If it were up to Burt Ward, dogs would remain healthier and live longer, no matter what.

The former actor — he played Robin in the 1960s TV series “Batman” — and co-creator of the large breed dog organization Gentle Giants Rescue and Adoptions has developed a high-end dog food line that he says nearly doubles the lives of the animals he shelters.

“We measure the success of our business in terms of life,” Ward said as he sat near the pool of his home in Norco, which doubles as the nonprofit’s location.

The average life span of a large-breed dog is about seven years, Ward said.

Until recently, Ward cared for a 21-year-old Great Dane, and still has 18-, 16-, and 14-year-old dogs running around his property with canines half their age.

Ward and wife Tracy, who helps him run the rescue, started producing Gentle Giants dog food about 18 months ago.

The food can only be found in grocery stores, such as Ralphs, in California. Ward decided to bypass all the boutique and chain pet stores, he said, to make the product more affordable and accessible.

It’s working. His product has been on Stater Bros. shelves almost two years and Ward said sales have more than tripled.

Jack Brown, chairman and CEO of Stater Bros. Markets, confirmed that.

“It’s very tough to get placement in a store,” Brown said. “It must be a product we believe our customer will purchase and repurchase.”

Adoption options
If you can’t have pets but want to “adopt,” shelters like Gentle Giants can always use cash and there are plenty of ways to raise it.  One of the easiest ways is to get cash for junk cars and donate the sale.  There are lots of non profits and for profit companies alike that buy junk cars of all kinds.  Some of them even have charitable organizations of their own that their proceeds from sales of the cars are used to support.

There are 45 to 50 dogs, ranging from 2 to 300 pounds, on Ward’s property. They are fed his product daily from 16 large bags — or about 600 pounds.

The food has no fillers like corn or wheat, Ward said, and no added lard. It includes chicken, fish, eggs, nine vegetables, three fruits, four grains, vitamins and Glucosamine.

Ward believes in his product and is passionate about dog food quality.

“There is no dog food in the world that will accomplish what we’ve accomplished with our dogs,” he said.

And he throws out a challenge to every dog owner.

“Compare our dog food to anybody’s,” Ward said.

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My Take: For the price it would take to pay a Pensicola plastic surgeon for a face lift, you could probably support the Gentle Giants shelter for a full year.  Seriously, a Panama City Florida breast implants doctor would cost you more than it would to feed the animals these guys take care of.  I didn’t know “Robin” was into animal adoptions but now that I do, he’s a bigger, faster, more powerful superhero than I thought he was, and he deserves a lot of recognition for what he’s doing for animals.

Forget the kids gifts for birthdays and other holidays.  Pass on the fancy cutting boards and other gifts at Macy’s or Pottery Barn.  Why not think about adopting a pet or doing a “virtual” adoption next time you’ve got a present to purchase, a wedding to acknowledge, or a Christmas gift to get for that difficult to buy for relative?

Here’s a great idea: if you can’t adopt a puppy from Gentle Giants for a friend or family member, you can sponsor the adoption instead.  Have a picture taken of the puppy and create a fabulous photo birth announcements that can double as an adoption notification.  These baby announcements can include the puppy’s age, breed, sex and weight, and they can even come with a record book that tracks where they go to live and how they are doing.  What a great way to honor the animals and make a friend or family member feel like they got a really special gift!

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