First-Ever Ice Cream Truck with Treats for Pups and Their Parents Visits New York City Again and Expands to Seattle, Dallas and Toronto to Kick-Off Free Doggie Ice Cream Sundaes at all PetSmart PetsHotel® Locations on July 16
PHOENIX, 2017-Jul-06 — /EPR Retail News/ — PetSmart launched the first-ever Doggie-Human Ice Cream Truck in New York City last year in celebration of National Ice Cream Day and this year is going coast-to-coast to bring more of these unique treat trucks to dogs and their pet parents. On July 12, one PetSmart-sponsored truck per city will visit parks in New York City, Seattle, Dallas and Toronto hosting free pop-up ice cream socials for dogs and their humans in celebration of National Ice Cream Day on Sunday, July 16, when additional free Doggie Ice Cream Sundaes will also be doled out to pets who visit any PetSmart PetsHotel locations.
Last year, PetSmart laid claim to the first-ever ice cream truck to serve up dog-friendly ice cream along with ice cream treats for humans. This ice cream truck rolled about the streets of New York City to celebrate National Ice Cream Day 2016, visiting dog parks and serving more than 1,000 ice cream treats in a single day.
“When we saw how fun and engaging theDoggie Ice Cream Truck was last year in New York City, we knew we wanted to expand this program coast-to-coast,” said Eran Cohen, chief customer experience officer for PetSmart. “We are excited to celebrate with pet parents again in New York City, and for the first time with those in Dallas, Seattle and Toronto on July 12. These events are a powerful way to gear up for the free Doggie Ice Cream Sundaes available at all PetsHotel locations across North America on National Ice Cream Day.”
In 1984, President Reagan declared National Ice Cream Day as the third Sunday of July and the full month of July as National Ice Cream Month. National Ice Cream Day has been celebrated for decades, but more recently with pets. The dog-safe ice cream is vanilla flavored and non-dairy, as many dogs have challenges with lactose products. The sundaes are topped with dog biscuit sprinkles for a savory-sweet combination and a cool treat to beat the summertime heat in July.
“The dog ice cream sundaes offered every day at our PetsHotel locations are a great example of the wonderful hospitality we provide to our pet guests,” said Joanna Zucker, vice president of services for PetSmart. “In addition to the four pop-up ice cream socials, we will also be offering free Doggie Ice Cream Sundaes to dogs that visit any PetsHotel location on National Ice Cream Day, Sunday, July 16. While there, pet parents can tour our facility and see first-hand the exceptional pet services offered daily at PetSmart’s PetsHotels.”
Several local celebrity pets will be attending the various ice cream socials for meet-and-greets and photo ops. The following opportunities to celebrate and get a free ice cream treat for pups and their humans include:
Wednesday, July 12
New York City
Noon – 4 p.m. local time – Washington Square Park
@tinkerbellethedog (143K followers)
@ipartywithbrucewayne (57.9K followers)
@thedailywalter (83.3K followers) – Streaming Facebook Live with PetSmart at 1:00 p.m. ET
4:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. local time – Madison Square Park
@oscarfrenchienyc (166K followers)
@ipartywithbrucewayne (57.9K followers)
@puppynamedcharlie (56.4K followers)
@chloekardoggian (149K followers)
@mervinthechihuahua (69.1K followers)
Dallas
Noon – 8 p.m. local time – Klyde Warren Park
@nelsonthegoldendoodle (32.6K followers)
Seattle
Noon – 8 p.m. local time – Seattle Center – International Fountain
@buddhathepug (9K followers)
Toronto
Noon – 4 p.m. local time – Berczy Park
4:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. – Woodbine Park
@remsandshmends (51.1K followers)
@lildogbigcity (22.8k followers)
Sunday, July 16
Doggie Ice Cream Sundaes only (no human ice cream treats served) offered at all PetSmart PetsHotel locations across North America. Go to petsmart.com/store-locator/ to find a PetsHotel location.
All times above are local times; all ice cream treats, while supplies last.
PetSmart is encouraging pet parents to share photos and videos on Facebook and Instagram of their pets enjoying National Ice Cream day using #nationalicecreamday and tagging PetSmart.
About PetsHotel Services
About 50 percent of the U.S. population lives within 30 minutes of a PetSmart PetsHotel. Whether pets need to stay for an extended period in the overnight accommodations or just need a fun-filled day of supervised play at the Doggie Day Camp, PetSmart PetsHotels offer a variety of services, great hospitality and amenities to create a get-a-way as unique as your pet:
- Expert Care: Safety-certified, pet-loving staff with 24/7 onsite care and on-call veterinarian.
- The Private Suite: What better way to show your best friend how special he or she is than to upgrade to a Private Suite? It’s spacious, private and furnished with a comfy bed called a Poochy Cot and a TV tuned to pet-centric movies.
- PetSmart Doggie Day Camp: Pets exercise and socialize with other dogs in a dedicated indoor play area full of toys, while pet parents are at work or out of the house for the day. Flexible drop-off and pick-up times and Doggie Valet make it convenient for parents’ schedules. Doggie Day Camp goers can participate in monthly parties with free ice cream sundaes and fun themes.
- Individual Playtime: Your pup can receive personal attention and one-on-one fun with a Pet Care Specialist.
- Unlimited Relief Walks.
- Treat Time with Doggie Ice Cream Sundaes: Includes dog-safe vanilla soft serve ice cream with crunchy biscuit toppings for pets to cool down on hot summer days.
- Easy Add-Ons: Let pet parents customize their stay with playtime, snacks and salon services.
- Easy Booking Options: Book your pet’s stay by phone, online or through the PetSmart app.
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, together, can live more fulfilled lives. This vision impacts everything we do for our customers, the way we support our associates and how we give back to our communities. We employ approximately 55,000 associates, operate more than 1,500 pet stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, as well as more than 200 in-store PetSmart® PetsHotel® dog and cat boarding facilities. PetSmart provides a broad range of competitively priced pet food and products, as well as pet-focused services such as dog training, pet grooming, pet boarding, PetSmart® Doggie Day Camp® and pet adoption. PetSmart, together with non-profits PetSmart Charities® and PetSmart Charities™ of Canada, invite more than 3,000 animal welfare organizations to bring adoptable pets into stores so they have the best chance possible of finding a forever home. Through this in-store adoption program and other signature events, PetSmart has facilitated more than 7.4 million adoptions – more than any other brick-and-mortar organization. The company’s portfolio of digital resources for pet parents includes PetSmart.com, PetFoodDirect.com, OnlyNaturalPet.com, Pet360.com, petMD.com, Pawculture.com, AllPaws, an online pet adoption platform that helps potential pet parents find the perfect pet to adopt based on their home, family and lifestyle, as well as BlogPaws, the world’s first pet blogger and influencer network. Through these digital platforms, PetSmart offers the most comprehensive online pet supplies and pet care information in the U.S. In celebration of its 30th anniversary, PetSmart launched its Buy a Bag, Give a Meal™ program in March 2017. For every bag of cat or dog food purchased March 1 – Dec. 31, 2017, PetSmart will donate a meal to pets in need and expects to donate more than 60 million meals in 2017*.
Follow PetSmart on Twitter: @PetSmart
Find PetSmart on Facebook: www.facebook.com/PetSmart
See PetSmart on YouTube: www.YouTube.com/PetSmart
*Ends 12/31/17. 5 oz. dog food, 1.5 oz. cat food donated to PetSmart Charities to feed dogs and cats in need. See details at petsmart.com/giveameal. The actual number of meals donated is based on dog and cat food bags sold. The meal donation estimate is based on historic sales for similar time periods. No guaranteed amount. Rescue Bank and Feeding America will help distribute a large portion of the pet food donation in the U.S.
Source: PetSmart, Inc.