LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Golden Knights forward Mitch Marner and his wife, Stephanie, visited the Nevada SPCA, getting a first-hand look at Southern Nevada’s original no-kill animal shelter.
Marner became the first Nevada athlete partnered with Nulo, a pet food company created as a response to diabetes and obesity in pets. Nulo describes itself as an athlete’s diet for dogs and cats.
Points for Paws
In partnership with the Marner Assist Foundation, Nulo will donate 100 pet meals for every point Marner records this coming season with the Golden Knights. The initiative is called Points for Paws.
James Torres Dubina, Nulo vice president of sales for independent pet specialty, said a meal is considered a cup, and a 50-pound dog eats two cups per day.
“So if he’s hitting his 80 points from last year, we got 8,000 meals to donate. If he does what I think he’s going to do, that’s going to be 100 or more. We’re going to exceed 10,000 meals that we could donate to the local Nevada SPCA,” Torres Dubina said.
Shelter says need is growing
Nevada SPCA Executive Director Lori Heeren said the shelter is seeing more people struggle to afford pet care.
“We are really in a crisis right now with people being able to afford their pets. And Nevada SPCA has committed to not only being a safety net for pets that are given up by their owners, that are homeless, but our real objective is to keep pets in homes with the families who love them. So, when we get support for free food like this that we, in turn, can use to help keep those pets with families, it is so impactful and so important. In addition to the donation, we’re just so grateful that somebody of Mitch’s esteem in this community recognizes the need for support for animal welfare in Las Vegas,” Heeren said.
Marner’s connection to the shelter
Marner said seeing the animals and the shelter’s on-site vet clinic left an impression on him.
“Just seeing all the different animals throughout here and how many they take care of, having their own vet clinic in the back, it’s phenomenal. It’s just something super cool to kind of see with your own eyes and I think everyone should come and experience it for, you know, once in your life,” Marner said.
Marner said he and his wife wanted to find a way to help after connecting with Nulo, which has sponsored them for about two years.
“Yeah, well, we wanted to do something last year, but we didn’t really know what to do. You know, like we were saying, that I have a serious love for pets. I’ve been super grateful that Nulo, you know, has been with us now for two years or so. And started talking to them about, you know, what we could do and we wanted to help something, you know, obviously, there’s a lot of places that are in need of food, in need of, you know, just getting the right resources. As soon as we heard about this place, we fell in love with it. We started doing our research. We loved it even more, just how everything’s just, you know, so grounded and so easy and really, since then, we just want to, like I said, be a part of something in Nevada. We’d love to have the community just taken us in and, yeah, we’re super grateful to be able to do this now today with Nulo,” Marner said.
Shelter’s reaction
Heeren said the partnership stood out to the organization.
“We are so impressed by Mitch and the Marner Assist Foundation that, again, he doesn’t have to do this, but he is using his love for animals to help the community. And you don’t see that as often as you’d like. And so we’re just really, really grateful that we had the opportunity to work with him,” Heeren said.
Heeren said the partnership adds a new layer to watching the Golden Knights this season.
“Yeah, I imagine this is going to take on a new level of excitement watching the games this season,” Heeren said. “Exactly. Not that we weren’t already excited to watch the Golden Knights. Now we have an additional reason to watch everything.”
Adoption bundle for new pet owners
Torres Dubina said Nulo has partnered with 25 local independent pet stores in Nevada, most of which participate in an adoption program connected to the Nevada SPCA.
“So we, from day one, have been looking to fuel their inner athletes and pets and help them look and feel their best. I work with 25 local independent pet stores here in Nevada. The majority of them participate in an adoption program that’s going to be partnered with the Nevada SPCA. So when you adopt a dog or a cat from here, they’re going to be given a local flyer that lets them know what local pet stores mom and pop owned, where they can go and receive, I have the items over here, so a free bag of food, a bag of freeze-dried raw, a bag of treats for cats, one of our pouches to get moisture in that diet. So people that are rescuing from the Nevada SPCA, they’re doing a good thing. Nulo wants to give them that starter pack, that adoption bundle, so from day one, they can get the best nutrition and the bowl possible while supporting local brick-and-mortar business,” Torres Dubina said.
Marner and the Golden Knights begin the season Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena.
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