February 8, 2018
PHOENIX, ARIZ. – Feb. 8, 2017 – While February may be best known as the month of love and American Heart Monthin animal welfare, it’s also Spay and Neuter Awareness Month—28 days devoted to educating pet parents across North America of the benefits of having their pet spayed or neutered.
Since 1994, PetSmart Charities, the leading funder of animal welfare in North America, has provided spay and neuter funding support to local animal welfare organizations from coast-to-coast to help provide low or no-cost spay and neuter procedures to reduce pet overpopulation and pet homelessness. With more than $12 million in grants issued by PetSmart Charities and PetSmart Charities of Canada to support spay and neuter programs in 2017 alone, the two nonprofit organizations have reached a collective milestone of $100 million in grant funding dedicated to the spay and neuter movement.
According to experts at PetSmart Charities, spaying and neutering your pet is the number one way to end pet homelessness.
“A single spay or neuter procedure can prevent a lifetime of unplanned or accidental litters,” said David Haworth, DVM, Ph.D., president of PetSmart Charities. “Dogs can have up to two litters per year, and cats can have even more. So, each surgery has the potential to impact hundreds of lives, improve communities and support the human-animal bond. By providing easy access to affordable procedures, local animal welfare organizations are not only investing in their communities, but the welfare of future generations of pets. That is why PetSmart Charities is committed to supporting local spay and neuter efforts across the U.S. and Canada.”
Here are just a few ways that PetSmart Charities and PetSmart Charities of Canada are investing in local spay and neuter efforts in 2018:
- A $34,000 grant to Animal Outreach, London and Kitchener, Ontario, will allow the organization to partner with East Village Animal Hospitals (EVAHs) to reduce the cost of spay and neuter procedures in low-income communities. Together, while funds last, the two partners will reduce their already accessibly priced surgery costs by an additional $50 per procedure for pet parents in need.
- The Animal Foundation, Las Vegas, Nev., will utilize a $100,000 grant to support the construction of the organization’s new Adoption Center, Community Education Wing and Administrative Wing to expand its services in support of the health and welfare of local pets.
- With its $450,000 grant, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, Colo., will team up with University of Alaska Fairbanks to provide veterinary access for rural Alaskan communities and provide an opportunity for hands-on training for 30 veterinary medicine students.
- In Bay Saint Louis, Miss., the Friends of the Animal Shelter in Hancock County (FRIENDS) received a $37,000 grant to offer spay and neuter surgeries for dogs and cats at no cost to pet parents in need living in Hancock County.
To learn more about how PetSmart Charities funding for spay and neuter efforts has impacted local communities, please visit PetSmartCharities.org.
About PetSmart Charities®
PetSmart Charities, Inc. is a nonprofit animal welfare organization with a mission to find lifelong, loving homes for all pets by supporting programs and thought leadership that bring people and pets together. In addition to finding homes for almost 500,000 shelter pets each year through its in-store adoption program in all PetSmart stores across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, PetSmart Charities provides funding to non-profits aligned with its mission through four key areas of grant support: Preventing Pet Homelessness; Helping Shelter Pets Thrive; Supporting the Bond Between People and Pets; and Emergency Relief and Disaster Support. Each year, millions of generous PetSmart shoppers help pets in need by donating to PetSmart Charities using the pin pads at checkout registers inside PetSmart stores. In turn, PetSmart Charities efficiently uses 90 cents of every dollar donated and has become the leading funder of animal welfare in North America, donating about $300 million to date. PetSmart Charities, a 501(c)(3) organization, has received the Four Star Rating from Charity Navigator, an independent organization that reports on the effectiveness, accountability and transparency of nonprofits, for the past 14 years in a row — placing it among the top one percent of charities rated by this organization. To learn more visit www.petsmartcharities.org
Follow PetSmart Charities on Twitter: @PetSmartChariTs
Find PetSmart Charities on Facebook: Facebook.com/PetSmartCharities
See PetSmart Charities on YouTube: YouTube.com/PetSmartCharitiesInc
About PetSmart Charities® of Canada:
PetSmart Charities of Canada is a registered Canadian charity with a mission to find lifelong, loving homes for all pets by supporting programs and thought leadership that bring people and pets together. In addition to finding homes for more than 25,000 shelter pets each year through its in-store adoption program in all PetSmart stores, PetSmart Charities of Canada provides funding to registered charities aligned with its mission through four key areas of grant support: Preventing Pet Homelessness; Helping Shelter Pets Thrive; Supporting the Bond Between People and Pets; and Emergency Relief and Disaster Support. Each year, millions of generous PetSmart shoppers help pets in need by donating to PetSmart Charities of Canada using the pin pads at checkout registers inside PetSmart stores. In turn, PetSmart Charities efficiently uses 89 cents of every dollar donated and has become a leading funder of animal welfare in Canada, donating nearly $12 million to date. PetSmart Charities of Canada is a member of Imagine Canada and is independent from PetSmart LLC To learn more, visit www.petsmartcharities.ca
Follow PetSmart Charities on Twitter: @PetSmartChariTs
Find PetSmart Charities on Facebook: Facebook.com/PetSmartCanada
See PetSmart Charities on YouTube: YouTube.com/PetSmartCharitiesInc
Contacts:
Virginia Hock
Golin for PetSmart
469-680-2611
[email protected]
PetSmart 24-Hour Media Line: 623-587-2177
