KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (April 20, 2010) – Knoxville gained a little more star power today when Joel Silverman, host of the popular television series "Good Dog U" on Animal Planet, paid a visit to PetSafe Village Park. Silverman stopped in Knoxville as part of a traveling tour to promote his new book, "What Color is Your Dog?," a training book that presents a new color-coding technique to recognize and then enhance dog behavior based on the dog's personality. He also performed a presentation and dog-training demonstration with his dog, Foster. A book sale and autograph session also accompanied the event.
Besides hosting his own series on Animal Planet, Silverman is also a nationally-recognized dog trainer. In fact, he has worked behind the scenes training animals for movies, television shows and commercials. For the past 10 years, he has been closely involved and responsible for coordinating and training the dogs and cats in most of the IAMS national commercial and print advertisements. Additionally, he has created his own line of dog training videos.
"We were thrilled to host Joel today. He's an expert in his field and is extremely passionate about animal welfare, so it's a true honor to have him in Knoxville," said Randy Boyd, founder and CEO of Radio Systems Corporation, makers of PetSafe brands.
"It's so important that a community be pet-friendly. I am thoroughly impressed with Knoxville and its community leaders who have the passion to pursue making this a place that is friendly toward animals," said Silverman. "A pet can really have an enormous positive impact on a person's life, and it's critical that America's communities support that."
Silverman's visit fits into the effort to make Knoxville and Knox County the Pet Friendliest Community in America. The effort consists of focusing on major expansion of pet activities and events, pet-focused tourism and more pet-friendly park acres and businesses and more. Numerous community leaders from City of Knoxville, Knox County, Young Williams Animal Center, the University of Tennessee, PetSafe, the Knoxville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Knoxville Tourism & Sports Corporation have been involved from the start of the movement, which kicked off in July 2009.
For more information about Joel Silverman, visit www.companionsforlife.net. For more information on the Pet Friendliest Community initiative in Knoxville and Knox County, visit www.PetFriendliestCommunity.com.
About PetSafe
Headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, PetSafe is the industry leader in the management of pet behavior, offering pet training, containment, safety and lifestyle product solutions. PetSafe introduced the first do-it-yourself electronic fence to the pet market in 1991 and the first wireless fence in 1998. PetSafe's product line-up includes: kennels and electronic underground fences, bark control systems, a selection of remote training products, pet doors, pet feeders and a growing line of lifestyle products including toys and treats.