April 10, 2023 - In 2022, 1,242 animal bites were reported; 500 were animal victims and 742 were human victims. Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control received a $20,000 grant to support a four-session pet body language and behavior workshop to help reduce those numbers.

The grant was awarded to the shelter by Mars Petcare’s BETTER CITIES FOR PETS™ program. This grant is to help cities assist pet parents facing challenges keeping and caring for their pets.

Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control’s initiative is to reduce bites while educating and supporting the ambitions of the Better Cities for Pets program to keep people and their pets together. The focus is reducing bites, avoiding euthanizing animals, and providing resources that create a safer community for citizens and pets.

“The body language and behavior workshop are designed with the intent to provide our community with the knowledge to learn how pets communicate. Our overarching goal is to reduce the number of bites that often occur because signals were missed or misread. Providing people with this awareness will help to keep people and their pets together while reducing the number of incidents resulting in a bite,” states Director Amy-Jo Sites.

The four-part series will occur on Saturdays, the 13th, 20th, and 27th of May and the 3rd of June 2023. The workshops will occur at Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control facility. Due to limited spacing, participants will apply on our website, fwacc.org, and click the “Pet Help and Rehoming” tab.

ABOUT MARS PETCARE:
Part of Mars, Incorporated, a family-owned business with more than a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love, the 85,000 Associates across 50+ countries in Mars Petcare are dedicated to one purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS. With 85 years of experience, our portfolio of almost 50 brands serves the health and nutrition needs of the world’s pets – including brands PEDIGREE®, WHISKAS®, ROYAL CANIN®, NUTRO™, GREENIES™, SHEBA®, CESAR®, IAMS™ and EUKANUBA™ as well as the WALTHAM Petcare Science Institute which has advanced research in the nutrition and health of pets for over 50 years. Mars Petcare is also a leading veterinary health provider through an international network of over 2,000 pet hospitals and diagnostic services including BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, VCA™, Linnaeus, AniCura and Antech. We’re also active in innovation and technology for pets, with WISDOM PANEL™ genetic health screening and DNA testing for dogs, the WHISTLE™ GPS dog tracker, and LEAP VENTURE STUDIO accelerator and COMPANION FUND™ programs that drive innovation and disruption in the pet care industry. As a family business and guided by our principles, we are privileged with the flexibility to fight for what we believe in — and we choose to fight for: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS.

About BETTER CITIES FOR PETS:
The BETTER CITIES FOR PETS™ program was created by Mars Petcare, the world’s leading pet nutrition and health care business, in partnership with experts in city planning and animal welfare, and government stakeholders. It includes a playbook for cities, city and airport certification programs, grants, best practice research, policy advocacy and free online resources. More than 100 cities have been certified through the program and it has awarded nearly half a million dollars in grants to support pet-friendly initiatives. Find out more at BetterCitiesForPets.com