Canadian Pet Lovers Quickly Donate More Than $176,000 to Fort McMurray Pets and Their Families at PetSmart® Stores and PetSmartcharities.ca
PetSmart Charities® of Canada Quickly Delivers Funds to Animal Welfare Partners on the Front Lines
TORONTO, ON – (May 25, 2016) – Canadians have stepped up to help the pets and pet parents affected by the wildfire crisis in Fort McMurray, contributing more than $176,000 in just 14 days to PetSmart Charitie® of Canada through PetSmart® stores and PetSmartcharities.ca.
On May 6, PetSmart Charities of Canada announced that, through May 20, all donations made at PetSmart stores across the country and at PetSmartcharities.ca. would be directed to supporting pets, their families, and the Fort McMurray community.
“$176,000 raised in 14 days speaks to the incredible generosity of our customers and to the empathy Canadians have for the pets and pet parents affected by the disaster in Northern Alberta,” said John DeFranco, President of PetSmart Canada and Chairperson of PetSmart Charities of Canada’s Board of Directors. “On behalf of PetSmart, PetSmart Charities of Canada and our local partners, we want to thank everyone who has donated.”
In support of the relief efforts, so far, through quick action and wiring the funding in most cases, PetSmart Charities of Canada has already committed more than $139,000 in Emergency Relief Grants to the following animal welfare organizations working on the front lines in Alberta:
- Fort McMurray SPCA
- Edmonton Humane Society
- Infinite WOOFs Animal Rescue
- Zoe’s Animal Rescue Society
- Barrhead Animal Rescue Society
- Alberta Spay Neuter Task Force Society
Food drives in Alberta PetSmart stores have also generated nearly 2,000 pet food items that will be distributed to partners in the Fort McMurray area.
Additionally, PetSmart Charities of Canada and PetSmart committed to contributing at least $100,000 in relief, including pet food and other pet supplies, to several animal welfare organizations. Funding from this initiative will continue to support rebuilding efforts and other community needs in the months ahead.
About PetSmart® Canada
In Canada, PetSmart is the largest specialty pet retailer of services and solutions for the lifetime needs of pets. At PetSmart, we believe pets make us better people. That’s why we create more moments for people to be inspired by pets. 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 3,500 associates and operate 113 pet stores across Canada with 7 operating 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, and pet adoption services in-store. Our portfolio of digital resources for pet parents – including PetSmart.ca, Pet360.com' and petMD.com – offers the most comprehensive online pet supplies and pet care information in North America. Through its in-store pet adoption partnership with PetSmart Charities of Canada, PetSmart has helped save the lives of 200,000 pets since 1999. 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.
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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.
For more information, or to speak with someone from PetSmart Charities of Canada, please contact:
Michael Bouliane, PetSmart Charities of Canada:
mbouliane[at]petsmartcharities[dot]org
647-201-1155
PetSmart Media Line:
623-587-2711
