PetSmart® Invites You to Celebrate "Gotcha Day" - The Day Adopted Pets Find Their Forever Home

PetSmart Charities™ of Canada National Adoption Weekend, Sept. 11-13, Held in PetSmart Stores is Expected to Save over 600 Lives in Just One Weekend

TORONTO, Sept. 2, 2015 /CNW/ - For the first time, PetSmart stores across Canada will throw a "Happy Gotcha Day" celebration to help find homes for over 600 homeless pets during the next PetSmart Charities of Canada National Adoption Weekend, Sept. 11-13. The hundreds of pets with unknown birthdays that are expected to be adopted will now have a day to call their own.

"Confirming an adopted pet's birthday can sometimes be difficult. 'Gotcha Day' gives new pet parents the chance to celebrate the moment they brought home their newest family member," said Rob Smith, regional director, PetSmart Canada.

How to Adopt & Celebrate Gotcha Day

Where:	PetSmart Charities of Canada Adoption Centres in 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. 

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 $300 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™ of Canada Adoptions and National Adoption Weekends. These food brands also give back by donating more than 200 tons of food across North America every year to help pets in need.

PetSmart partners with hundreds 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
"Pet adoption is an incredibly rewarding experience. When you adopt, you save two lives – that of your new family member and that of another who takes his or her place at the adoption event," said John DeFranco, president, PetSmart Charities of Canada.

Pet adoption is fun, enriching and most importantly, lifesaving. Each year about 150,000 pets enter shelters every year, according to best estimates. To help, PetSmart teams up with PetSmart Charities of Canada to run National Adoption Weekends four times a year. On average, some 600 pets find families during these single weekend events.

PetSmart Charities of Canada adoption events and adoption centres in PetSmart stores have proven to be one of the most effective ways to save pets' lives.  In fact, nearly 200,000 dogs and cats have found homes through the program since 1999 and now PetSmart and PetSmart Charities of Canada help save nearly 20,000 pets each year.

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.

ABOUT PETSMART CANADA
In Canada, PetSmart, Inc. is the largest specialty pet retailer of services and solutions for the lifetime needs of pets. At PetSmart, we believe pets make us better people. That's why we create more moments for people to be inspired by pets. This mission impacts everything we do for our customers, the way we support our associates, and how we give back to our communities. We employ approximately 3,500 associates and operate 108 pet stores across Canada with 7 operating in-store PetSmart® PetsHotel® dog and cat boarding facilities. PetSmart provides a broad range of competitively priced pet food and pet products and offers dog training, pet grooming, pet boarding, and pet adoption services in-store.  Our portfolio of digital resources for pet parents – including PetSmart.ca, Pet360.com and petMD.com – offers the most comprehensive online pet supplies and pet care information in North America. Through its in-store pet adoption partnership with PetSmart Charities™ of Canada, PetSmart has helped save the lives of more than 180,000 pets since 1999.  In addition, PetSmart supports organizations that make communities a better place to call home through our philanthropy program, PetSmart Gives Back™. By giving back to the communities where we live and work, PetSmart not only celebrates the power of pets to enrich people's lives—we live it.

Find PetSmart on Facebook www.facebook.com/PetSmart  
See PetSmart on YouTube: www.YouTube.com/PetSmart

About PetSmart Charities™ of Canada:
PetSmart Charities of Canada is a nonprofit animal welfare organization that saves the lives of homeless pets. Nearly 20,000 dogs and cats find homes each year through our adoption program in all PetSmart® stores and our sponsored adoption events. A leading funder of animal welfare, PetSmart Charities of Canada has granted more than $7 million to help pets in need, with a focus on spay/neuter services that help communities solve pet overpopulation. PetSmart Charities of Canada is a registered charity, independent from PetSmart, Inc.

SOURCE PetSmart Charities of Canada

Melissa Adamson, GolinHarris for PetSmart Charities of Canada, [email protected], 416-642-7967