Held Last Week, February National Event Aimed at Saving Lives is the Most Successful in PetSmart History
PHOENIX, 2016-Feb-18 — /EPR Retail News/ — More than 25,000 pets found their forever homes last week during PetSmart’s National Adoption Weekend event held at more than 1,400 PetSmart stores across North America — setting a new company record with the most pets adopted at these national, chain-wide events since they were initiated by the retailer more than a decade ago.
Approximately 25,027 pets were adopted through the event last week (Monday – Sunday), beating the company record by nearly 3,000 pets and representing a 43 percent adoption increase over last year’s Feb. event. This year’s efforts also included nearly 100 stores that expanded their life-saving efforts to include small animals such as ferrets, guinea pigs and rabbits.
These PetSmart signature National Adoption Weekend events are conducted in collaboration with PetSmart CharitiesTM, PetSmart CharitiesTM of Canada and their adoption partners – more than 3,000 local animal welfare organizations. While called National Adoption “Weekend,” the adoption efforts span the week with the majority of the pets, about 23,000, adopted between Friday and Sunday when many stores host large parking lot tent-events with their local adoption partners to connect adoptable pets with their forever families.
“We are thrilled so many pets – more than 25,000 in all — found their forever homes this past week in our stores,” said Eran Cohen, chief customer experience officer, PetSmart. “Our National Adoption Weekend events are highly coordinated efforts involving nearly all aspects of our company, our PetSmart Charities and PetSmart Charities of Canada nonprofit organizations and animal welfare partners. From setting up tents and preparing stores to serve as adoption centers to coordinating with our local partners, we couldn’t be more proud of the collaborative efforts that resulted in this recent adoption success — together we are saving lots of lives!”
At PetSmart stores across the country, PetSmart services associates including groomers and trainers, helped prepare adoptable dogs. For example, PetSmart groomers-in-training utilized their training hours to help adoption partners beautify their dogs and ready them for their forever families. Also a new feature this past weekend, new pet parents received a special adoption certificate and, as always, also received the PetSmart Adoption Starter Kit with tips on how to transition a newly adopted pet into the home, as well as coupons for a free bag of pet food, free one-time services for training, veterinarian and Doggie Day Camp, as well as discounts on the essentials such as bowls, collars, beds and grooming – all totaling $400 in value ($325 CAD).
Directly on the heels of the adoption success, this coming weekend, PetSmart will host its New Pet Event, featuring education and problem-solutions to help first-time pet owners welcome their newest family member and celebrate all of the exciting “firsts” — from a first bath to first accident.
Top 10 Most Adoption-Friendly Cities
PetSmart congratulates Fort Worth, which adopted out the most pets in the U.S. during the week-long event. The Fort Worth area’s local adoption partners helped find lifelong, loving homes for 300 cats and dogs.
Based on PetSmart Charities’ February National Adoption Weekend data, the top 10 cities with the most pet adoptions were:
- Fort Worth, Texas (300 adoptions)
- Houston, Texas (261 adoptions)
- Phoenix, Ariz. (222 adoptions)
- San Antonio, Texas (215 adoptions)
- Gainesville, Florida (210 adoptions)
- Lubbock, Texas (206 adoptions)
- Dallas, Texas (185 adoptions)
- Tucson, Ariz. (177 adoptions)
- Tulsa, Okla. (167 adoptions)
- Albuquerque, N.M. (166 adoptions)
Partnering to Save Lives
Each year, about 7 million pets enter shelters across North America and some 3 million healthy, adoptable pets are euthanized. To help end pet homelessness and save lives, PetSmart joins PetSmart Charities, PetSmart Charities of Canada and nearly 3,000 local animal welfare organizations across North America on a range of powerful adoption events in PetSmart stores. Four times each year, PetSmart highlights the adoption program through National Adoption Weekends where 20,000-plus pets find lifelong, loving homes in a single week.
In addition to the National Adoption Weekend events, every day pets are adopted out of PetSmart stores, which serve as extensions to local pet shelters with dedicated adoption center space. Last year, through all the combined adoption efforts at PetSmart stores two pets were adopted every minute a store was open and about 1,400 pets’ lives were saved every day.
PetSmart’s next National Adoption Weekend will be held in May. If you’re looking to add a pet to your home, consider saving a life by adopting. Visit your local PetSmart Charities adoption center in most PetSmart stores across the country, or visit www.petsmartcharities.org for more information.
Stay up-to-date on the latest news by following PetSmart Charities on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PetSmartCharities and on Twitter at @PetSmartChariTs.
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 1,444 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 — includingPetSmart.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 500,000 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.
Follow PetSmart on Twitter: @PetSmart
Find PetSmart on Facebook: www.facebook.com/PetSmart
See PetSmart on YouTube: www.YouTube.com/PetSmart
About PetSmart Charities™
PetSmart Charities, Inc. is a nonprofit animal welfare organization that saves the lives of homeless pets. Each year nearly 500,000 dogs and cats find homes through our adoption program in all PetSmart® stores across the U.S. and sponsored adoption events. Each year millions of PetSmart shoppers contribute to pets in need by making donations on a pin pad at the register. Their generous donations are then managed by PetSmart Charities, which efficiently uses 90 cents of every dollar, making funding grants and other support to help pets in need. PetSmart Charities grants more money to directly help pets in need than any other animal welfare group in North America, with a focus on funding adoption and spay/neuter programs that help communities solve pet overpopulation. PetSmart Charities is a 501(c)(3) organization, independent from PetSmart, Inc. PetSmart Charities has received the Four Star Rating for the past 13 years from Charity Navigator, an independent nonprofit that reports on the effectiveness, accountability and transparency of nonprofits, placing it among the top one percent of charities rated by this organization.
About PetSmart Charities of Canada
PetSmart Charities of Canada is a nonprofit animal welfare organization that saves the lives of homeless pets in Canada. Each year more than 20,000 cats and dogs find Canadian homes through our adoption program in nearly all PetSmart® stores across Canada and our sponsored adoption events. A leading funder of animal welfare, PetSmart Charities of Canada has granted more than $9 million to help pets in need with a funding focus on adoption and spay/neuter programs that help communities solve pet overpopulation. PetSmart Charities of Canada is a registered charity, independent from PetSmart, Inc.
Contacts:
Golin for PetSmart Inc.:
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