PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc.
For the fifth year, PETCO and its Foundation made a concerted two-day effort to place as many orphaned animals as possible in loving homes. This year, PETCO partnered with the online adoption organization Petfinder.com, which brought an additional 3,500 animal welfare organizations into the spotlight, enabling more than 10,000 homeless animals to be placed with loving families. Both of these organizations make the adoption of homeless animals a year-round cause.
"This was a great weekend, and we really saw an outpouring of support for the adoption option," PETCO Foundation Director Paul Jolly said. "The media support we received for this event helped us highlight the plight of abandoned animals, and the importance of responsible pet parenting."
PETCO's 571 stores gave out pet goodie bags and provided special adoption gift booklets to new pet parents, to help defray the initial costs of providing for their adopted friends with food and toys for their improved environment. Dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, guinea pigs, hamsters and rabbits found homes during this event. One store even saw the adoption of a pot-bellied pig, and, in Texas, a donkey found a new home.
"The National Adoption Days event really brought attention to homeless animals," said Petfinder.com President Betsy Saul. "But we want people to also realize that there are opportunities to adopt new companions every day of the year."
The American Society for the Prevention and Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) estimates that there are eight to 12 million pets relinquished to shelters and rescue groups each year. PETCO and Petfinder offer a second chance for those orphaned companion animals.
People interested in adopting a companion animal can visit their neighborhood PETCO store for information on upcoming in-store adoption events, or to their local animal shelter. To find a store near you, log on to http://www.petco.com/ . Or, to locate adoptable animals in your area, check out http://www.petfinder.com/ .
PETCO is a leading specialty retailer of premium food and supplies and pet services. PETCO's strategy is to offer its customers a complete assortment of pet-related products at competitive prices, with superior levels of customer service at convenient locations. PETCO generated net sales of $1.3 billion in the fiscal year ended February 2, 2002. It operates more than 570 neighborhood stores in 42 states and the District of Columbia, as well as a leading destination for on-line pet food and supplies at http://www.petco.com/ . The PETCO Foundation, PETCO's non-profit organization, has raised more than $8 million since inception in 1999. More than 700 non-profit grassroots animal welfare organizations from around the nation have received support from the Foundation.
Petfinder.com is the nation's largest and oldest online adoption community. Working with more than 3,500 animal welfare organizations across the country, Petfinder.com offers a searchable database of adoptable companion animals.
SOURCE: PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc.
Contact: Paul Jolly of PETCO Foundation, +1-626-287-0952,
+1-858-453-7845, ext. 3571,
Website: http://www.petco.com/
