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PETsMART Announces 2 Million Dogs Adopted
PETsMART Announces 2 Million Dogs Adopted
Retailer of pet supplies marks the 2 millionth dog adopted
through its in-store adoption center.
October 17, 2004
Louie entered the Metro East Humane Society in O'Fallon,
Ill., homeless, abused and facing an uncertain future and
went home today a celebrity -- the 2-millionth pet adopted
from one of PETsMART's nearly 700 in-store adoption centers.
It took seven years to reach the 1-millionth adoption and
only three years to reach the 2-millionth, showing the accelerating
popularity of pet adoptions by Americans.
The Armstrong family adopted Louie, a 3-year-old Beagle mix,
at the PETsMART store in their hometown of O'Fallon, Ill.
The family of five had wanted to adopt a dog for a long time
but waited for just the right moment. After they returned
to Illinois from Germany, where their father, Shane, was stationed
in the Air Force, the family began making frequent visits
to the PETsMART adoption center where they eventually found
their new four-legged family member.
"We knew right away that Louie would fit right in with us,
and we're thrilled to give him a safe, happy place to live
after the unfortunate past he's had. We even gave him his
own e-mail address so he can e-mail notes to the kids," said
Leslie Armstrong, mother to David, 15, Stephanie, 13, and
Kayle, 6. "We want our children to grow up with pets because
they bring so much joy," Leslie said, "and the adoption experience
has helped teach the kids the importance of making thoughtful
decisions about adding a pet to the family and saving a pet's
life."
In addition to Louie gaining a new, loving family, he'll
receive pet products and a lifetime of services from PETsMART
including food, grooming, training and five years of preventive
veterinary care through an Optimum Wellness Plan from Banfield,
The Pet Hospital. For its part, the Metro East Humane Society
will receive a $1,000 grant and a large supply of pet food.
PETsMART reached its 1-millionth adoption in 2001, when 5-year-old
Annie Bradford saved her allowance to adopt Elsie, a 2-year-old
Retriever Mix, in Lexington, Ky. With PETsMART adoption centers
increasingly finding loving homes for homeless pets each day
-- the current rate is now more than 1,000 per day and growing
-- the 3-millionth adoption could be reached in two years.
Since its inception in 1987, PETsMART has chosen to not sell
dogs or cats in stores, but rather to encourage and support
pet adoptions. In 1994, PETsMART, working in partnership with
PETsMART Charities, began to donate space in each store to
local shelters and humane organizations to help place good
pets in good homes.
PETsMART Charities provides financial and other support to
select animal welfare groups that use the centers to showcase
their adoptive pets. "We're excited and proud to see the difference
we're able to make in pets' and families' lives," said Susana
Della Maddalena, PETsMART Charities executive director. "We
are sincerely grateful for the 2 million people who've adopted
a pet and our 2,700 animal welfare partners who facilitate
our in-store adoptions for helping us save so many lives."
A celebration of adopted pets will take place at the O'Fallon,
Ill., PETsMART store on Sunday, Oct. 17, to mark the occasion
and, more importantly, to celebrate the significant role pet
adoptions play in reducing pet overpopulation and unnecessary
euthanasia.
About PETsMART
PETsMART, Inc., (Nasdaq: PETM) is the largest specialty retailer
of services and solutions for the lifetime needs of pets.
The company operates about 700 pet stores in the U.S. and
Canada, as well as a large pet supply catalog business and
the Internet's leading online provider of pet products and
information (http://www.petsmart.com).
PETsMART provides a broad range of competitively priced pet
food and supplies, and offers complete pet training, grooming
and adoption services to provide total lifetime care for pets.
About PETsMART Charities
Since its inception in 1994, PETsMART Charities (PCI) has
helped save the lives of 2 million once-homeless pets and
has given more than $31 million to animal welfare programs.
PCI works to improve the quality of lives for companion animals
by creating and supporting programs that save the lives of
homeless pets, facilitating adoptions through in-store programs,
raising awareness of companion animal welfare issues and promoting
healthy relationships between people and pets. To learn more
about how PCI is working to help find a lifelong, loving home
for every pet, visit http://www.petsmartcharities.org
or call 1-800-423-PETS.
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