Southern Pines Animal Shelter receives $300,000 grant from Petco

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - Petco has helped countless numbers of animals since opening in 1999 - investing over $300 million into helping pets find their forever homes.

On July 26, Petco Love, formerly known as The Petco Foundation, awarded Southern Pines Animal Shelter a $300,000 grant.

Southern Pines Executive Director Jinny Sims said this grant is life-saving.

“The grant that we have received is all about life-saving,” said Sims. “It’s about building those programs. It’s about helping homeless pets find new homes. It’s about pets in the community that need help to stay with their people.”

Sims also said that this money would help to deepen the work the shelter does every day and make more life-saving acts possible.

“This grant specifically focuses on helping us build programs, build that reach, connect people and pets and also to reach out into the community,” said Sims.

Faith Keller, the Merchandising Operations Leader for Petco, said she fully believes in the grant’s impact on her local community.

“It fills my heart when animals get homes,” said Keller. “Especially, like, the older animals that may be there for a while. Just finding homes for them and Southern Pines is really good about placing them with correct parents who are going to take care of them for the long run.”

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