PetSmart Charities® Delivers More than $11 Million to Fuel Local Spay and Neuter Efforts Ahead of National Spay and Neuter Awareness Month

Grants will help facilitate more than 200,000 spay and neuter
surgeries in local communities across North America to proactively
prevent unplanned litters and reduce pet homelessness

PHOENIX–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Pet overpopulation is a serious issue, but there are solutions. February
is National Spay and Neuter Awareness Month, and leaders in the animal
welfare industry are aiming to raise awareness of the significant impact
spay and neuter surgeries can have in reducing the overpopulation of
pets. PetSmart
Charities, the leading funder of animal welfare in North America, is
continuing its work in this area and today announced it has issued more
than $11 million in grants to over 200 animal welfare organizations over
the course of two months. The grants will help fund more than 200,000
no-cost or low-cost spay and neuter surgeries for pets in need – both
owned and free-roaming – across the United States and Canada in 2017.

While spaying and neutering pets is essential to curbing unplanned
litters, veterinary care is not always affordable nor accessible for all
pet parents and families. With these grants, animal welfare
organizations in local communities across the continent will offer free
or low-cost surgeries – about $20 – for a procedure that can
traditionally cost as much as $100 or more.

“Spaying and neutering pets is key to reducing the number of pets
entering shelters, lowering euthanasia rates and proactively preventing
pet homelessness,” said David Haworth, DVM, Ph.D., president of PetSmart
Charities. “By partnering with more than 200 animal welfare
organizations, PetSmart Charities can help provide accessible spay and
neuter services for pets and pet parents in need across North America.
This brings us one step closer to ending pet homelessness and finding
lifelong, loving forever homes for all pets.”

PetSmart Charities provided the grants to more than 200 animal welfare
organizations. Below are examples of the impact of this significant
funding support across North America:

• Altered
  Tails (Phoenix, Ariz.) received more than
  $300,000 to provide low-cost services for at-risk breeds, Pit Bulls,
  cats and Chihuahuas for $20. Funding will also help cover critical
  vaccinations and support 4,450 surgeries at the organization’s
  facilities in Phoenix, Mesa and Tucson, Ariz.
• Ontario
  Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Newmarket,
  Ontario) will use $135,000 in grants to provide pet transfers, food,
  supplies, spay and neuter procedures and wellness services to pet
  parents in remote First Nations communities across Ontario, Canada.
  The grant will support an estimated 250 pets in need.
• Second
  Chance Animal Shelter (East Brookfield, Mass.) was awarded a
  grant for more than $180,000 to secure essential clinical equipment
  for its third subsidized veterinary clinic and low-cost spay and
  neuter program with the goal of assisting an estimated 2,500 pets.
• Spay-Neuter
  Assistance Program, Inc. (SNAP) was awarded two PetSmart
  Charities spay and neuter grants. A grant of $158,000 will make it
  possible to provide an estimated 1,200 free spay/neuter surgeries for
  dog and cat companions of income-qualified residents of the Greater
  Houston Area. A second grant of $52,000 will fund approximately 500
  free surgeries for residents in and around the San Antonio, Texas,
  metropolitan area.
• University
  of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Philadelphia,
  Penn.) secured more than $450,000 to fund a three-year spay and neuter
  surgical program with Penn Vet’s Surgical Outreach Program. This grant
  will be used to secure a mobile clinic and nursing/technical staffing
  to execute surgeries for 4,000 rescue, shelter and community pets in
  need per year. In addition, the program is predicted to train at least
  200 veterinary students per year while spearheading medical and
  education outreach to the community and shelters.

Thanks in large part to the support of generous PetSmart® shoppers who
donate in stores using the pin pad at checkout, PetSmart Charities,
along with its Canadian counterpart, PetSmart Charities™ of Canada, has
contributed more than $300 million to date to directly help pets in need
– more than any other funder of animal welfare in North America. With
the help of its animal welfare partners, the organization has funded
more than 1.4 million spay and neuter surgeries in the U.S. since 2009.

In 2016, PetSmart Charities introduced a new focus on strategic
grant-making and unveiled an expanded mission, allowing it to reach
beyond its core efforts to end pet homelessness and help pets in need to
include connecting pets and people. In late February, the organization
will unveil an enhanced online application process and its 2017 grant
cycle calendar with more information on how to apply across 10 new grant
categories.

For more information on how to make a donation to PetSmart Charities®
and PetSmart Charities™ of Canada or to apply for a grant on behalf of a
deserving animal welfare organization*, please visit PetSmartCharities.org
or PetSmartCharities.ca.

*Must provide documentation verifying status as a 501(c)(3) organization
for the US or registered charity in Canada.

About PetSmart Charities®

PetSmart Charities, Inc. is a nonprofit animal welfare organization that
saves the lives of homeless pets. Each year nearly 500,000 dogs and cats
find homes through our adoption program in all PetSmart® stores across
the U.S. and sponsored adoption events. Each year millions of PetSmart
shoppers contribute to PetSmart Charities to help pets in need by making
donations on a pin pad at the register. PetSmart Charities efficiently
uses 90 cents of every dollar to support its mission of finding
lifelong, loving homes for all pets. PetSmart Charities grants more
money to directly help pets in need than any other animal welfare group
in North America, with a focus on funding adoption and spay/neuter
programs that help communities solve pet overpopulation. PetSmart
Charities is a 501(c)(3) organization, independent from PetSmart, Inc.
PetSmart Charities has received the Four Star Rating for the past 13
years from Charity Navigator, an independent nonprofit that reports on
the effectiveness, accountability and transparency of nonprofits,
placing it among the top one percent of charities rated by this
organization.

About PetSmart Charities™ of Canada

PetSmart Charities of Canada is a nonprofit animal welfare organization
that saves the lives of homeless pets in Canada. Each year more than
20,000 cats and dogs find Canadian homes through our adoption program in
nearly all PetSmart stores across Canada and our sponsored adoption
events. A leading funder of animal welfare, PetSmart Charities of Canada
has granted more than $10 million to help pets in need with a funding
focus on adoption, spay/neuter programs that help communities solve pet
overpopulation, and providing emergency relief funding and supplies to
pets and pet parents impacted by natural or man-made disasters. PetSmart
Charities of Canada is a registered charity, independent from PetSmart.

Contacts

PetSmart, Inc.
Lauren Sawyer, 623-295-3238
lsawyer@petsmart.com
or
PetSmart
Media Line:
623-587-2177