1. Those Who Give Back, Part2 – Petcoand the PetcoFoundation
I'm not onlypassionate aboutdogs,I'mpassionate aboutbirds,too. Ihave beena birdparentfor
almost20 years. Petcowas the firstlarge chainpet store inour area,so theywere a noveltywhenthey
opened. Itwasn'tlongbefore Iwas inthere buyingdogfoodand birdtoysand prettymuch wasting
time andmoneyon all the shinyobjects. Theywere alsothe firstpetstore I'deverbeeninwhichletyou
holdthe petbirds. To me,thiswasfantastic! I had birdsat home whosat on me,nappedwithme,
greetedme everymorningandsometimestriedtoeatoff my plate,butNOWI couldgo to a store and
holdsomeone else'sbirds!
Okay,I agree. Thismakesabsolutelynosense. Forthose whoknow me,makingnosense isa common
occurrence.
I couldgo on and onabout the birdexperience thatgave Petcoa special place inmyheart,butthat
woulddetractfromthe real storyhere: How Petcoand the PetcoFoundationhelpourmilitaryveterans.
Accordingto theirwebsite,Petcobeganasa mail-orderpetsupplynamedUPCO. Thiscompanywas
startedin1965 (makingitjustone yearyoungerthanme – yikes!). Sometime between1965 and 1980,
theychangedtheirname fromUPCO to Petco. The Petcohome officesare inSan Diego,CA.
In 1999, the PetcoFoundation wasstartedinSanAntonio,TX. It isa nonprofit/independentagency.
Theirmissionis"Toraise the qualityof life forpetsandpeople wholove andneedthem."(Thisquote is
courtesyof theirFacebookpage. A linkisbelow.)
Both Petcoandthe Petco Foundationstronglyencouragepeople toadopttheirpetsfromrescuesand
shelters,asopposedtopurchasingthemfrombreeders.
In 2010, Petco andthe PetcoFoundationjoinedtogethertohelpfamilieswhowere financiallystruggling
findwaysto keepand care fortheirfamilypets. Inrelationtothis,Petcobecame a‘foundingsponsor'
of HABRI – a non-profitorganizationthatstudiesthe bondsbetweenhumansandtheiranimal friends.
HABRI standsforHuman-Animal BondResearchInitiative.
In 2012, Petco andthe PetcoFoundation,alongwithothercorporate andprivate sponsors,teamedup
to fundthe MilitaryWorkingDogsTeam National Monument. Thisstatue isa tribute toservice
membersandthe dogswithwhomtheyworkto provide securityandthreat detectionforourtroops.
The monumentcan be foundat LacklandAirForce Base in SanAntonio,TX. Thisbase was chosen
because thisiswhere the majorityof the teamtrainingtakesplace.
Perhapsbecause of theirinvolvementinthe creationof thistribute,Petcobecameaware of the
numerousmilitaryservice dogsthatwere unable tocome home tothe U.S. aftertheirmission. While
there isa good deal of moneynecessaryforthe raisingandtrainingthese dogs,the feesforveterinary
care and transportationhome are costprohibitive forthe military. Petcoandthe PetcoFoundationnow
workwithseveral groupstoensure these hard-workingandfaithful dogsare able toreturnfrom battle.
In additiontobringingdogshome,The PetcoFoundationhelpssupportNINEorganizationsdedicatedto
trainingandprovidingservice dogsforourreturningmilitaryveterans. These service dogsare trainedto

2. helpveteranscope withpost-combatproblemsrangingfromphysical disabilities –due to the lossof a
limbor the lossof functional capacity – to emotional problemsandPTSD.
Since itsinceptionin2012, the PetcoFoundationhasdonatedmore than$1 Milliontohelpprovide our
veterans – bothhumanand canine – withthe care theyneed.
Petcoand the PetcoFoundationare alsoinvestedincommunityprogramsthatbenefitrescuesand
shelters. Overthe past17 years,the Foundationhasprovidedmore than$135 millioninspay/neuter
programs,low-costvaccinationprograms,petcancerresearch,companionpetaide,and manyother
initiativestohelpimprovethe livesof those fantasticcreatureswe refertoas pets.
Theyhave helpedfindhomesformore than4.9 MILLION homelesspetsacrossthe U.S.
One thingto considerhere isthe source of the moneyusedforfunding. The source is,of course,the
patron of the store. You and me. The shoppers. So,the nexttime youdecide totake yourdog
shopping,thinkaboutturningthe otherdirectionandgive the Petcoshoppingexperience atry. Your
purchase will helpfundall the gooddeedsperformedbyPetco. Andplease,keepyoureyesopenfor
fundraisersforthe PetcoFoundation.
If you are interestedincheckingoutthe veteran-focusedagenciesinwhichPetcoandthe Foundation
invest,simplyclickonthe name andthe link will take youtotheirwebsite.
http://www.petco.com
https://community.petco.com/t5/Blog/Honoring-Veterans-Our-Continuing-Commitment-to-Serving-
Those/ba-p/65153
https://www.facebook.com/PETCOfoundation/info
http://habri.org/
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2012/10/31/new-us-monument-honors-military-service-dogs.html
http://about.petco.com/fact-sheets