Hallmark Channel's Premiere of You Lucky Dog Teams Up with Best Friends' Adoption Option to Raise Awareness for Pet Adoption

LUCKY DOGS EVERYWHERE BENEFIT FROM HALLMARK CHANNEL AND BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY PARTNERSHIP TO FIND HOMES FOR PETS

Hallmark Channel and Best Friends Animal Society have shaken paws over a new partnership to help raise awareness of the issue of homeless pets in conjunction with Hallmark Channels' premiere of the original movie You Lucky Dog.  The movie, starring Harry Hamlin, Natasha Henstridge and a border collie named Lucky, premieres on Hallmark Channel June 26th with a hopeful and heart-tugging message about rescuing pets and making them a celebrated part of the family.

Best Friends Animal Society, known for its efforts to build a better world through kindness to animals, is working with Hallmark Channel to showcase the movie while championing "No More Homeless Pets®," and encouraging pet-lovers everywhere to consider adoption from a shelter or rescue organization when their next pet comes into their lives. Best Friends recently launched an adoption pledge, and the organization hopes that visibility from You Lucky Dog will lead people to think more seriously about pet adoption in the future.

Hallmark Channel embraces pets as part of the family, and with the story told in You Lucky Dog it was natural to extend our love of pets beyond the television screen to make a difference for adopted animals and families who bring them into their lives," said Bill Abbott, President and CEO of Hallmark Channel.  "Working with Best Friends Animal Society has brought tremendous stories of pet devotion to light, and we're proud to be a part of such an effort."

Hallmark Channel and Best Friends will work "paw-in-hand" to cooperatively market the movie premiere and the adoption option pledge campaign, promoting the initiative at local animal adoption events and public outreach opportunities associated with the movie premiere.

"We are excited to partner with Hallmark Channel to promote the life-saving value of adoption in conjunction with the movie release," said Vicki Kilmer-Rinker, Director of Marketing for Best Friends Animal Society.  "By combining Hallmark Channel's dedication to families and their pets and Best Friends' focus on helping all pets find loving homes, we've found the perfect fit to make a PAWsitive impact for pets and their families across the country."

From on-air Public Service Announcements and advertising and program tie-ins including celebrities associated with the partners and involved in You Lucky Dog, targeted media and publicity attention, all three program partners will be bringing attention to the pet adoption message through the premiere of You Lucky Dog and beyond.

You Lucky Dog and Hallmark Channel will be participating in the LA Spring Adoption Festival on May 23rd in Los Angeles, as well as the first Tri-State Super Adoption event June 12-13 in Livingston, N.J.

Visit bestfriends.org for more information.

About Hallmark Channel

Hallmark Channel, owned and operated by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., is a 24-hour basic cable network that provides a diverse slate of high-quality entertainment programming available in high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) to a national audience of 90 million subscribers. The top tier program service is distributed through more than 5,450 cable systems and communities as well as direct-to-home satellite services across the country. Hallmark Channel consistently ranks among the highest-rated cable networks and is the nation's leading network in providing quality family programming.  Hallmark Channel's sibling network is Hallmark Movie Channel, also available in HD and SD, which focuses on the greatest family movies of all time. For more information, please visit www.hallmarkchannelpress.com.

About Best Friends Animal Society®

Best Friends Animal Society is a nonprofit organization building no-kill programs and partnerships that will bring about a day when there are No More Homeless Pets®. The society's leading initiatives in animal care and community programs are coordinated from its Kanab, Utah, headquarters, the country's largest no-kill sanctuary. This work is made possible by the personal and financial support of a grassroots network of supporters and community partners across the nation.

To become a fan of Best Friends Animal Society on Facebook: //www.facebook.com/bestfriendsanimalsociety

Follow Best Friends on Twitter: //twitter.com/bestfriends

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