Pet Valu, the leading Canadian specialty retailer of pet food and pet-related supplies, proudly announced today that its annual Pet Appreciation Month initiatives in June raised more than $2.2 million in monetary and product donations for over 400 animal-related causes across Canada. This year’s total donations are the highest raised since Pet Appreciation Month was founded in 2011.
“We are so grateful for all the devoted pet lovers who helped make this year’s Pet Appreciation Month our most successful to date,” says Tanbir Grover, Chief Digital and Marketing Officer at Pet Valu. “Every day, staff and volunteers at community animal rescues, shelters and charities across Canada work tirelessly with limited resources to provide much needed care for local animals in need. Thanks to the generous donations from devoted pet lovers across Canada we can provide essential funds and products to hundreds of animal rescues, shelters and charities from coast to coast.”
Pet Appreciation Month is the largest of Pet Valu’s Companions for Change annual initiatives. Throughout the month, customers at each of Pet Valu’s more than 700 Canadian stores outside of Quebec can purchase a paper PAW for a donation amount of their choosing and dedicate it to a pet or loved one. Customers can also purchase and donate a product of their choosing to the store’s designated local rescue or cause; 100 per cent of all donations go to the local rescue, shelter or cause. Since inception in 2011, Pet Appreciation Month has raised more than $16 million in dollars and donations.
During Pet Appreciation Month, select stores in the Pet Valu family host a National Adoption Weekend. On this weekend, participating stores welcome adoptable pets, volunteers and rescue staff into their stores to help find homes for pets in need. This year, over 900 pets in need found forever homes. Over the years, Pet Valu National Adoption Weekends have helped find forever homes for more than 48,000 pets.
“Our stores are owned and operated by Animal Care Experts who care deeply about animal causes in their communities and want to give back,” says Grover. “This year’s outstanding results are a testament to our Animal Care Expert’s passion to help and the generosity of the devoted pet lovers who visit our stores every day.”
