The Foundation's History with Service/Therapy Animals
Since 2013, the FT Cares Foundation has donated over $72,600 to various organizations dedicated to helping humans through service and working dogs and emotional support animals.
The pictures on this page are from the time Fox Valley Therapy Club visited First Trust with a few of the Canine Good Citizens who went around to schools, hospitals, nursing homes, etc., spreading love the way only dogs can! Ember, also pictured left and Trusty, below, are two of the dogs we named through our association with NEADS World Class Service Dogs. Ember is showing how she can get "up" on cue, one of many tasks she can do to help her family member reach things, etc.
Americans LOVE their pets!
According to the AVMA’s U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook, 38.4% of American households have a dog (1.6 dogs, to be exact). 25.4% of households have a cat (1.8 cats), 2.8% of households have birds and 0.8% have horses. The total number of these animals in the U.S. is as follows:
The study's numbers come from the AVMA's latest survey taken (2017-2018)
According to PetKeen, approximately 23 million U.S. households added a pet between March 2020 and May 2021. Fortunately, 90% of dogs and 87% of cats adopted during the pandemic were still with their owners in May 2021.
Some fun facts:
60% of U.S. pet owners are female
Millennials are the generation most likely to own pets, accounting for 32% of all pet owners (followed by Baby Boomers at 27%, Gen X at 24%, Gen Z at 14% and Builders at 3%)
85% of dog owners and 76% of cat owners consider their pets family (no surprise to all of us who have pets!)
Having pets is a joy for millions us. But what if your life, and the activities you do, are impossible without a service animal?
That’s why the Foundation has set April’s theme as: Service/Therapy Animals.
Here are a few of our favored partners (all of which we have donated to for several years):
Fox Valley Therapy Dog Club
National Disaster Search Dog Foundation
NEADS World Class Service Dogs (where we named two service dogs...Trusty & Ember!)
Canine Companions for Independence
Canine Therapy Corps
Ready Set Ride Therapeutic Recreational Facility
Austin (TX) Dog Alliance
How do investors look at the animal industry? These stats might help:
American Pet Products Association 3/24/21
American Pet Products Association 3/24/21
According to National Philanthropic Trust, in 2020, giving increased in EVERY sector, but there was double digit growth in donations for public society benefit (15.7%), environment/animals (11.6%) and individuals (12.8%).
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