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written by Kim Smith on December 7th, 2011 |  - (Comments are closed)
Each of the 6 animals depicted in our Tree of Hope Rescued Cards represents an organization that saved, rehabilitated and, in most cases, adopted that pet out to a loving family. These organizations need your support to continue their life saving missions.
If you are a “social” person, Petco Foundation has come up with a fun way for you to help one of these organizations win a $500 grant. From noon PST on December 7 to noon PST on December 8, we have given you multiple ways to vote (and you can use as many or few of them as you want). Continue reading »
written by Lori Wildrick on November 10th, 2011 |
  Three pups, taken by Petco Associate J. Orlando This Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 12 and 13, Iams will join Petcos across the country for a very special national adoption event. Come by and shake paws with the dozens of fur-ociously cute dogs and cats that are hoping for a warm, loving home this holiday season. And, should you find your forever friend, Iams will give Continue reading »
written by Kim Smith on October 18th, 2011 |
As told by Executive Director of the Petco Foundation, Paul Jolly
 Rescue work can be heartbreaking (and heartwarming), but a real low moment came for me in February of this year. I was dealing with some personal and very terrible health news when I received a call from an acquaintance of mine requesting assistance in placing his Pug. The story was all too familiar: the owner was moving to an apartment with a no-pet policy, and apparently nothing could be done about it. Originally he said I had ten days to place his dog and later that changed to seven. But the real gut wrencher was this: the dog was 14 years old. 14 years old!! My mind could not stop repeating, “14 years old!!” (I learned later that she was actually two months short of 15.)
Surely the landlord could make an exception for such an old dog? No. Sorry, no exceptions. Surely, the owner has a family member who could take the dog? Someone the dog knows? No. They’re all too busy raising their families. Surely the owner has a friend with a heart who could help. No. They’re too busy with their own lives. Surely the owner wouldn’t desert his best friend at the very time when she needs him the most? Ah, but the lease was signed and the money transferred. An apartment had become more important than a life-long companion. In a word, “Fern” had become disposable. Continue reading »
written by Kim Smith on October 13th, 2011 |
  Currently there are 15 purebred Labrador Retrievers at our local shelter. One of them, Molly, is the sweetest 8 month old adolescent who looks amazingly like the yellow lab I had when I was a young adult. She leans in to your hand and gazes up at you with these adoring chocolate colored eyes. When I visited her yesterday, she lifted a paw in my direction and then squished up against the bars of her kennel for some soft pets. I know she’ll be adopted quickly by someone who specifically wants a lab and who is savvy enough to know that they will find one at the shelter. Additionally our local Lab rescues have an abundance of every age and every color of labs that have been rescued through the county shelters over the years. There are three Lab rescues in our city – that’s how many labs end up in shelters here! Yet, when I mention to an avid animal welfare zealot that a specific breed seems a good fit for their family, they generally get this horrified look on their faces and assume that I’m recommending that they purchase a dog from a breeder. Often they look down their noses at me, snort “I will take a rescue, thank you very much” and storm off in the opposite direction, muttering how the Petco Foundation certainly is misguided. Their assumption is that rescues are only mixed breed dogs.
Unfortunately shelters and rescues today do not Continue reading »
written by Lori Wildrick on October 5th, 2011 |
 From "rescue" to "rescuer," Moki is his boy's best friend My son’s first word wasn’t “dog,” but it should have been. From a very early age, he wanted a dog. While he loved our cats, he wanted a buddy that he could take to the park to play Frisbee.
So when James was about to turn 12, we felt he was old enough to handle the responsibilities that come with dog ownership. We sat down and discussed the prospective new family member. He wanted a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. We went on a mission. We bought books about Cavaliers. We read stories about Cavaliers. We looked at pictures of puppies on the Internet. But when James saw me reading a story about a dog that was red-tagged and would not have seen another day if a kind soul hadn’t snatched him out fo the shelter, he changed his mind. “Let’s rescue a dog!” he said.
We visited our local shelter. There were many wonderful dogs, but James was looking for Continue reading »
written by Daniel Sundin on September 21st, 2011 |
The following guest blog comes from Susan Hartzler from Alpha Dog PR in support of Petco’s National Adoption Reunion.
 Baldwin cheers up the children at County USC Medical Center with his special kind of canine love. I’m a dog lover. Have always been one, will always be one. My first dog as an adult was a pound mutt I named Blondie. She lived to be 19-and-a-half years old and I cherish every moment I spent with her. When she died, it was so excruciatingly painful that I felt like I had lost the best part of me, my own soul was gone. I didn’t know who I was any longer if I didn’t have that blonde fur ball to look after.
I decided to volunteer at a local animal shelter. Immediately, I met a little black curly haired puppy who made it clear he had eyes for me but my heart was too broken to consider bringing him home. He sure was trying to convince me otherwise.
“Mom, you don’t think I should get another dog, do you?” I called her that night certain she would be the voice of reason.
“You’re a dog person. Of course you should Continue reading »
written by Daniel Sundin on September 7th, 2011 |
The following guest blog comes from Travelin’ Jack and his person Jill in support of Petco’s National Adoption Reunion.
 I am not just any ordinary dog (at least I don’t think I am!). I am a Travel Writer’s Assistant and Sidekick! And I love to hit the road with her on our adventures around New Mexico! But first, Iet me tell you a bit about myself. In addition to traveling around our beautiful state, I do have a history…I am a rescue dog….and here is how my story began!
My person…..her name is Jill (that’s right…..we are the “Jack and Jill” team!) was actively searching for a new bulldog partner. Her special friend, Patricia, who lives in Colorado (and is a special angel in her own rights) works actively for a Great Dane rescue organization. She knew Jill was looking for a bulldog, and when she came across my photo and profile on the Pueblo CO animal shelter website…well, she just knew! A phone call, and the process was started. Soon I was adopted by Jill. I was a sprite 7 months young, full of p….and vinegar! My first family didn’t understand that doggies need more than love and food…they also need direction and training. I didn’t know that at first, but I soon learned from Jill what behaving is all about! Of course that came after a couple of little Continue reading »
written by Kim Smith on February 11th, 2011 |
 A couple of weeks ago, I had my headphones on and was happily chair dancing to a little Echo and the Bunnymen when all of a sudden the music just stopped. I looked at my ipod and it was still on. I checked the volume on my headphones and it was in the full volume position, carefully set to drown out work distractions. Then it dawned on me… With both hands, I picked up the cord from where it draped down from my desk and it came up in two pieces.
I looked down by my feet to see big brown eyes and a twitching nose staring back up at me. “Oops mommy“, the face seemed to say. Yes, my bunny learning curve is slow and, since I started fostering Hef about 6 weeks ago, I’ve lost a mouse, a keyboard, almost a phone, and now a pair of headphones to the sharp little bunny teeth.
I wasn’t sure how I would feel about Continue reading »
written by Brooke Simon on January 21st, 2011 |
 Ripley Before and After – photos courtesy of Ripley’s Believe it or Not
His story was meant to be a tragic one. He was discovered in a Louisiana ditch, abandoned, so badly matted that he was unable to walk. Local rescue group, My Heart’s Desire, took him in, nicknaming him Ripley because “believe it or not, there is a dog in there.” Ripley had to be sedated to be groomed; veterinarians found cockroaches — both dead and alive — snared in the 2.5 pounds of fur they cut off.
But word of Ripley’s journey traveled fast. More than 50 applicants came forward, hoping to provide Ripley a better tomorrow. Within a few days, the VP of Communications for Ripley’s Believe it or Not, Tim O’Brien, contacted the shelter to get involved. They offered to pay for his medical care, provided a gift card for food and supplies, and made a donation to the shelter. Finally new owners were chosen, and that’s when PETCO got involved. Continue reading »
written by Kim Smith on December 16th, 2010 |
As told by Susan Rosenberg, PETCO Foundation National Adoptions Manager
Gracie never had a chance to be a dog, stuck in a tiny crate all day and night, no one to pet her, no one to care. She was treated like a forgotten toy.
Her family thought it would be fun to have a small purse dog, a dog to carry around and show off. They found her at a pet store. Price did not matter. They were determined to have a trophy.
The family never trained Gracie. Never completed her vaccinations or spayed her. It should not have been a surprise when she Continue reading »
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