Chad Zadina, owner of Tabby Road Animal Hospital in Wellington, came home from the American Humane Hero Dog Awards in Los Angeles, honored to be one of only four clinics in the nation invited to attend. The organization promotes the human/animal bond by presenting awards to dogs and their owners for outstanding service through their work as military, police, service and therapy dogs. Most are rescue or “difficult-to-adopt” dogs that have been rehabilitated by their owners. Zoetis Drug Company, the animal division of Pfizer, sponsored the awards.
Zadina returned to Wellington inspired to start a program in Northern Colorado by connecting the Animal Debt shelter east of Wellington with Harvest Farm rehabilitation center north of Wellington. He explained that Animal Debt takes in some dogs that are not suitable for adoption for a variety of reasons. “I’d like to set up a program that shares these animals with some of the men fighting homelessness and addictions at Harvest Farm,” Zadina said.
The Humane Hero Dog Awards can be viewed on the Hallmark Channel at 6 p.m. mountain time, Oct. 28. For further information see Tabby Road on Facebook.