BY KAREN BOSSICK
Got a unique and heartwarming happy tail to tell?
Petco Love is holding a contest for pet lovers to share how their adopted pet changed their life. The winning tales will be rewarded with grants for the organizations the pets were adopted from.
The idea: to celebrate the bond between pet parents and their pets while raising awareness about the importance of pet adoption.
Petco Love and BOBS from Skechers apparel company awarded Love Stories winners across the country $500,000 for 18 organizations on Valentine’s Day 2022. Since 2013, Petco Love has granted nearly $7 million to animal welfare organizations.
One of last year’s stories centered around a couple whose kittens’ playful antics in their windowfront hammock became a source of happiness that brought their neighborhood together at the start of San Francisco’s COVID pandemic lockdown.
A dog named Butter showed his companion Yukari how love can prevail after Yukari experienced a racist incident on the streets of New York.
Still another story told of a dog named Harrison Ford who helped his human companion deal with a major depressive disorder and the loss of a relationship.
“Harrison showed me there was a lot to live for and now the hard days seem more manageable with Harry at my side,” she wrote. “He filled a hole in my heart and brightened my world…and will wake up at all hours to go hiking with me.
“Sharing your adoption love story with others will help Mountain Humane find more homes like yours through the power of emotion,” said Kelly Mitchell, senior director of Shelter Operations and Outreach with Mountain Humane. “Hearing about and feeling the rewards one receives through adopting has a profound, long-lasting impact on others, translating into more adoptions. These Love Stories not only promote the benefits of adopting from Mountain Humane, but they are crucial to our lifesaving work and tribute to the human-animal bond.”
Submissions for Petco Love Stories are open to individuals 18 years and older, or those who have parental consent to share their story. Submit a story of 500 words or less, along with photos of you and your adopted pet to https://petcolove.org/. Submissions close on Oct. 31.