Local Foster Volunteers Recognized During National Foster a Pet Month for Saving Animal Lives in Citrus County

Citrus County Animal Services Partners with Petco Love and BOBS from Skechers to Celebrate Local Pet Foster Volunteers

Citrus County Animal Services (CCAS) is celebrating National Foster a Pet Month with Petco Love, a national non-profit working to lead and inspire change for animals, and Skechers’ charity footwear collection, BOBS from Skechers, by recognizing lifesaving foster volunteers in Citrus County and encouraging more people to foster pets.

“The implementation of our foster program in 2018 substantially and directly increase our live release rate at CCAS. It has also drastically improved the lives of the pets that come through our doors daily, and our role in the community as a resource for pets and pet owners regarding responsible pet care and ownership,” said Colleen Yarbrough, Citrus County Animal Services Director.

“Our fabulous fosters are integral to our lifesaving mission. We are able to provide for the needs of those pets requiring 24-hour care, such as neonatal kittens, without loving foster homes to save their lives. Our dog fosters help to provide socialization and give us valuable information about the dog in a home to help us match them with their best adoptive family.”

“It is an honor to recognize the individuals making a difference in their communities and demonstrating the lifesaving impact of fostering pets,” said Susanne Kogut, president of Petco Love. “What they are doing is so powerful. If less than 2% of the 85-million pet-owning households in the U.S. fostered one pet a year, we could eliminate preventable euthanasia in animal shelters nationwide tomorrow.”

Throughout June, Petco Love will share foster resources and stories to show how fostering is easy, highly rewarding, and significantly helps end preventable euthanasia of pets.

Through sales of its BOBS from Skechers collection, Skechers has donated more than $3.1 million to support Petco Love’s more than 4,000 animal welfare organization partners. The company’s funds have helped Petco Love save and care for more than 700,000 shelter animals.

For more information about Citrus County Animal Services and how you can help foster, visit www.citrusbocc.com/departments/community_services/animal_services or call (352) 746-8400. For more on Petco Love and to view foster resources, visit www.petcolove.org/foster and join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter using #PetcoLoveFoster.

About Citrus County Animal Services

Citrus County Animal Services is the County’s only animal shelter. The open-admission shelter takes in approximately 5,000 animals annually regardless of capacity or reason for surrender. The shelter staff and its volunteers work tirelessly to find these animals loving and forever homes. Citrus County Animal Services relies heavily on the help of staff and volunteers to extend its resources and budget. Volunteers perform tasks such as dog walking, cat cuddling, grooming, cleaning kennels, dishes and laundry, data entry, receptionist duties, photography, animal fostering, obedience training and adoption outreach events, just to name a few.

In addition to animal sheltering, the shelter offers low-cost vaccination clinics to allow citizens to provide basic wellness care to their pets and encourages compliance with state and local laws. Microchipping and heartworm testing is offered in this clinic service. Lastly, the Animal Services staff is responsible for maintaining a Pet-Friendly Evacuation shelters in the event of a declared emergency or disaster.

About Petco Love (Formerly Petco Foundation)

Petco Love is a non-profit changing lives by making communities and pet families closer, stronger, and healthier. Since our founding in 1999 as the Petco Foundation, we have empowered animal welfare organizations by investing $300 million in adoption and other lifesaving efforts. We have helped find loving homes for more than 6.5 million pets in partnership with Petco and organizations nationwide. Today, our love for pets drives us to lead with innovation, creating tools animal lovers need to reunite lost pets, and lead with passion, inspiring and mobilizing communities and our more than 4,000 animal welfare partners to drive lifesaving change alongside us. Is love calling you? Visit www.petcolove.org or follow at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn to be part of the lifesaving work we are leading every day.

About BOBS from Skechers

BOBS from Skechers’ charitable collection of shoes, apparel and accessories have improved animals’ lives. Over the past five years, Skechers has contributed more than $6.6 million to help more than 1.2 million shelter pets, including saving more than 894,000 rescued pets in the United States and Canada. It all started in 2011, when Skechers launched a movement to support children impacted by natural disasters and poverty – a cause that has helped the company donate more than 16 million new pairs of shoes to kids in more than 60 countries worldwide. To learn more about BOBS from Skechers’ commitment to making a difference, visit www.BOBSfromSkechers.com and follow the brand on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.