ANIMAL REFUGE CENTER AWARDED $10,000 GRANT AS PART OF $250,000 DONATION FROM PETFINDER TO CELEBRATE 20^th ANNIVERSARY

 Local Animal Refuge Center, Inc. one of 25 organizations nationwide to receive a donation from Petfinder to celebrate its 20^th anniversary and 25 million pet adoptions

PRESS RELEASE (December 7, 2016) – Petfinder, the nation’s leading resource for pet adoption, announced in November that Animal Refuge Center, Inc. is one of 25 shelter and rescue members selected to receive a $10,000 grant as part of the Petfinder 20^th anniversary celebration. The grant, a portion of the $250,000 donation from Petfinder to the Petfinder Foundation, will be distributed to the selected organizations to help continue to transform the lives of adoptable pets in their care, as well as cultivate more lifelong relationships.

Beginning in late August, Petfinder asked people across the country to help make a $200,000 donation possible by watching and generating at least 1 million views of its #MetOnPetfinder anniversary video, which shows how adoptable pets have transformed the lives of their adopters. Pet lovers viewed the video more than 1 million times by mid-September, leading Petfinder to raise the goal to 1.25 million views and increase the donation by $50,000. The second goal was surpassed as the video was viewed more than 1.9 million times during an eight-week period.

“This year, Petfinder celebrates 20 years of helping find pets their forever homes. We are thankful for the support we’ve seen from pet advocates across country for the #MetOnPetfinder program which allowed us to overwhelmingly exceed our goals,” said Kristin Ryan, Purina Pet Welfare team managing director. “Petfinder is making this donation to continue to demonstrate our shared passion for supporting adoptable pets.”

Along with the Animal Refuge Center, the following 24 shelter and rescue members were selected to receive one of the $10,000 grants:

• Montgomery Humane Society (Montgomery, Ala.)
• Pima Animal Care Center (Tucson, Ariz.)
• LapCats (Elk Grove, Calif.)
• Bunny World Foundation (Los Angeles)
• Rocky Mountain Feline Rescue (Denver)
• The Cat Network Inc. (Miami)
• Angels Among Us Pet Rescue, Inc. (Alpharetta, Ga.)
• Animal Rescue League of Iowa Inc. (Des Moines, Iowa)
• Bond County Humane Society (Greenville, Ill.)
• Animal Refuge Center Inc. (Vine Grove, Ky.)
• Ashland Animal Rescue Fund (Ashland, Ky.)
• MSPCA Boston Animal Care and Adoption Center (Boston)
• Adopt-A-Pet (Moorhead, Minn.)
• Hawk Creek Animal Shelter (Willmar, Minn.)
• Huberts Animal Welfare Center (Madison, N.J.)
• Burlington County Animal Alliance (Willingboro, N.J.)
• Wyoming County SPCA (Attica, N.Y.)
• Friendship Animal Protective League (Elyria, Ohio)
• Humane Society of the Ohio Valley (Marietta, Ohio)
• Oakville & Milton Humane Society (Oakville, Ontario)
• Forgotten Felines and Fidos (Germansville, Pa.)
• Frances R. Willis SPCA (Summerville, S.C.)
• Dallas Animal Services & Adoption Center (Dallas)
• Cleburne Animal Shelter (Cleburne, Texas)
• Center Valley Animal Rescue (Quilcene, Wash.)

“We wish to thank Petfinder and pet advocates nationwide for making this donation possible,” said Toni Morgan, Petfinder Foundation executive director. “The grant will have an incredible impact on the pets in our care, allowing us to continue dedicating our time and energy to providing them love and happiness and helping them find forever homes.”

As part of the celebration, Petfinder families, advocates, partners and fans also showed support by sharing their Petfinder adoption stories on social media by using the hashtag #MetOnPetfinder.

Over the past 20 years, Petfinder has harnessed the power of the internet to help facilitate more than 25 million pet adoptions through its extensive network of more than 13,000 shelter and rescue organizations. At any given time, there are more than 250,000 adoptable pets featured on Petfinder.

Petfinder was founded in 1996 by Betsy Banks Saul and Jared Saul, who started a website to help save lives of adoptable pets by connecting people to various animal shelters across New Jersey. The Animal Refuge Center, KY27, was one of the very first shelters to jump on board and promote their adoptable pets through Petfinder in 1996.

About Petfinder  

Petfinder is a leading online resource for pet adoption, education, awareness and advocacy. It strives to promote the advantage of adopting pets and make it easy to connect people with adoptable pets. Petfinder’s searchable online database of animals that need homes is updated daily and includes a directory of more than 13,000 animal shelters and adoption organizations across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Petfinder also includes a library of free pet-care articles to help keep pets in their homes. Since 1996, Petfinder has helped more than 25 million pets find forever homes. Petfinder joined the Nestlé Purina family in 2013.

About the Petfinder Foundation

The Petfinder Foundation assists the 13,000+ animal shelters and rescue groups that post their adoptable pets on Petfinder.com. A nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, the Petfinder Foundation helps adoption organizations find homes for the pets in their care through its Sponsor A Pet, Disaster and Emergency Response, Quality of Life and other programs. Since its founding in 2003, the Petfinder Foundation has given more than $20 million in cash and product grants to shelters and rescue groups in the United States, Canada and Mexico. To learn more about the Petfinder Foundation, please visit www.petfinderfoundation.com.

About Nestlé Purina PetCare

Nestlé Purina PetCare promotes responsible pet care, community involvement and the positive bond between people and their pets. A premiere global manufacturer of pet products, Nestlé Purina PetCare is part of Swiss-based Nestlé S.A., a global leader in nutrition, health and wellness.

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Media Contacts

   Bill Etling                                                                                 Megan McGovern

Nestlé Purina PetCare                                                            Publicis Consultants PR

314-982-4825                                                                          404-870-6852

william.etling@purina.nestle.com                                           megan.mcgovern@mslgroup.com