WHS Receives $75,000 Grant from PetSmart Charities to Help More Pets Find Homes

SALEM, OREGON – [JULY 6, 2021] – Willamette Humane Society (WHS) has received a $75,000 grant from PetSmart Charities to help prepare more shelter pets in Salem, Oregon, for adoption.   

Since the funds were granted in November 2020, more than 1,000 pets have been adopted at Meow Town, WHS’s offsite adoption center in PetSmart, located at 2925 Lancaster Drive. The WHS team continues to use grant funds to prepare even more animals for forever homes. 

“When the pandemic came to Salem, our shelter moved to an appointment-only basis. Our partnership with PetSmart ensured that we could offer families the opportunity to meet with many cats all at once and fall in love with the one that was just right for them,” said Erin Weldon, Development and Community Engagement Director for WHS. “The grant funds helped us offer spay/neuter surgeries, microchips, and other critical services to help these pets prepare for adoption. We couldn’t be more thankful for the support.”

July 19 through 25, WHS will be participating in PetSmart Charities’ National Adoption Weekend, which invites potential pet owners to attend and meet adoptable pets in their area. Pets from WHS will be available for adoption at Meow Town. They’ll get prepared for those adoptions, in part, by grant funds from PetSmart Charities. 

“We’re very excited at the idea of completing many more families with adorable, adoptable pets,” Weldon said. “This grant helps to make that vision a reality.”

“We’re proud to support Willamette Humane Society as they work to prepare shelter pets for adoption,” said Sophie Faust, Adoption Grants Manager at PetSmart Charities. “Thanks to this work, thousands of pets will receive vital care, along with the best chance of finding loving homes, just in time for PetSmart Charities’ National Adoption Week.”

Since 1994, through its partnership with nearly 4,000 humane societies, SPCAs and pet rescues across North America, PetSmart Charities has helped more than 9 million pets to find loving homes via its in-store adoption program in over 1,650 PetSmart® stores. The leading funder of animal welfare has also donated nearly $400 million to positively impact communities, to help preserve families, to improve access to veterinary care and to connect people and pets through initiatives like this with Willamette Humane Society. 

Families interested in learning more about Meow Town can do so on the WHS website. Visit adoptable dogs and adoptable cats pages to see where pets are right now. If they’re at Meow Town, head to PetSmart to complete the adoption. 

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About Willamette Humane Society

Willamette Humane Society, located in Salem, Ore., was founded in 1965 by local civic leaders to serve communities in Marion and Polk counties. The organization is dedicated to establishing, maintaining and enhancing the bond between companion animals and people. Willamette Humane Society provides essential services and programs such as adoption and sheltering, behavior and training, youth programs, and a low-cost spay and neuter clinic. The shelter is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization governed by a volunteer Board of Directors and supported by more than 60 employees and hundreds of volunteers. For more information about Willamette Humane Society, visit whs4pets.org. Follow WHS on Facebook and Instagram.

About PetSmart Charities® 
PetSmart Charities, Inc. is committed to finding lifelong, loving homes for all pets by supporting programs and thought leadership that bring people and pets together. Through its in-store adoption program in all PetSmart® stores across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, PetSmart Charities helps to find forever homes and families for more than 600,000 shelter pets each year. Each year, millions of generous PetSmart shoppers help pets in need by donating to PetSmart Charities using the PIN pads at checkout registers inside PetSmart stores.  In turn, PetSmart Charities efficiently uses more than 90 cents of every dollar donated to fulfill its role as the leading funder of animal welfare in North America, granting more than $450 million since its inception in 1994. Independent from PetSmart Inc., PetSmart Charities is a 501(c)(3) organization that has received the Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator, a third-party organization that reports on the effectiveness, accountability and transparency of nonprofits, for the past 17 years in a row – placing it among the top one percent of charities rated by this organization. To learn more visit www.petsmartcharities.org.  

Follow PetSmart Charities on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PetSmartChariTs
Find PetSmart Charities on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/PetSmartCharities
Follow PetSmart Charities on Instagram: www.instagram.com/PetSmartCharities
See PetSmart Charities on YouTube: www.YouTube.com/PetSmartCharitiesInc 

Media Contact:
marketing@whs4pets.org

24-Hour PetSmart Charities
Media Line:  623-587-2177