added an option for non-coffee drinkers—the opportunity to donate coffee for MWDTSA care packages.

Creative collaboration

This photo shows the three coffee blends MWDTSA included in Q1-2019 care packages.Sticks Coffee in Superior, Colorado also hosted a coffee fundraiser. As patrons streamed in from hockey tournaments, the cashiers asked, “Would you like to add a $10 donation to your purchase today to send coffee to a deployed military working dog handler?” Signs on the doors and at the register invited customers to take part in the drive.

Meanwhile, 822 miles away, Coffee.org of Fort Smith, Arkansas offered a stunning bulk purchase discount. This allowed donor dollars to stretch further to cover 100 percent of MWDTSA’s Q1-2019 coffee needs. We sent three small bags of coffee in each Q1 box, including a special blend that Coffee.org formulated specifically for MWDTSA. The label featured our “You and me” Q1 logo and the words “Reveille Blend: Just like the bugle, this coffee will wake you up!”

A neighborhood effort

This photo shows packets of Smokehouse Jerky Company Gourmet Brisket Beef Jerky.A post to the Oh-Oh-Two-Seven Facebook page, which serves zip codes 80027 and 80026, brought forth additional offers of help. Louisville Realty Associates (LRA) asked about our greatest Q1 needs. We had not yet secured Q1 jerky donations for handlers or dogs, so they took on that activity.

The same week LRA stepped forward, Smokehouse Jerky of California offered another generous bulk purchase discount. LRA, Nickerson Marketing, and Deep End Solutions pooled resources to fund the jerky purchase for handlers. Additionally, LRA made a personal introduction to a friend at Buckley Pet, a local dog treat manufacturer. Buckley Pet donated 200 bags of Skin & Coat Beef Jerky, enough to send one in every care package.

For the handlers…

This handsome FIFTY/FIFTY 20-ounce tumbler displays the Truckers for Troops logo.OOIDA (Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association) of Grain Valley, Missouri sponsors a “Truckers for Troops” fundraiser each year. Taking advantage of a generous discount from FIFTY/FIFTY, OOIDA purchased 200 coffee tumblers for our Q1-2019 boxes.

We stuffed these 20-ounce tumblers to the brim with donations from Juanita’s Pepitas, Perfetti Van Melle, Phillips Pet Food & Supplies, Picky Bars, Sweetwood Smokehouse, and VerMints.

Other handler surprises included dried apricots from Mariani Packing Company; Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almonds; Honey Stinger waffles; Cocomels from JJ’s Sweets, Inc.; cooling wipes from Duke Cannon; and magazines from 5280.

Each handler also received a t-shirt emblazed with “You and me, Malintine,” in honor of Valentine’s Day. We are grateful to Christian Print Shop, Inc. of Alpharetta, Georgia for their long-term support of MWDTSA with high-quality t-shirts. And to the five Kohl’s employees from the Louisville, Colorado store, who folded all 200 t-shirts into plastic bags with size labels!

The students of Jefferson Academy in Broomfield, Colorado created art to include in the care packages. This school has supported MWDTSA with art three times—Q4-2016, Q4-2017, and Q1-2019.

For the four-legged troops…

Woobamboo donated Large-Breed toothbrushes for the second year in a row.

A Petco Foundation grant, coupled with bulk purchase pricing from Prima Pets, enabled us to send a sturdy collapsible dog bowl in each care package.

Rex Specs hosted a donation drive in December to collect protective eyewear for our military working dog teams.

“Dita’s Donation Drop,” sponsored by Dita The Hairmissile, plus a matching program by SodaPup, yielded 200 Heart-on-a-String toys for our Q1-2019 boxes. And yes, these dogs do have our human hearts on a string.

Thanks to the annual KONGs for K9s drive, we included the KONG Extreme Tire in each care package. Numerous retailers and veterinary clinics help with this drive each year—including three that contributed to Q1-2019 care packages in other ways. Action-Packed Pup collected both tires and undercoat rakes. Kriser’s Natural Pet in Westminster, Colorado invited us to do an in-store event to collect tires and dog jerky.

A special shout-out to Chuck and Don’s Pet Food & Supplies (Longmont, Erie, and Arvada, Colorado). The Longmont store has hosted MWDTSA for in-store fundraising events for 30 straight months. They have taken part in the KONGs for K9s drive for three years. They have led our quarterly care package assembly twice. The managers of the Erie and Arvada stores, along with an Arvada team member, spearheaded our Q1-2019 packing event.

And last but not least…

Hats off to the Louisville (CO) Police Department for hosting our 2019 packing event and allowing us to make a temporary mess in the basement of the police station. We are grateful for your hospitality—two years in a row.

And to the United States Postal Service in Louisville, Colorado for spending a Sunday with us for the second year in a row. It was amazing to have you at the end of our packing line, and you worked tirelessly to get the boxes to the Post Office on a cold night, well after sunset.

Many thanks to all who made the Q1-2019 care packages possible, including a multitude of Amazon Wish List donors. UPS Store 1905 graciously received the many Amazon boxes and manufacturer donations, holding packages for us until we could pick them up. Nashville Wraps provided bags and ribbon for packaging donated candy.

Your contributions allow us to support both ends of the leash, and we are grateful.

Interested in helping with future care packages? Here are 14 ways to get involved, including a link to our Amazon Wish List. Or reach out to president@MWDTSA.org.

 

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14 ways to support military working dog teams

This photo shows care packages items sent in Q1-2019 to support military working dog teams.

If you, a group, or your company would like to support military working dog teams, here are several ways to get involved. Pick something from the following list, or use these ideas as inspiration for a new endeavor. It takes a village to fill our quarterly care packages. We invite you to join us in supporting both ends of the leash.

1) Donate 200 of an item.

We try to make each quarter’s care packages relatively uniform, so that all recipients are getting the same dog toys, snacks, etc. This means we need 200 of any item we’re planning to send. Every quarter, we aim to include made-in-USA jerky, dog treats, human snacks, grooming products, and other supplies. If your company makes a product you think handlers or their dogs might like, let’s talk! If you are able to provide the full quantity of an item, we add you to our sponsor page (https://www.mwdtsa.org/sponsors/). We also highlight your involvement via our social media channels.

2) Provide a bulk-purchase discount.

If you are not able to outright donate 200 of a particular product, consider offering a bulk purchase discount. If MWDTSA can buy your product below wholesale cost, the difference between your discounted and wholesale price is tax-deductible. We provide a donor acknowledgement letter for your tax records.

3) Offer a matching program.

Customers buy one, and you throw in a second—so we end up with two care package items for the price of one.

4) Team together to sponsor a care package item.

Maybe you’re a real estate company or high-tech firm that doesn’t manufacture products, but you’d still like to help fill care packages. MWDTSA can match you with a bulk-purchase discount, enabling your organization’s donation dollars to have more purchase power.

5) Plan a fundraiser.

In the past, volunteers have coordinated golf tournaments, 5Ks, nail trimming events, Chick-fil-A fundraising nights, and other creative activities—all to raise money for MWDTSA care packages. Destination Imagination teams, Scout troops, Bar/Bat Mitzvah candidates, coffee shops, breweries, and others looking for a service opportunity can make a big impact for MWDTSA.

6) Host a toy/treat drive.

If you own a retail store, veterinary clinic, or grooming salon, you can order in one of our wish-list products, place it at the register, and ask clients, “Would you like to add a treat for a military working dog to your purchase today? We’re collecting care package items for dogs deployed in global combat zones.” Customers leave their donation with you, and at the end of the drive, MWDTSA makes arrangements to get the donated products to our packing location.

7) Make an introduction.

Maybe your neighbor’s company produces an amazing snack item. We can equip you to approach your friend with a donation request. Your personal introduction can pave the way for important new partnerships and collaborations.

8) Add MWDTSA as an option on your order form.

If your kids are selling coffee or candy to raise money for their school or sports teams, they probably encounter the word “no” quite a bit. What if they could add this to their spiel: “If you are not a coffee consumer, you can also support our school/team by purchasing coffee to donate to a deployed military working dog handler.”

9) Adopt a care package.

Each care package involves approximately $150 in products and postage. Manufacturers donate many of the items we include. However, every quarter, we need assistance to cover t-shirts, tactical patches, postage, and other items. You can “adopt” a package by making a $75 donation via PayPal to fill these needs. This option includes the following benefits for donors:

  1. We will include a card in the care package, acknowledging who sponsored the box.
  2. You can dedicate the box. For example, “We are sending this care package in honor of Joe Sample, who served in World War II.”

This is a fun option for a Scout troop, school group, company, or family that wants to support military working dog teams. For more information, contact president@mwdtsa.org.

10) Collect children’s art.

A colorful painting of a dog provides cheer for handlers. Each quarter, we need at least 200 pieces of children’s art. Contact president@mwdtsa.org for criteria regarding size, subject matter, and medium.

11) Write letters of encouragement.

No one knows about deployments better than veterans who have served in global combat zones. Think back to your time overseas. Are there funny stories you can share? Advice you wish you had known earlier? Poems that boosted your morale? We’re looking for veterans groups who would like to write letters so that every care package we send has a personal communication in it.

12) Join Amazon Smile.

If you regularly shop on Amazon for your business or home, Amazon Smile donates a portion of your purchase price to the nonprofit of your choice. Choose Military Working Dog Team Support Association, and every purchase you make will help support military working dog teams.

13) Visit our Amazon Wish List.

Each quarter, and for special occasions such as National K9 Veterans Day, we maintain a registry of products we plan to include in upcoming care packages. You simply purchase one or more items, and Amazon sends them directly to our packing coordinator. Each wish list donation is tax deductible.

14) Donate through PayPal.

To send one care package requires nearly $18 in postage, and we send about 200 boxes per quarter. Some individuals and businesses contribute dollars to cover the postage bill.

Thank you for helping us support both ends of the leash!

Photo credit: Alex Sierra, Kohl’s, Louisville, CO captured this image of MWDTSA’s Q1-2019 care package contents. Alex and four colleagues from Kohl’s helped with pre-packing activities such as folding 200 t-shirts and inserting them in plastic sleeves.

 

Launch us a Spotnik Rocket!

This product photo features the Spotnik Rocket and Spotnik Asteroid toys from True Dogs, LLC.

Colorado-based True Dogs, LLC is offering a generous matching program to help MWDTSA collect Spotnik Rocket and Asteroid toys for Q4-2018 care packages.

CEO Adam Baker arranged a special donation link on his company’s web site for a Space Force Combo. Together, the Rocket and Asteroid toys retail for $26.00, not including shipping. When you donate via this link, however, you pay only $13.99. True Dogs is covering the remaining amount, giving MWDTSA two toys with shipping for the price of one.

This is the 4th consecutive quarter that True Dogs, LLC has supported MWDTSA’s care packages. In Q1-2018, the company donated 200 of their clever Soda Pup Can Toys. In Q2, they provided a matching program that enabled us to send the USA-K9 Grenade Reward Toy to deployed teams. And thanks to a match in Q3, we included the USA-K9 Cherry Bomb Durable Chew Toy and Treat Dispenser in our boxes.

Below, Adam answers a few questions about these creative product lines.

MWDTSA: Your toys are so clever. What can you share about your company’s creative process? How do you come up with such out-of-the-box dog toy ideas as the Spotnik Rocket?

AB: Dog owners are a diverse group of people, and yet most dog toys look alike—coming in predictable shapes like bones or resembling children’s toys (stuffed animals). At True Dogs, LLC, we try to understand the diversity of consumers and then build products that will appeal to targeted segments. We work hard to create products that are unexpected.

The biggest challenge with making any consumer product is figuring out a way to build an emotional connection with the consumer. We hope that by creating toys in familiar shapes that the consumer already has an affinity for, they will become curious enough to pick our product off the retail shelf and give us a try.

MWDTSA: Tell us about the rubber. Military working dogs tend to be hard on toys.

AB: Manufacturers produce dog toys in lots of different materials, many of which are called rubber. However, not all materials are alike. The vast majority of dog toys are made from thermoplastics which are petroleum-based products. These include synthetic rubber, TPR (Thermoplastic Rubber), TPU (thermoplastic urethane), EVA (Ethyl Vinyl Acetate).

The problem with these materials is that they may or may not be safe for your dog, and they are certainly bad for the planet because they won’t biodegrade. Our products are all made from natural rubber. The raw material comes from rubber trees. This is a sustainable crop, and the material will ultimately biodegrade (although not in your lifetime). The rubber is non-toxic and FDA compliant. It is perfectly safe to have in your dog’s mouth even if he ingests bits of the material.

By reducing inexpensive fillers and maximizing the amount of pure latex, our material has superior durability and tear strength. Because our compounds are made in the USA (not China), we have much tighter control over our proprietary formulations, ensuring both quality and safety.

MWDTSA: Is there anything else you would like to share with readers?

AB: The more toys you donate, the more matching toys we can send, and we are excited to be able to support MWDTSA in this way.

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Here, again, is the link where you can view and donate a Spotnik Rocket.

MWDTSA is grateful for True Dogs, LLC’s ongoing support!

KONGs for K9s: How pet stores and veterinary clinics can take part

This image features the KONGs for K9s logo, MWDTSA logo, and the two KONG toys that participating retailers are collecting in this year's drive. One is a KONG Extreme Tire. The other is a throw-tug toy.

The annual KONGs for K9s drive kicked off on August 1 and will continue through December 31, 2018. It’s a collaboration between MWDTSA and KONG Company. The matching program helps us provide KONG toys to military working dog teams deployed in global combat zones.

Here’s how the KONGs for K9s program works…

Participation is easy:

  1. Pet stores, clinics, and other dog-loving enterprises pick a month or more to take part. You collect one or both of the specific KONG toys shown in the photo above: https://www.kongcompany.com/products/for-dogs/rubber-toys/extreme-rubber-toys/kong-tires/ and/or https://www.kongcompany.com/products/for-dogs/rubber-toys/interactive-rubber-toys/tails/.
  2. MWDTSA will provide you with posters for your store, describing the initiative.
  3. You order in a supply of the toy and create a display to draw customers’ attention to the matching program. Some retailers place the display by the register and ask every customer, “Would you like to donate a KONG to a military working dog deployed in a global combat zone?” This active approach often results in more donations.
  4. Your patrons purchase the KONGs at regular retail price (or whatever price you set) and leave them with you at the register. Some stores set up visible donation bins so that customers can see the number of donated toys. Other stores tuck the donated KONGs in a back room.
  5. At the end of the drive, MWDTSA will pick up the donated KONGs from your store, if we have a volunteer in your local area. If we don’t have a volunteer near your store, we will provide shipping instructions on how to get them to us.

Once we receive your toys, we document the quantity and notify KONG. For each toy donated by your customers, KONG is matching with a second toy.

Calling all dog-loving businesses

There’s still time to sign up for 2018. Just contact president@MWDTSA.org if you’d like to take part. Indicate the name and address of your organization. Also, specify which month works best for your KONG donation drive, and which toy above you’d like to collect. We will get the posters to you right away.

While most KONGs for K9s participants are pet-related businesses, that’s not a requirement. In 2017, our largest KONG total came from Veterans United Craft Brewery. We also received KONGS from CrossFit Invasion, a fitness studio in New York!

Thanks for your interest and support!

You rock, MWDTSA Q2 corporate sponsors!

Photo of deployed military working dog next to care package contents from corporate sponsors.

MWDTSA could not send quarterly care packages to military working dog teams without the help of generous corporate sponsors and donors. Our Q2 boxes, which arrived in time for Independence Day, contained goodies from the 29 organizations listed at the end of this post, many of them veteran-owned. Please visit their web sites and explore their products.

We also extend a heartfelt thanks to the dozens of individual donors and Amazon Wish List participants, whose contributions rounded out each box. We are grateful for your support!

If pictures are worth a thousand words, tail wags are worth 10,000. We hope you enjoy these photos, submitted by Q2 care package recipients…

Q2 photo gallery

MWD is laying on a cot, wearing his handler's hat and posing with care package contents.Malinois looks up at the camera, sitting in front of a chair where care package contents are displayed.

MWD with expressive eyes and one ear flopped forward sits on the floor next to care package contents.Care package contents line a kitchen counter. MWD sits on the floor in front of the counter staring intently at the camera.

Care package contents sit on a sand bag in the foreground. Three handlers and their MWDs stand in the background modeling the 'Merica-themed MWDTSA t-shirts and MWDTSA athletic shorts that were included in the Q2-2019 care packages.
Each care package contained a t-shirt and athletic shorts for the handler, but in this photo, a military working dog is modeling the t-shirt and shorts. Hilarious!

An MWD sits alert on the floor next to a handler's bed. On the bed, care package contents are carefully laid out in front of the box they arrived in.

 

Q2 corporate sponsors and donors

 

For more information on how you can become a MWDTSA corporate sponsor or donor, email president@mwdtsa.org. Thank you for your interest in our mission!

 

Align Orthodontics patients raise $926.50 for MWDTSA

This photo shows the Align Orthodontics staff, including Dr. Colletti, along with wooden moose mascot Justin Timbertooth and guest RMWD Falco.

For over six months, the kids at Align Orthodontics donated their prized wooden nickels to MWDTSA. The tally is in, and these Colorado kids rock! Their $926.50 contribution helped fund MWDTSA’s Q1-2018 care packages. With this money, we purchased toothpaste for the dogs and Cocomel candies for the handlers.

Wearing rubber bands, head gear or retainer as prescribed?

Align’s wooden nickel program promotes good oral hygiene and compliance with orthodontic instructions. At each visit, patients earn nickels based on how well they’ve cared for their teeth and braces. With 20 nickels, patients can “shop” at an Align “store” that offers Lego sets, gift cards, and other coveted merchandise.

Many patients, however, chose to deposit their nickels in an MWDTSA donation jar at the front desk. For each of the 1,853 wooden nickels contributed by patients, Align Orthodontics provided 50 cents toward our Q1 2018 care packages! To put the kids’ sacrifice in perspective, their nickels could have purchased 92 Lego sets at the Align store.

The Meltzer family represented Align Orthodontics patient families at MWDTSA’s Q1-2018 packing event, February 11, 2018. Meltzer relatives served in WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. “Helping MWDTSA lets us give back to the men, women, and four-legged heroes that protect our country,” says Michele Meltzer. (Photo courtesy of Meltzer family)

Additionally, a patient’s family stepped forward to volunteer countless hours to help MWDTSA with pre-packing activities. The Meltzer’s neatly folded 200 t-shirts and placed items that might leak into Ziploc bags. They and Align associate Megan Lentfer joined the packing team to assemble nearly 200 boxes on Sunday, February 11.

Align Orthodontics military ties

Align Orthodontics has a deep reverence for the military and the sacrifices made by our servicemen and women. Dr. Laurence Colletti, owner of the practice, graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1975. As a USAFA cadet, he was interested in dentistry AND being a pilot. However, the Air Force was not sending any graduates to dental school. So, he had to decide between staying in the Air Force and becoming a pilot, or pursuing dental school on his own. Taking this decision very seriously, he decided to play himself in a game of racquetball. Becoming a pilot won. During active duty, he flew as a T-38/KC 135 Pilot and Wing Flight Safety Officer and really enjoyed his time in the sky. “Where else in the world,” he asks, “can a 21-year-old be trusted with a multi-million dollar piece of equipment?”

After 6 years of flying, however, the dental desire returned. He decided to enter the Army Reserves as a Medical and Dental Officer so he could start dental school as a civilian. In this capacity, he was activated for Desert Storm. Altogether, he served in the military for 20.5 years before retiring.

Dr. Colletti isn’t the only person at Align with military connections. Orthodontic Assistant Sylvia Cage’s daughter served four years and son-in-law served 20 years in the Air Force. Megan Lentfer’s sister and brother-in-law are active duty Navy. Her cousin is an active duty Marine.

Many thanks to Align Orthodontics for your enthusiastic support. It’s donors like you and your patients who make our quarterly care packages possible, and we really appreciate you!

Is your group interested in raising money for MWDTSA care packages? To learn more about MWDTSA’s needs, contact Nikki Rohrig at president@MWDTSA.org or visit https://www.mwdtsa.org/.

Photo credit: Shelli Patty. Align Orthodontics office staff with RMWD Falco. From left to right, bottom row: Dr. Laurence Colletti, moose mascot Justin Timbertooth, Sylvia Cage; top row: Amanda Evans, Megan Lentfer. Not pictured: Laurie Hoff.