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| Is Your Vet America's Best? "Thank Your Vet for a Healthy Pet" contest honors veterinarians helping animals live healthier, happier, longer lives DULUTH, Ga., March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Every day, veterinarians honor our beloved pets by providing the special, personal care needed to help animals live healthier, happier, longer lives. Now, pet owners across the nation can say "thank you." Merial Limited and Morris Animal Foundation recently announced that they have teamed up with BowTie, Inc. (publishers of Dog Fancy and Cat Fancy magazines) to recognize America's favorite veterinarian through the "Thank Your Vet for a Healthy Pet" contest. The national short essay contest runs through May 31, 2007, and seeks essays (300 words or less) explaining why your nominee is the best vet in America. All practicing veterinarians in the United States are eligible to be nominated. Learn more about this contest at www.thankyourvet.org. One national winner and five regional winners will be selected by a panel of judges. Winners will be announced at the February 2008 Western Veterinary Conference in Las Vegas. The national winner and each of the five regional winners will receive a plaque. In addition, the national award winner will be named a co-sponsor on a Morris Animal Foundation animal health study of his/her choosing, and Merial will provide a $3,000 donation toward that study. Merial will also give a $3,000 donation to the national winner's favorite animal-related local charity. The winner will also be highlighted in issues of Dog Fancy, Cat Fancy, Veterinary Practice News and also on DogChannel.com and CatChannel.com. The pet owner who nominated the winner will receive a year's supply of a FRONTLINE(R) brand product for flea and tick control. "As America's leader in pet healthcare, we want to say 'thank you' to veterinarians for the skill, talent and dedication they employ to help our loved ones live better lives," says Merial spokesman Bob Menard, DVM. "By celebrating them, we celebrate responsible pet stewardship and wellness." "It was only natural that we partner with Merial on this project. Morris Animal Foundation was founded by a veterinarian and dedicated to animal health and increasing the human/animal bond," says Patricia N. Olson, DVM, Ph.D., president and CEO of Morris Animal Foundation. "We urge animal lovers to nominate a special veterinarian who has made a positive impact in the lives of pets for this prestigious award." For more information on the "Thank Your Vet for a Healthy Pet" contest, please visit www.thankyourvet.org. About Merial Merial is a world-leading, innovation-driven animal health company, providing a comprehensive range of products to enhance the health, well-being and performance of a wide range of animals. Merial employs approximately 5,000 people and operates in more than 150 countries worldwide. Its 2006 sales were nearly $2.2 billion. Merial Limited is a joint venture between Merck & Co., Inc. and sanofi-aventis. For more information, please see www.merial.com. About Morris Animal Foundation Morris Animal Foundation, established in 1948, is dedicated to funding research that protects, treats and cures companion animals and wildlife. MAF has been at the forefront of funding breakthrough research studies benefiting animals in some 100 countries, spanning all seven continents on earth. MAF has its headquarters in Denver, Colorado. The Foundation has funded more than 1,300 humane animal health studies with funds approaching $50 million. One hundred percent of all annual, unrestricted contributions support animal health studies, not administration or the cost of fund raising. For more information, call (800) 243-2345, or visit www.MorrisAnimalFoundation.org. (R)FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of Merial. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. THANK YOUR VET CONTEST OFFICIAL RULES NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE CHANCES OF WINNING. The "Thank Your Vet for a Healthy Pet" contest is a joint contest sponsored by Merial Limited, the Morris Animal Foundation, and Bow-Tie Inc. (sometimes individually "Sponsor" and collectively, the "Sponsors") for the purpose of honoring the skill, dedication and invaluable service exhibited by veterinarians in the U.S. Winners are illustrative of all the outstanding vets in our nation. Nominations must be submitted in the form of an essay composed of 300 words or less, telling us why you believe your nominee is the Best Vet in America. Essays should be addressed to "Thank Your Vet for a Healthy Pet Contest," P.O. Box 956787, Duluth, GA 30095, and must be easily legible if written in long hand. Nominations can be sent through www.thankyourvet.org. All nominations must include the name, address, phone number and any e-mail address of both yourself and the nominated veterinarian. All e-mail nominations must be received no later than 11:59 pm, EST, May 31, 2007. If sent by mail, nominations must be mailed to P.O. BOX 956787, Duluth, GA 30095, postmarked no later than May 31, 2007. Nominations without the required information, or which do not comply with the delivery and other contest requirements, will not be processed and will be disqualified. The contest will run from January 11, 2007, through May 31, 2007. The winner and runners up will be recognized and awards presented at the Western Veterinary Conference, February 2008, in Las Vegas, Nevada. All practicing, board certified veterinarians in the United States are eligible to be nominated. Nominations can be submitted by pet owners or any other interested persons. Only one nomination may be submitted per person, although one vet can receive multiple nominations from several people. Additional information can be obtained at www.thankyourvet.org. Nominations can be submitted by, and can nominate board certified veterinarians who are, legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia and who are 18 years of age or older as of date the nomination is submitted. Employees, officers and directors of Morris Animal Foundation, Merial, or Bow- Tie Inc. and their respective parents, subsidiaries, and affiliated companies, successors and assigns, and their respective immediate family members (spouses, parents, siblings, and children) are not eligible to enter or win. Winners will be announced at the 2008 Western Veterinary Conference. Nominations and entries that are incomplete, inaccurate, lost, late, misdirected, postage-due, damaged, illegible or garbled for any reason -- including by reason of hardware, software, browser or network failure, malfunction, congestion or incompatibility at any of the Sponsor's servers or elsewhere -- will not be eligible. The Sponsors, in their sole discretion, reserve the right to disqualify any person tampering with the entry process, the operation of www.thankyourvet.org Web site, or otherwise in violation of the rules. The Sponsors further reserve the right to cancel, terminate or modify any aspect of the contest, not capable of completion as planned for any reason, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention or technical failures of any sort. All entries become the joint property of Merial, Morris Animal Foundation and Bow-Tie Inc. and will not be acknowledged or returned. A panel of judges will be appointed by the Sponsors. The judges will select the best essay from among all eligible nominations submitted. The decisions of the judges shall be final and in their sole discretion. There will be one national contest winner and five regional winners. Each winner of the 2007 contest shall be recognized at the Morris Animal Foundation keynote luncheon at the 2008 Western Veterinary Conference. The national award winner will be named a co-sponsor on a Morris Animal Foundation animal health study of his/her choosing, and Merial will provide a $3,000 donation toward that study. Merial will also give a $3,000 donation to the veterinarian's favorite animal-related local charity, as mutually decided on by the veterinarian and Merial. The national winner and a guest will have their travel and lodging paid for by Merial. Winners are encouraged to attend the luncheon. The national winner and each of the five regional winners will receive a plaque. Entry of a nomination constitutes a participant's acceptance of the contest rules, and acknowledgement that the essay submitted constitutes the participant's original work, and that the Sponsors may use, copy, retain, and publish the essay without restriction. Entry of the nomination further constitutes acknowledgement by participant that neither the nomination nor the submitted essay violates the copyrights, privacy rights, or any other rights of third parties. Acceptance of a prize constitutes consent by winning veterinarians to the use of their names, cities, states and likenesses (without further compensation, except where prohibited) by the Sponsors and their licensees for editorial, advertising and marketing purposes. Winners will be required to sign and submit an affidavit acknowledging the foregoing and their eligibility, and a liability/publicity/permission release and waiver within 14 days, or an alternate winner may be chosen. The contest is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. Void outside the 50 United States and District of Columbia and where prohibited. Participants agree to be bound by the terms of these Official Rules and decisions of the Sponsors which are final and binding on all matters relating to this contest. By entering, participants release and hold harmless the Sponsors and their respective parents, subsidiaries and affiliated companies, and each of their respective directors, officers, employees, agents and affiliates (the "Releasee") from any and all liability or any injuries, loss or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with participation in this contest. The Sponsors reserve the right to modify this contest in any way they deem necessary or appropriate. Entry constitutes permission for the sponsors and their designees to use names, cities, states, likenesses (in addition to essays) of nominators/participants and winners for promotional purposes in any and all media at the discretion of the Sponsors without additional authorization, notice or compensation unless prohibited by law. For a complete list of winners send a stamped self-addressed envelope to: Thank Your Vet for a Healthy Pet, P.O. BOX 956787, Duluth, GA 30095, after February 25, 2008, or visit the following web sites www.thankyourvet.org, www.MorrisAnimalFoundation.org, www.merial.com, www.dogchannel.com, www.catchannel.com and www.vetpracticenews.com. Source: Merial Limited Web site: http://www.merial.com/ http://www.morrisanimalfoundation.org/ http://www.thankyourvet.org/ |
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