The South Utah Valley Animal Shelter (SUVAS) is set to receive a $100,000 grant investment from national nonprofit Petco Love, in partnership with BOBS from Skechers™, in support of their lifesaving work for animals in South Utah County. The check ceremony will be held at the Petco in Spanish Fork at 1118 North Canyon Creek Parkway on August 2, 2023, at noon. Media is invited to attend.
Petco Love is a national nonprofit leading change for pets by harnessing the power of love to make communities and pet families closer, stronger, and healthier. Since its founding in 1999, Petco Love has invested $350 million in adoption and other lifesaving efforts. And Petco Love helps find loving homes for pets in partnership with Petco and more than 4,000 organizations — like ours — across North America, with 6.7 million pets adopted and counting.
“Our investment in the South Utah Valley Animal Shelter is part of more than $15 million in investments recently announced by Petco Love to power local organizations across the country as part of our commitment to create a future in which no pet is unnecessarily euthanized,” said Susanne Kogut, president of Petco Love. “Our local investments are only part of our strategy to empower animal lovers to drive lifesaving change right alongside us. We recently launched Petco Love Lost, a national lost and found database that uses patented image-recognition technology to simplify the search for lost pets.”
“Thanks to sales from BOBS from Skechers’ philanthropic shoes, apparel and accessories, we’ve been able to help support incredible organizations like South Utah Valley Animal Shelter,” added Michael Greenberg, president of Skechers. “Skechers has donated over $9.7 million to help save more than 1.8 million animals’ lives—and through Petco Love’s extensive network of 4,000 animal welfare partners across the United States, we look forward to caring for millions more.”
“Petco Love’s and Bobs from Skechers’ support of the South Utah Valley Animal Services is overwhelming and greatly appreciated! This generous lifesaving investment of $100,000 will go towards spay/neutering, vaccines, and helping us to continue to provide care and treatment for the pets in our shelter. These funds could not have come at a better time with the influx of animals entering shelters and with the length of stay increasing. We would not have been able to treat all these animals without Petco Love’s support. There are no words to express how grateful we are!” said Kierstan Munford, Executive Director for South Utah Valley Animal Services. The South Utah Valley Animal Shelter is a not-for-profit organization that is an open admission shelter serving South Utah County which includes 11 cities and the county area. Since 2006, the South Utah Valley Animal Shelter has served an ever-growing population of people and pets with an annual intake of 4,000-4,500 animals. Since 2017 with the help of Petco Love, we have been able to have save rates of over 94% for dogs and bring the save rate of cats from 43% in 2017 to over 70% in 2022. We now have adoption ready pets who are vaccinated and spayed/neutered; we can seek vet care for sick/injured pets; we have a robust foster program for dogs and cats; an innovative “Doggy Daycation” program; and a program in partnership with the Utah County Sheriff where inmates take a dog back to the jail for more one-on-one time making the pet more likely to be adopted.
About the South Utah Valley Animal Shelter SUVAS serves all of South Utah County from Provo to Santaquin with a population of 300,000 and rising. We provide animals in need with compassion and care. We make great efforts to reunite lost pets with their families and find new families for those who go unclaimed or are abandoned. We also promote responsible pet ownership by promoting spay/neuter, vaccinations, and microchipping. We also hold several low-cost vaccination, licensing & microchipping events in our district every year. About Petco Love Petco Love is a life-changing nonprofit organization that makes communities and pet families closer, stronger, and healthier. Since our founding in 1999 as the Petco Foundation, we’ve empowered animal welfare organizations by investing $350 million in adoption and other lifesaving efforts. We’ve helped find loving homes for more than 6.7 million pets in partnership with Petco and organizations nationwide.
Our love for pets drives us to lead with innovation, creating tools animal lovers need to reunite lost pets, and lead with passion, inspiring and mobilizing communities and our more than 4,000 animal welfare partners to drive lifesaving change alongside us. Join us. Visit petcolove.org or follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn to be part of the lifesaving work we lead every day.
About BOBS from Skechers BOBS from Skechers’ charitable collection of shoes, apparel and accessories have improved animals’ lives: over the past seven years, Skechers has contributed more than $9.7 million to help over 1.8 million shelter pets, including saving more than 1.3 million rescued animals in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Japan. It all started in 2011, when Skechers launched a movement to support children impacted by natural disasters and poverty – a cause that has helped the Company donate more than 16 million new pairs of shoes to kids in more than 60 countries worldwide. To learn more about BOBS from Skechers’ commitment to making a difference, visit BOBSfromSkechers.com and follow the brand on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Submitted by Carrie Ward
