PHOENIX, AZ, 2015-10-3 — /EPR Retail News/ — Premiering Oct. 3 on The CW’s One Magnificent Morning Saturday programming block, the new television series SAVE our SHELTER, is a program that showcases the renovation of animal shelters across the nation to help save more pets’ lives. The show, which will air on Saturdays, 11 a.m. ET, and is hosted by entrepreneur, pet expert and founder of DOG for DOG, Rocky Kanaka, along with renovation specialist Rob North, is partnering with PetSmart and PetSmart Charities to highlight the importance of animal shelters.
In each episode, the show’s hosts, Rocky and Rob, engage the local community, including contractors and craftsmen, as they modernize and energize the animal welfare facilities. Grants by PetSmart Charities directly help renovate some of the animal shelters featured in the show. PetSmart Charities also serves in a consultant role to the show, assisting with shelter selection.
“We at PetSmart share a mission with Rocky, DOG for DOG and SAVE our SHELTER to save the lives of homeless pets through adoption,” said Ted Passig, executive vice president, buying and sourcing, PetSmart, Inc. “We hope our work on SAVE our SHELTER inspires more people to adopt and to support their local shelters. We are excited for viewers to see this new show and to purchase DOG for DOG at our stores, a brand that gives back bag-for-bag and pound-for-pound to shelters just like those served in the show.”
Kanaka said, “It’s long been my goal to find forever homes for our overwhelming population of homeless pets. I started DOG for DOG to keep homeless pets healthy while they wait for their forever homes. But, I wanted to do more, so when the opportunity to launch this television show and work with partners like PetSmart and PetSmart Charities, I had to make it happen to save more pets’ lives.”
“Local shelters are on the front lines of the pet homelessness crisis,” said Julie White, senior director of adoptions, grants and field initiatives, PetSmart Charities. “At PetSmart Charities, we are proud to work with nearly 3,000 shelters nationwide to fix and find homes for deserving pets.”
Each show also features an adoptable pet in search of a forever home. PetSmart follows their journey in a “Where Are They Now?” segment featuring the adopted pets, their families and PetSmart’s free Adoption Starter Kit, offered every day at stores to pet parents who adopted, no matter where they adopt. The kit contains coupons worth hundreds of dollars in savings on items like beds, bowls, collars and leashes, as well as free one-time services such as a veterinarian visit, training, PetsHotel® boarding and Doggie Day Camp™.
Each year, about 7 million pets enter shelters across North America and some 3 million healthy, adoptable pets are euthanized. PetSmart Charities adoption events and adoption centers in PetSmart stores have proven to be one of the most effective ways to save pets’ lives. Six million pets have found homes through the program since 1994. And now PetSmart and PetSmart Charities help save more than 1,000 pets a day with one pet adopted every minute a PetSmart store is open.
PetSmart is also proud to serve as the exclusive national retailer for DOG for DOG food, the natural brand that donates a bag of food to animal shelters for every bag purchased.
About DOG for DOG
DOG for DOG is a dog food and treat company with a mission to help feed dogs in need. For every product that is sold, an equal amount of DOGSFOOD™ is donated to a rescue or shelter. DOG for DOG works with animal welfare groups across the U.S. and in Canada to aid in ending pet homelessness. Founder, CEO, & Host of SAVE our SHELTER, Rocky Kanaka, gained celebrity support from the likes of Snoop Dogg, Michael Bublé, Chelsea Handler, and Amar’e Stoudemire hoping to make an even bigger impact in their mission. The dog food is competitively priced, and is formulated by top nutritionists with the very best ingredients. DOG for DOG’s treat line is already available in PetSmart stores including unique items such as DOGSBARS™, DOGSBUTTER™ and their full line of DOGSTREATS™. DOGSFOOD™ will be available in Nov. at PetSmart retail locations and online.
About SAVE our SHELTER
“SAVE our SHELTER,” a new series from Litton Entertainment, Populus Brands and Heart United premieres Sat., Oct. 3, 11 a.m. ET on the CW network. In the 17 episode series, “SAVE our SHELTER” follows Kanaka and renovation specialist North as they hit the road to revitalize, modernize and energize animal shelters and rescue facilities across America. In each episode, the co-hosts engage the local community, including contractors and craftsmen, as they transform rundown rescues and shelters with the ultimate goal of supporting healthy and happy environments to increase adoptions and save more pet lives.
About PetSmart®
PetSmart, Inc. is the largest specialty pet retailer of services and solutions for the lifetime needs of pets. At PetSmart, we love pets, and we believe pets make us better people. Every day with every connection, PetSmart’s passionate associates help bring pet parents closer to their pets so they can live more fulfilled lives. This mission impacts everything we do for our customers, the way we support our associates, and how we give back to our communities. We employ approximately 53,000 associates, operate approximately 1,433 pet stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico and approximately 202 in-store PetSmart® PetsHotel® dog and cat boarding facilities. PetSmart provides a broad range of competitively priced pet food and pet products and offers dog training, pet grooming, pet boarding,PetSmart Doggie Day Camp day care services and pet adoption services in-store. Our portfolio of digital resources for pet parents – including PetSmart.com, PetFoodDirect.com, Pet360.com, OnlyNaturalPet.com and petMD.com – offers the most comprehensive online pet supplies and pet care information in the U.S. Through our in-store pet adoption partnership with independent nonprofit organizations, PetSmart Charities™ and PetSmart Charities™ of Canada, PetSmart helps to save the lives of more than 450,000 homeless pets each year. In addition, PetSmart supports organizations that make communities a better place to call home through our philanthropy program, PetSmart Gives Back™. By giving back to the communities where we live and work, PetSmart not only celebrates the power of pets to enrich people’s lives—we live it.
About PetSmart Charities™
PetSmart Charities, Inc. is a nonprofit animal welfare organization that helps save the lives of homeless pets. More than 400,000 dogs and cats find homes each year through our adoption program in all PetSmart® stores and our sponsored adoption events. The nonprofit also funds spay/neuter services that help communities solve pet overpopulation. Averaging about $30 million each year, PetSmart Charities grants more money to directly help pets in need than any other animal welfare group in North America. PetSmart Charities is a 501(c)(3) organization, independent from PetSmart, Inc.
Contacts:
Golin for PetSmart
Danielle Bickelmann
dbickelmann@golin.com
972-341-2503
Golin for PetSmart Charities:
Jennifer Kepler
jkepler@golin.com
972-341-2552
PetSmart Media Line:
623-587-2177
Mayer & Associates: Pet Dish for DOG for DOG
Vivian Mayer
Vivian@vmayer.com
(818) 720-8846
Brie Strohmeyer
brie@vmayer.com
(310) 428-4592