Grant of $12,500 will extend efforts to save more animal lives in Citrus County

Petco Foundation Invests in Lifesaving Work of Citrus County Animal Services

Citrus County Animal Services announced it has been awarded a $12,500 grant from the Petco Foundation to acquire additional lifesaving and pet retention equipment and supplies and increase community engagement.

The Petco Foundation investment will allow Citrus County Animal Services to help keep pets happier and healthier by remaining in foster or adoptive homes. The goal is to help increase the services provided to the community by expanding the spay/neuter program and improving pet retention by providing tools and resources to those who otherwise might not be able to access these services.

“The support of the Petco Foundation will help us increase the welfare of animals in Citrus County by extending the services that we are able to provide to our community. We are proud of our progress to achieve progressive animal welfare standards and look forward to being able to provide our community with even more support in the form of wellness, behavior, and surgical services which will help keep pets happy and healthy in their homes,” said Colleen Yarbrough, Citrus County Animal Services Director.

Citrus County Animal Services is an open-admission shelter that takes in approximately 5,000 animals annually, regardless of capacity or reason for surrender. The nonprofit organization is the only animal shelter serving Citrus County. Since 2019, Citrus County Animal Services has increased lifesaving measures to achieve a release rate of over 90% for both dogs and cats.

For more information about Citrus County Animal Services or the Citrus County Animal Shelter, visit citruscritters.com or call 352-746-8400. For more on the Petco Foundation, visit petcofoundation.org and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by using the hashtag #PetcoFamily.

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 the Petco Foundation

At the Petco Foundation, we believe that every animal deserves to live its best life. Since 1999, we’ve invested more than $260 million in lifesaving animal welfare work to make that happen. With our more than 4,000 animal welfare partners, we inspire and empower communities to make a difference by investing in adoption and medical care programs, spay and neuter services, pet cancer research, service and therapy animals, and numerous other lifesaving initiatives. Through our Think Adoption First program, we partner with Petco stores and animal welfare organizations across the country to increase pet adoptions. So far, we’ve helped more than 6.5 million pets find their new loving families, and we’re just getting started. Visit petcofoundation.org to learn more about how you can get involved.