ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUE OF BOSTON RECEIVES $70,000 GRANT FROM PETSMART CHARITIES® TO SUPPORT A POP-UP PET WELLNESS CLINICS

December 29, 2017 — BOSTON, MA — Today, the Animal Rescue League of Boston (ARL) announced its receipt of a new $70,000 grant from PetSmart Charities, the leading funder of animal welfare in North America. The new grant will support intake diversion programs at ARL that will help local pets thrive and keep people and pets together.

ARL’s intake diversion grant is designed to provide a weekly, subsidized pet wellness clinic in the Codman Square neighborhood in Dorchester. The clinic is part of an on-going pilot project in the neighborhood to ensure pets in the community stay safe, healthy, and happy.

“Our research shows that in this neighborhood, the lack of access to affordable pet health services is bordering on crisis levels,” said Cheryl Traversi, ARL’s Associate Director of Community Services. “This generous grant allows ARL to truly impact our local community by bringing pet health and wellness services where they’re needed, thereby helping to keep pets safe, healthy, and at home with the people and families who love them.”

Historically, funding to support emerging best practices like intake diversion programming has been hard to come by in animal welfare. That’s why PetSmart Charities identified this as an area of great need, both for shelters and for pet parents across North America, and developed this new grant category.

“At PetSmart Charities, we understand that access to veterinary care can be a challenge, so we’ve allocated funding for local intake diversion programs to help subsidize health and wellness clinics aimed at keeping pets and people together,” said Sima Thakkar, regional relationship manager at PetSmart Charities. “We wish the Animal Rescue League of Boston great success with their pop-up pet wellness clinic in Dorchester and we are proud to support access to high-quality, affordable pet health and wellness services for Codman Square residents.”

Intake Diversion is just one of PetSmart Charities’ ten grant categories designed to support their expanded mission: to find lifelong loving homes for all pets by supporting programs that bring people and pets together. Funding from PetSmart Charities supports best practices and thought leadership that enhance the human-animal bond and keep more pets in loving homes and forever families. For more information, visit PetSmartCharities.org.

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ABOUT THE ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUE OF BOSTON:

The Animal Rescue League of Boston (ARL) is an unwavering champion for animals in need, committed to keeping them safe and healthy in habitats and homes. Founded in 1899, ARL provides high quality veterinary care, adoption, and rescue services; while also confronting the root causes of animal cruelty and neglect through innovative community programs, police investigations, and public advocacy. In 2016, ARL served more than 17,800 animals throughout Massachusetts. ARL is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. We receive no government funding and rely solely on the generosity of individuals to support programs and services that help animals in need.

For more information please visit us online at www.arlboston.org; and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

 

About PetSmart Charities®
PetSmart Charities, Inc. is a nonprofit animal welfare organization with a mission to find lifelong, loving homes for all pets by supporting programs and thought leadership that bring people and pets together.  In addition to finding homes for almost 500,000 shelter pets each year through its in-store adoption program in all PetSmart stores across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, PetSmart Charities provides funding to non-profits aligned with its mission through four key areas of grant support:  Preventing Pet Homelessness; Helping Shelter Pets Thrive; Supporting the Bond Between People and Pets; and Emergency Relief and Disaster Support. 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 90 cents of every dollar donated and has become the leading funder of animal welfare in North America, donating about $300 million to date. PetSmart Charities, a 501(c)(3) organization, has received the Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator, an independent organization that reports on the effectiveness, accountability and transparency of nonprofits, for the past 14 years in a row — placing it among the top one percent of charities rated by this organization.  To learn more visit www.petsmartcharities.org


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