Medibank Private Retail Centres in western Victoria are generously collecting donations for The Lost Dogs' Home to help meet demands during the busy Christmas and New Year period.
Each day The Lost Dogs' Home feeds approximately 150 dogs and 30 cats up to 50 tins of canned food and 50kg of dried food daily, with this number doubling over the Christmas and New Year period.
Medibank Private Retail Centre Manager, Anastasia Goutzamanis, said, "Research shows people who own pets typically visit the doctor less and recover more quickly from illnesses, so it makes sense for us as Australia's largest health insurer to take an interest in this cause.
"Medibank Private is an advocate for the health and wellbeing of all Australians and we encourage people to be proactive towards managing their health," said Ms Goutzamanis.
Kate Mollison, from The Lost Dogs' Home, said "It's with the support of organisations like Medibank Private that we are able to make a positive difference to the lives of many dogs and cats."
"We are very grateful for Medibank Private's support, as we rely on the generosity of the community to donate enough food to feed the many animals we look after, especially during our busiest time, as many pets are abandoned or lost as a result of fireworks and thunderstorms.'
We encourage people to donate to this worthy cause, and drop off either tinned or dried pet food in the specially marked bins located at one of the Medibank Private Retail Centre's listed below until Friday 23rd December:
Airport West Retail Centre - Shop 76 Westfield Shoppingtown, Airport West
Highpoint Retail Centre - Shop 2091, Level 2, Highpoint Shopping Centre, Maribyrnong
Health Benefits of Pet Ownership* - Did you know�.
Compared to non- pet owners, pet owners;
� Typically visit the doctor less often and use less medication
� On average, have lower cholesterol and lower blood pressure
� Recover more quickly from illness and surgery
� Deal better with stressful situations
� Are less likely to report feeling lonely
� It is estimated that Australian cats and dogs saved $3.86 billion of current national health expenditure in 1999-2000.
*Source: http://www.petnet.com.au/statistics.html
For media enquiries, please contact:
Davina Clarke, Medibank Private - (03) 8622 5185 or 0411 082 325