Celebrate “Gotcha Day” – The Day Adopted Pets Find Their Forever Home

For the first time, PetSmart will throw a “Happy Gotcha Day” celebration to help find homes for about 15,000 homeless pets during the next PetSmart Charities National Adoption Weekend, Sept. 11-13, when more than 1,400 PetSmart stores will host the event in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. The thousands of pets with unknown birthdays that are expected to be adopted will now have a day to call their own.

“For adopted pets, confirming a birthday is tough, so we wanted to call out to these new pet parents that special day – ‘Gotcha Day’ – to celebrate the moment they brought home their newest family member,” said Eran Cohen, executive vice president of customer experience, PetSmart, Inc.

People adopting pets – at PetSmart or elsewhere -- can also receive PetSmart’s free Adoption Starter Kit, offered every day at stores and featuring tips for caring for a new cat or dog, and a range of coupons valued at $400 in savings. The coupons cover everything a new pet parent needs including beds, bowls, collars, leashes, free one-time services such as veterinarian, grooming, boarding, training and Doggie Day Camp, as well as a free bag of dog or cat food under the brands Simply Nourish™, Authority® and Good Natured™ -- all of which are proud sponsors of PetSmart Charities™ Adoptions and National Adoption Weekends. These food brands also give back by donating more than 200 tons of food every year to help pets in need.

PetSmart partners with thousands of local shelters and animal welfare organizations and supporting the pet food and supply needs of these partners is a top priority. Sept. 7-13 all PetSmart stores are also running a food drive whereby customers can purchase food (or other pet supplies) in local stores and drop the items into a bin to be donated to these local partners.

Partnering to Save Lives

“When you adopt a pet, you save two lives – that of the pet you bring home and another who takes his or her place at the adoption event,” said Julie White, senior director of programs, PetSmart Charities, the nonprofit leader in pet adoptions and the largest funder of animal welfare in North America.

Pet adoption is fun, enriching and most importantly, lifesaving. Each year about 7 million pets enter shelters across North America and some 3 million healthy, adoptable pets are euthanized. To help, PetSmart teams up with PetSmart Charities to run National Adoption Weekends four times a year. On average, some 15,000 pets find families during these weekend events.

PetSmart Charities adoption events and adoption centers in PetSmart stores have proven to be one of the most effective ways to save pets’ lives. In fact, 6 million pets have found homes through the program since 1994 and now PetSmart and PetSmart Charities help save more than 1,000 pets a day with one pet adopted every minute a PetSmart store is open.

How to Adopt & Celebrate Gotcha Day

Where: PetSmart Charities Adoption Centers or designated adoption areas in all PetSmart stores

When: Fri., Sept. 11 and Sat., Sept. 12, 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Sun., Sept. 13, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Contact: Find the PetSmart store nearest you at http://pets.petsmart.com/adoptions/ or call 1-877-473-8762.

Share: Use #gotchaday to share the news!

Pet parents are invited to post photos of their newly adopted pets using #gotchaday and tag @PetSmart on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to share their news and to support this lifesaving event.

Join the Conversation

You can follow PetSmart Charities and PetSmart on Facebook throughout National Adoption Weekend at www.facebook.com/PetSmartCharities and www.facebook.com/PetSmart. Or, talk with us on Twitter at @PetSmartChariTs and @PetSmart and on Instagram by following the hashtags #adoptlove and #gotchaday.

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Some Puppy To Love

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