What to Expect When You're Expecting to be a Pet Parent: PetSmart® Preps Families on the Arrival of a Furry Friend

Help Pets Find Their Forever Home during National Adoption Weekend

TORONTO, May 9, 2016 /CNW/ - If you're thinking of adding a furry member to your family just in time for summer, there is no better place to do so than at PetSmart's signature National Adoption Weekend, held in all PetSmart stores across Canada May 13-15.

Expanding your family and providing a forever home for a cat or dog is an incredibly rewarding experience. There's nothing more uplifting than the sight of a pet being welcomed to its new home and loving family. As thrilling as it can be, it's important to remember that this can also be a stressful time for a pet, and PetSmart would like to help families with tips to remember when bringing home a new addition:

• Pet proof your home: Make sure human food, medications and cleaning supplies are in a secured space, well away from a pet's reach.
• Create personal space: Make sure your new pet friend has his own food and water bowls, toys and place to sleep.
• Prepare the family: Set some ground rules, establish routines and make sure everyone is doing their part in pet care. If you're welcoming a new dog, a walking schedule is a great way to get the entire family involved.
• Set aside time to bond: Show your new pet some love and attention with dedicated time to interact, bond and discover his or her likes and dislikes.
• Socialize: When socializing your new pet to other pets and people, be selective and invite just one or two trusted, safe dogs to your home to meet your new pup for the first time.
• Be patient: Transitioning a new pet into a family can often take a couple of weeks. Before you know it, your new pet's personality will shine.

"With more than 200,000 adoptions in Canada since 1999, PetSmart is The Adopt Spot – the place to go to adopt a pet and to prepare for transitioning the new addition into his or her new home," said John DeFranco, president, of PetSmart Canada. "We look forward to adopting out lots of pets every day at our stores, but particularly over our May weekend event."

Partnering to Save Lives
Each year, about 7 million pets enter shelters across North America and some 3 million healthy, adoptable pets are euthanized. To help end pet homelessness and save lives, PetSmart joins PetSmart Charities®, PetSmart Charities™ of Canada and nearly 3,000 local animal welfare organizations across North America on a range of powerful adoption events in PetSmart stores.  

Since 1999, PetSmart Canada, together with PetSmart Charities of Canada and its many local animal welfare partners across the country, has reached the 200,000^th pet adoption milestone, representing an average of 55 pets adopted out every day PetSmart stores are open, or about 20,000 pets every year.  

Transform the Life of a Pet in Need
You can add a new addition to your family at the May National Adoption Weekend event at all PetSmart stores across Canada.

Where:	PetSmart Charities of Canada Adoption Centres or designated adoption areas in all PetSmart stores
When:	Fri., May 13, and Sat., May 14, 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.
	Sun., May 15, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Contact:	Find the PetSmart store nearest you at pets.petsmart.com/adoptions/ or call 1-877-473-8762.
Share:	Tell us how you're preparing to grow your furry family. Join the conversation by following @PetSmart on Twitter or on Facebook at
	https://www.facebook.com/PetSmartCanada/.   Share your adoption pics and stories!  #theadoptspot

To celebrate adoption, adopters will receive a Certificate of Adoption and an Adopt Spot sticker with the words "I Adopted."  As an additional gift to new pet adopters for saving a life – whether adopting at PetSmart or elsewhere – PetSmart offers its free Adoption Starter Kit available every day at its stores. To ensure every adopter has all the essentials for their new family member, the kit includes tips on how to transition a newly adopted pet into the home, as well as coupons for a free bag of pet food, free one-time services for training, veterinarian and Doggie Day Camp, as well as discounts on the essentials such as bowls, collars, beds and grooming – all totaling $325 in value.  

About PetSmart® Canada 
In Canada, PetSmart 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 113 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 200,000 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: https://www.facebook.com/PetSmartCanada/ 

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 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 $9 million to help pets in need with a funding focus on adoption and spay/neuter programs that help communities solve pet overpopulation.  PetSmart Charities of Canada is a registered charity, independent from PetSmart.

SOURCE PetSmart Canada

Image with caption: "PetSmart The Adopt Spot (CNW Group/PetSmart Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160509_C1697_PHOTO_EN_685686.jpg

For more information, or to speak with someone from PetSmart Charities of Canada, please contact: Weber Shandwick on behalf of PetSmart® Inc: Fontane Choi, [email protected], 416-642-7925; PetSmart Media Line: 623-587-2711