Petco Foundation Surpasses $100 Million in Funds Raised for Animal Welfare

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Petco Foundation, a non-profit serving as a voice for companion animals across the country since 1999, has just surpassed the $100 million mark for funds raised to help animals. To celebrate the milestone, the Petco Foundation and Petco store associates have selected 100 charitable partners to receive a $1,000 donation each, and now Petco and the Petco Foundation are letting pet lovers nationwide vote for 10 of the 100 charitable partners to receive an additional $10,000 each.

Public voting begins at noon EDT today via the Petco Foundation's Facebook page and runs through noon EDT on Oct. 5. Facebook users can vote at facebook.com/petcofoundation. The 10 winners of the $10,000 will be announced on or before Oct. 12.

"The Petco Foundation has done so much in supporting us as we help countless pets in our community. We were thrilled to hear we will be receiving the $1,000 and we were elated to find out we are in the running for $10,000," said Sharon Sipprell of The Cat Adoption Team in Sherwood, Ore., the Pacific Northwest's largest nonprofit cat shelter. "We are excited and ready to get our online communities engaged and voting. $10,000 is an enormous sum for a local community group like ours, and it could do so much to really help a lot of our animals."

"This is a huge milestone for the Petco Foundation, and we cannot say thank you enough for the great work of all of our charitable partners and pet lovers who have supported our work for animals for more than 13 great years," said Paul Jolly, executive director of the Petco Foundation. "This celebration is about marking the tremendous generosity of pet lovers everywhere and our continued commitment to companion animals, animal welfare organizations and humane education."

The Foundation donates approximately $15 million a year to assist companion animals across the country. The organization is funded through donations raised during fundraisers conducted in Petco's more than 1,000 stores across the country, as well as from Petco associates, vendors and corporate contributions. Money raised helps fund animal welfare organizations, support adoption and spay and neuter efforts, animal assisted therapy programs and humane education. The majority of the funds raised remain in the community in which they were raised, but the Petco Foundation is also involved in many national animal welfare efforts.

To learn more about the Petco Foundation and how you can make a difference for animals in your community and across the country, visit www.petcofoundation.org. To learn more about Petco or to find a location near you, visit www.petco.com.

About Petco and the Petco Foundation
Petco is a leading pet specialty retailer that provides the products, services and advice that make it easier for our customers to be great pet parents. Everything we do is guided by our vision for Healthier Pets. Happier People. Better World. We operate more than 1150 stores nationwide, including more than 50 Unleashed by Petco locations, a smaller format neighborhood shop, and www.petco.com.  The Petco Foundation, an independent nonprofit organization, has raised more than $100 million since it was created in 1999 to help promote and improve the welfare of companion animals. In conjunction with the Foundation, we work with and support approximately 8,000 local animal welfare groups across the country to help find homes for more than 250,000 animals through in-store adoption events every year.

SOURCE Petco