The winter holidays are known as the season of giving. And in some cases, there are very real needs to be met.
There are many animals out there — whether they're with their families or in shelters — that need help and support to have a happy holiday. At Pet Valu, we work with rescue organizations and shelters to make sure pets have the support and care they need both during the holidays and year-round.
Here are some of the ways the Pet Valu family is supporting animals this festive season and beyond.
“We work with a rescue called Cat Therapy and Rescue Society,” says Kate Taylor, who works in a Bosley’s store just outside of Vancouver, BC.
“I've been working with them since 2018. We're very committed to our rescue. We do a lot of donation drives and can drives and right around the holidays we do a gift card drive. Last year we raised almost $10,000 in the first two weeks before Christmas.”
Kate credits her tight-knit community for the support and success. “It's a really great community. We all look after each other,” she says.
This year, their local animal shelter in Delta has seven huskies they’re caring for and the organization needs some extra-tough toys. Kate’s store is working on meeting that need.
“We do a bunch of specific pet donations where we have specific toys that the dogs in the rescue are looking for and if somebody purchases that toy we can donate it to the rescue. Then the customer gets a little holiday card with a picture of the dog with their toy on it. We have a lot of fun doing different, off-the-wall things.”
Our customers know that Pet Valu stores are a place where animal lovers gather to support and find support for pets. During the holidays, many of our stores invite Santa in to pose for pet or family photos in exchange for a donation.
“This will be our third year that we’ve had somebody come in and volunteer to be Santa Claus for us,” says Sonja Green, who works in a Drumheller, AB store.
“We have pets and kids in to take pictures with Santa and we do it by donation. They can donate a can of food or they can donate more than that. It's up to what they can do, but everyone gets that chance to have their pets included in their Santa photos.”
This year the store will also be a drop-off location for letters to Santa. “We're going to have it set up in our grooming room,” says Sonja, “so that people can come in, write their letter to Santa, and put it in our mailbox to be shipped off to him.”
Pet Valu employees are animal lovers first and foremost and it shows both in our stores and outside of them.
Kate supports foster parents who take in cats for the holidays.
“They try really hard to make sure any cats that are currently in a store or an adoption centre are able to go to a foster home for the holidays. They get to have a bit of a break and hang out in the foster home,” she says, explaining that, “For our store, we're all kind of crafty and we make our own little cat toys and we'll go and drop them off at various places for the cats.”
Sonja volunteers with her local Salvation Army chapter, handing out donations for families and pets on distribution day as a familiar, friendly face they recognize from their visits to her store.
The donations, says Sonja, are about “making sure families have presents for their kids, food for Christmas dinner, and to make sure that they're okay during that holiday season.”
With the pet side of it,” she adds, “we want to make sure that they had something to give their animals as well, so that they knew that their animals were being taken care of, too.” Last year, she says, they handed out 200 bags of food and gifts in their community.
“There are a lot more places to donate pet food than you think,” says Kate. “We work with our local community food bank as well. It's really great that people are able to donate and people are able to help where they can. I’m fully aware that it's not an easy thing this time of year. It's not an easy thing to be able to set aside the extra money, but it really makes such a big difference.”
