Next Wednesday marks an exciting day for Helen Woodward Animal Center and the Blue Buffalo Home 4 the Holidays Program. The organization that gave birth to the holiday-season pet adoption drive, will kick off its 16th year with an impressive goal.
The 2014/2015 campaign is set to reach its 10 millionth pet adopted since its 1999 inception. Surrounded by local rescue facility representatives and their available adoptables and a guest list of VIPs who provided support, assistance and philanthropic man-power (championing the important cause of rescue and pet adoption in 2014), San Diego County Supervisor Dave Roberts will make a very special 2014 Blue Buffalo Home 4 the Holidays proclamation at a special kickoff, holiday-themed event.
The Blue Buffalo Home 4 the Holidays party takes place on Wednesday, October 15th at 4:00pm at Hotel Indigo in Del Mar. San Diego County Supervisor Dave Roberts will present his proclamation at 5:00pm.
Home 4 the Holidays is an annual, international, three‐month pet‐adoption campaign dedicated to finding happy, loving forever homes for orphan pets. The annual campaign began 16 years ago when Helen Woodward Animal Center President and CEO Mike Arms noticed that a majority of rescue facilities were closing their doors during the holiday season – a primary time of year for family pet additions. With shelter doors closed, would-be adopters were resorting to shopping pet stores or puppy mills for holiday pet purchases. Not only did this increase the business of backyard breeders and puppy mills, but Arms was aware that the staff at these businesses were rarely trained to assay the likelihood of a successful animal/family match, increasing the number of pets sent to shelters once the season was over.
“Millions of families add a furry family member to their homes each holiday season,” stated Arms, “yet, over 3 million orphan dogs and cats are put to death each year in the US alone. It doesn’t make sense.”
The Blue Buffalo Home 4 the Holidays Campaign asks shelters to keep their doors open throughout the holiday months and provides marketing tools to get the word out. Through a collective group of approximately 4,000 pet adoption agencies, facilities and rescue‐groups, located throughout all 50 states and 23 countries, this campaign has become the largest pet adoption campaign on record, helping save over 9 million pets since 1999. The pet adoption drive officially began October 1, 2014 and will run through January 2, 2015.
For its second year, Helen Woodward Animal Center is excited to partner with Blue Buffalo for this impactful program. The pet food company has not only dedicated impressive national marketing to spreading the word about adopting this holiday season, but is also providing all participating rescue facilities “Adoption Kits” to gift to each new pet parent who takes home an orphan pet throughout the campaign.
“We are so blessed to have friends like Blue Buffalo,” said Arms. “They are incredibly dedicated to the cause of orphan pets and are going above and beyond to make Home 4 the Holidays more successful than ever. With their help, and the partnerships of these wonderful rescue facilities, I’m certain we’ll reach our 10 millionth adoption.”
The Blue Buffalo Home 4 the Holidays Kickoff Party at Hotel Indigo on Wednesday, Oct. 15th– Schedule as follows:
4:00pm – 6:00pm – Invitees welcome for holiday treats and appetizers; holiday crafts for kids; winter-themed holiday photos with attending pets; and fun pet giveaways.
4:30pm – Supervisor Dave Roberts presents Blue Buffalo Home 4 the Holidays Proclamation
4:45pm – Santa Paws arrives and takes photos with attending pets!
4:45pm – 5:30pm – Participating shelter reps and VIP guests available for photos and interviews
TO RSVP to the Blue Buffalo Home 4 the Holidays Party, please contact: Kelly Rumsey at (858) 756-4117 x 350.
There are many ways to get involved in the Blue Buffalo Home 4 the Holiday campaign, most importantly adopting, and encouraging friends to adopt. For more information about the campaign or to find out how to get involved, go to www.home4theholidays.org.
Helen Woodward Animal Center is located at 6461 El Apajo Road in Rancho Santa Fe. For more information about the Center, log on to www.animalcenter.org. For information on the kick-off event call PR Manager Jessica Gercke at 858-756-4117 x 335.
About Home 4 the Holidays (H4TH)
As one of the most successful pet adoption programs in the world, H4TH partners with thousands of animal organizations dedicated to finding forever homes for orphaned pets. Founded by Helen Woodward Animal Center and supported this year by Blue Buffalo, the program began in 1999 with just 14 participating animal shelters in San Diego County. Since it began 14 years ago, Home 4 the Holidays has helped more than 8 million families experience the joy of pet adoption, including more than 1.2 million pet adoptions last year alone. For more information, please visit www.home4theholidays.org.
About Helen Woodward Animal Center
Helen Woodward Animal Center is a private, non-profit organization where “people help animals and animals help people.” Founded in 1972 in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., the Center provides services for more than 57,000 people and thousands of animals annually through adoptions, educational and therapeutic programs both onsite and throughout the community. Helen Woodward Animal Center is also the creator of the international Blue Buffalo Home 4 the Holidays pet adoption drive, the International Remember Me Thursday™ campaign and The Business of Saving Lives Workshops, teaching the business of saving lives to animal welfare leaders from around the world. For more information go to: www.animalcenter.org.
About Blue Buffalo
Blue Buffalo Company, located in Wilton, CT, is the nation’s leading pet food company, and provides a complete line of healthy and holistic natural foods and treats for dogs and cats. Blue Buffalo products are sold nationwide in PETCO. For more information visitBlueBuffalo.com.
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