Iams Company pulls funding from Petfest America due to HSUS involment

Dear Dog Enthusiast:
You recently contacted us regarding our affiliation with the HSUS. We'd like to thank you for taking the time to express your concern as well as update you on a recent decision made by our organization. The Iams Company will not be funding the Petfest America events with HSUS again next year. We appreciate all of the direct feedback we have received from the dog community and apologize for the frustration that this sponsorship has caused. We have a lot of exciting innovations planned next year, which will require our focused time and resources. As a leader in the pet industry, The Iams Company is about educatingall pet owners on pet health care and nutrition - from the family pet to the active competitor. We are definitely pro-dog and clearly not anti-hunting. We look forward to continuing our long history of support of the sporting dog community and leadership in the industry with innovative research to improve the health and well-being of athletic dogs. We hope that we can put this behind us and focus on the future -- great performing foods for great performing dogs. Iams and Eukanuba Sponsorships and Support of the Sporting DogCommunity:* AKC Master National Hunt Test* AKC National Gun Dog Championship* AKC Pointer National Championship* Brittany National Amateur Championship* Canadian National Amateur Retriever Championship* Canadian National Retriever Championship* ESPN Great Outdoor Games* Eukanuba Beagle Championship* German Wirehaired Pointer Nationals & Specialty* GSPCA National Specialty* National Amateur Retriever Championship* National Bird Dog Championship* National German Pointing Dog Championship* National Retriever Championship* NGSPA Championship* Official U.S. Gun Dog Team, 2004 National Countrysports Fair,Northern Ireland* Vizsla Nationals & Specialty* Weimaraner Nationals & Winter SpecialtyOther facts regarding Iams and past support:* The Iams Company is the only dog food company to support the Armbruster Test, an international hunt test for Deutsche Drahthaars.*
The Iams Company is the only dog food company to financially support the quail restoration project on the Ames Plantation, home to the National Bird Dog Championship and for many years we have commissioned original oil paintings by Ross B. Young, of the National Champion Bird Dog.* We conducted the Iams Retriever Symposium for breeders and trainersof retrievers and also support Team Eukanuba Seminars around the country.* We support Quail Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, The Ruffed GrouseSociety, and Ducks Unlimited.* We publish Care and Nutrition of the Sporting Dog, one of the only manuals for hunters and field trialers.* For over 20 years, The Iams Company has been the acknowledged leader in nutritional research for performance dogs. We developed the only "in the field" research study of pointing dogs and hunting performance.
Again, we appreciate you sharing your concern and for giving us the opportunity to respond. If you need further information or havespecific questions, please contact Consumer Care at 800-525-4267. We areavailable Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday. If you prefer, please email us anytime!
Best regards,Marti Hissong Iams Consumer Care NA