National Partnership Allows Homeless Families to Keep Their Pets in Akron

Written by Vets National Advocates on August 13, 2014. Posted in Uncategorized

AKRON, Ohio–(BUSINESS WIRE)–A national program that helps temporarily homeless families keep all
members of their family together including their four-legged family members celebrated its grand opening in Akron today. PetSmart Promise, a collaboration between PetSmart
and Family
Promise, has provided a new dog and cat kennel facility at the Family
Promise of Summit County day center for temporarily homeless
families. These on-site kennels will provide pets in transition a safe,
comforting place to call home while their families get back on the road
to independent housing.

PetSmart is pleased to be able to work together with Family Promise of

Summit County to bring this unique program to Akron, said Jim Morris,
regional vice president for PetSmart. At PetSmart, we know the impact
pets have on our lives, and being able to help a homeless family keep
their pet during a time of transition is priceless for us. We look
forward to continuing to roll out this program across the United States.

Morris was joined by Jeff Wilhite, the executive director of Family
Promise of Summit County, and other VIPs, including Akron Mayor Don
Plusquellic and Summit County Executive, Russell Pry, at a ribbon
cutting ceremony today. Family Promises facility is equipped with
commercial grade kennels, which can house up to four dogs, and cat
condos, which can house up to four cats at one time. A local PetSmart
store provides the dogs with food and all the necessary accessories,
while the families staying at the day center care for their pets on a
daily basis. The day center, which recently opened in a new location, is
also working with a nearby nonprofit that assists homeless military
veterans to house their pets as well.

Our new facility means that families who are facing homelessness dont
have to make the heartbreaking decision to stay in a shelter and give up
their beloved pet or live on the street to keep the family together,
said Wilhite. By working together with PetSmart, were able to give
these families hope in their time of transition. Its a great example of
members of the community working together to find a solution to a
problem many may not even know exists.

Akron is one of five PetSmart Promise on-site kennel facilities opening
this year. Others are planned for Cincinnati, Ohio; Montgomery, Alabama;
Mat-Su, Alaska; and Morristown, New Jersey. PetSmart first established a
pilot program with Family Promise of Greater Phoenix in 2012 and will
continue to expand for years to come until all 182 Family Promise day
centers around the nation are able to participate.

In addition to the on-site facilities, PetSmart Promise will offer a
menu of options for Family Promise facilities, based on individual needs
and limitations. These options include:

• • PetSmart PetsHotels: complimentary use
    of boarding space in existing PetSmart stores, for families utilizing
    nearby Family Promise centers. Six PetSmart PetsHotels are currently
    being tested as part of the PetSmart Promise program: Houston, Texas;
    Charlotte, N.C.; Atlanta, Ga.; Boston, Mass.; Albuquerque, N.M.; and
    Colorado Springs, Colo.;

• • Installation of fish tanks in Family
    Promise centers across the nation, teaching children and families
    utilizing the center about the care and responsibility required when
    owning a pet. 80 aquariums have been installed as part of the program
    over the past year; and

• • Creation of a foster network of Family
    Promise employees and volunteers to house pets when a Family Promise
    pet housing facility or PetSmart PetsHotel is not available

To learn more about the PetSmart Promise options for Family Promise
facilities, please visit: https://www.petsmartgivesback.com.

About PetSmart

PetSmart,
Inc. (NASDAQ: PETM) is the largest specialty pet retailer of
services and solutions for the lifetime needs of pets. The company
employs approximately 53,000 associates and operates more than 1,340 pet
stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, 200 in-store PetSmart
PetsHotel dog and cat boarding facilities
and is a leading online provider of pet supplies and pet care
information (https://www.petsmart.com).
PetSmart provides a broad range of competitively priced pet food and pet
products; and offers dog training, pet grooming, pet boarding, PetSmart
Doggie Day Camp^SM day care services and pet
adoption services. Through its in-store pet adoption partnership with
PetSmart Charities and PetSmart Charities of Canada, PetSmart has
helped save the lives of more than 5.7 million pets since 1994. PetSmart
Charities, Inc. and PetSmart Charities of Canada (collectively PetSmart
Charities) are independent, nonprofit organizations that save the lives
of homeless pets and reduce shelter intake through spay and neuter
efforts. In 2013, nearly 440,000 dogs and cats found homes through
PetSmart Charities adoption centers in all PetSmart stores and by
sponsoring community adoption events. PetSmart Charities is the leader
in granting money to help pets in need, with more than $34 million given
in 2013 throughout North America.

About Family Promise

Family
Promise is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to
helping homeless and low-income families achieve sustainable
independence. The organization is based in Summit, New Jersey,
where they were founded in 1988 on the belief that Americans are
compassionate people who want to make a difference. Today Family
Promise comprises 182 Affiliates in 41 states, with more in development.
Family Promise programs involve more than 160,000 volunteers and they
provide assistance to more than 50,000 family members annually. Family
Promise celebrated their 25^th Anniversary as a
national organization in 2013. Since their founding, they have
served about 500,000 people, including tens of thousands of homeless
families who found temporary homes at Affiliates nationwide.

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