National nonprofit organization Petco Love is celebrating June as National Foster a Pet Month to encourage communities to support their local animal shelters by temporarily fostering pets. This initiative, created by the organization in 2019, aims to prepare for the challenging summer months when animal shelters often experience overcrowding.
Petco Love’s National Foster a Pet Month encourages people to foster pets ahead of the summer to prevent unnecessary euthanasia due to lack of space in shelters. Susanne Kogut, President of Petco Love, emphasizes the importance of fostering to save lives. She points out that if just 2% of the 87 million pet-owning households in America fostered one pet a year, euthanasia in shelters could be eliminated.
Kogut attributes the success of a mid-sized shelter she led almost 20 years ago to a robust fostering program that increased pets in foster care by 600%. She has personally fostered over 500 pets and encourages others to try fostering. According to Kogut, fostering can be short-term or until the pet is ready for adoption, providing a crucial respite for animals from the shelter environment.
Sophia Gillen, a 16-year-old from New Jersey, was inspired by Petco Love’s Foster a Pet Month. As part of her Girl Scout Gold Award project, “Phenomenal Foster Pets,” Sophia created a petition urging New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy to prioritize pet fostering. Her efforts led to Governor Murphy declaring June as Foster a Pet Month in New Jersey. Sophia’s project included creating a lesson to educate scouts about fostering and advocating for shelter pets, resulting in a unique pet fostering patch.
Sophia hopes to inspire other Girl Scouts and young advocates to take similar actions in their states, with the goal of having Foster a Pet Month recognized nationwide. Kogut praises Sophia’s dedication and commitment to animal welfare, highlighting her achievements and supporting her goal to expand the initiative across all 50 states.
For more information on getting involved with Foster a Pet Month, visit Petco Love’s website and join the conversation on social media using #PetcoLoveFoster.