- Grants will help facilitate more than 200,000 spay and neuter surgeries in local communities
- across North America to proactively prevent unplanned litters and reduce pet homelessness
PHOENIX, 2017-Feb-03 — /EPR Retail News/ — Pet overpopulation is a serious issue, but there are solutions. February is National Spay and Neuter Awareness Month, and leaders in the animal welfare industry are aiming to raise awareness of the significant impact spay and neuter surgeries can have in reducing the overpopulation of pets. PetSmart Charities, the leading funder of animal welfare in North America, is continuing its work in this area and today announced it has issued more than $11 million in grants to over 200 animal welfare organizations over the course of two months. The grants will help fund more than 200,000 no-cost or low-cost spay and neuter surgeries for pets in need – both owned and free-roaming – across the United States and Canada in 2017.
While spaying and neutering pets is essential to curbing unplanned litters, veterinary care is not always affordable nor accessible for all pet parents and families. With these grants, animal welfare organizations in local communities across the continent will offer free or low-cost surgeries – about $20 – for a procedure that can traditionally cost as much as $100 or more.
“Spaying and neutering pets is key to reducing the number of pets entering shelters, lowering euthanasia rates and proactively preventing pet homelessness,” said David Haworth, DVM, Ph.D., president of PetSmart Charities. “By partnering with more than 200 animal welfare organizations, PetSmart Charities can help provide accessible spay and neuter services for pets and pet parents in need across North America. This brings us one step closer to ending pet homelessness and finding lifelong, loving forever homes for all pets.”
PetSmart Charities provided the grants to more than 200 animal welfare organizations. Below are examples of the impact of this significant funding support across North America:
- Altered Tails (Phoenix, Ariz.) received more than $300,000 to provide low-cost services for at-risk breeds, Pit Bulls, cats and Chihuahuas for $20. Funding will also help cover critical vaccinations and support 4,450 surgeries at the organization’s facilities in Phoenix, Mesa and Tucson, Ariz.
- Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Newmarket, Ontario) will use $135,000 in grants to provide pet transfers, food, supplies, spay and neuter procedures and wellness services to pet parents in remote First Nations communities across Ontario, Canada. The grant will support an estimated 250 pets in need.
- Second Chance Animal Shelter (East Brookfield, Mass.) was awarded a grant for more than $180,000 to secure essential clinical equipment for its third subsidized veterinary clinic and low-cost spay and neuter program with the goal of assisting an estimated 2,500 pets.
- Spay-Neuter Assistance Program, Inc. (SNAP) was awarded two PetSmart Charities spay and neuter grants. A grant of $158,000 will make it possible to provide an estimated 1,200 free spay/neuter surgeries for dog and cat companions of income-qualified residents of the Greater Houston Area. A second grant of $52,000 will fund approximately 500 free surgeries for residents in and around the San Antonio, Texas, metropolitan area.
- University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Philadelphia, Penn.) secured more than $450,000 to fund a three-year spay and neuter surgical program with Penn Vet’s Surgical Outreach Program. This grant will be used to secure a mobile clinic and nursing/technical staffing to execute surgeries for 4,000 rescue, shelter and community pets in need per year. In addition, the program is predicted to train at least 200 veterinary students per year while spearheading medical and education outreach to the community and shelters.
Thanks in large part to the support of generous PetSmart® shoppers who donate in stores using the pin pad at checkout, PetSmart Charities, along with its Canadian counterpart, PetSmart Charities™ of Canada, has contributed more than $300 million to date to directly help pets in need – more than any other funder of animal welfare in North America. With the help of its animal welfare partners, the organization has funded more than 1.4 million spay and neuter surgeries in the U.S. since 2009.
In 2016, PetSmart Charities introduced a new focus on strategic grant-making and unveiled an expanded mission, allowing it to reach beyond its core efforts to end pet homelessness and help pets in need to include connecting pets and people. In late February, the organization will unveil an enhanced online application process and its 2017 grant cycle calendar with more information on how to apply across 10 new grant categories.
For more information on how to make a donation to PetSmart Charities® and PetSmart Charities™ of Canada or to apply for a grant on behalf of a deserving animal welfare organization*, please visit PetSmartCharities.org or PetSmartCharities.ca.
*Must provide documentation verifying status as a 501(c)(3) organization for the US or registered charity in Canada.
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 PetSmart Charities to help pets in need by making donations on a pin pad at the register. PetSmart Charities efficiently uses 90 cents of every dollar to support its mission of finding lifelong, loving homes for all pets. 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 $10 million to help pets in need with a funding focus on adoption, spay/neuter programs that help communities solve pet overpopulation, and providing emergency relief funding and supplies to pets and pet parents impacted by natural or man-made disasters. PetSmart Charities of Canada is a registered charity, independent from PetSmart.
Contact:
Lauren Sawyer
lsawyer@petsmart.com
623-295-3238
PetSmart Media Line:
623-587-2177
Source: PetSmart Inc.