WHO WE ARE
ABOUT US
We’re proud to celebrate over 25 years of being the leading funder of animal welfare in communities across Canada. Since 1999, we’ve granted over $40 million to change-making organizations that help transform the lives of pets and those who love them.
OUR MISSION
We make the world a better place for pets by investing in community partners that advocate and care for the well-being of pets and all who love them.
OUR VISION
A world where communities unite in support of pets together with their families.
OUR PROGRAMS
SUPPORTING PETS & PEOPLE
We support pets & their families through programs that make veterinary care more accessible, help battle pet hunger and provide disaster response.
CONNECTING PETS & PEOPLE
Whether it’s through our in-store adoption centres, National Adoption Week events, or a search tool on our website, we help pets in need find loving families to call their own.
message from OUR president
DEAR FRIEND,
2024 was a full and meaningful year at PetSmart Charities of Canada. Support from our generous donors made it possible for us to help in significant ways, and together, we made a lasting impact!
We know you’ll find inspiration from key accomplishments shared in this report. Without you, there would be no stories about how grant funding helped double adoptions for one of our partners in Courtenay, British Columbia.
This year will also be remembered for crossing a significant milestone – the 400 thousandth in-store adoption! Sweet Rosie’s new mom shared that she felt a cat-sized hole in her heart. But when she laid eyes on Rosie - an adorable kitten at the Cambridge, Ontario store - it was love at first sight.
PetSmart Charities of Canada put that kind of love into action in many ways all year long. When people experience hunger, their pets do, too. During our 2nd annual Pet Hunger Awareness Day®, our team raised awareness for a first-of-its-kind Pet Food Bank Map, created by Humane Canada with grant funding supported by you. The interactive resource was accessed by nearly 4,000 users to help pet parents find resources in their community. We can impact so many pets and people when we join forces!
In 2023, PetSmart Charities of Canada made a significant commitment of $18 million to support more affordable veterinary care options for the millions of pets going without. We’re proud to share that much progress has been made as our grantees expand and launch low-cost veterinary clinics and pilot innovative solutions. We onboarded one new partner into our Accelerator grant program and continued working with 24 Incubator grantee partners to develop community-led models that are helping to improve veterinary care in 26 Indigenous communities. There is so much more; please stop by our website and enjoy inspiring stories about how your dollars made a difference.
On behalf of our team, I want to thank you for joining our mission For Pets. For People. For Good.
With gratitude,
Aimee Gilbreath, MBA President, PetSmart Charities of Canada
THE board of Directors
Thank you to our Board of Directors for their tireless commitment to care for pets and the families who love them.
OFFICERS & DIRECTORS
Jim Persinger Chair, Director
Aimee Gilbreath President
Janet Henry Secretary
Malcom Khan Treasurer, Director
Barbara Cartwright Director
Nils Kravis Director
Delmar Kyllo Director
Dr. Neil Lawrence Director
Dr. Alexandra (Sasha) Protopopova Director
IMPACT across the country
NATIONWIDE IMPACT
From disaster response to adoptions and addressing pet hunger, these hearts show the nationwide impact of our grants thanks to your support. Together, they tell the story of hope, healing, and stronger communities for pets and families across the country.
EXPANDING ACCESS
As part of our $18 million commitment to expand low-cost care and remove barriers to veterinary services, we have provided grant funding to support clinics and organizations across Canada. These hearts represent the grantees providing access to veterinary care for pets and families across the country.
Access to Veterinary Care
THROUGH OUR ACCESS TO CARE GRANTS, WE’RE HELPING MORE PETS GET THE CARE THEY NEED TO STAY WITH THEIR LOVING FAMILIES.
Our Accelerator Grant supports established Charity-run veterinary clinics that are ready to grow their impact by providing low-cost veterinary care at volume. With funding, tools, and coaching, these partners can serve more pets.
Our Incubator Grant helps organizations partner with Indigenous communities across Canada to ensure sustained access to veterinary care.
With support from PetSmart Charities of Canada, Veterinarians Without Borders is providing care to the remote Northern communities of Tuktoyaktuk and Gjoa Haven, where the nearest veterinarian is 1,300 kilometers away. In 2024, the team provided care to a total of 270 animals and continued building relationships with both communities to further expand care.
ACCESS TO VETERINARY CARE
Our Accelerator grant is helping expand wellness services at Toronto Humane Society, where the need for affordable care options is growing. The team has experienced an increase in the number of referrals from other animal hospitals and clinics, underscoring how critical their services are to their community. With our support, they are helping pet parents access care they might have otherwise gone without – keeping pets healthy and home with the families who love them.
Your support makes every grant, every partner, every story possible. Together, we’re building a better future for pets and those who love them.
2024 ACCESS TO VETERINARY CARE HIGHLIGHTS
26 GRANTEES
$1.2 M ILLION TO ACCELERATOR GRANTEES
$800 T HOUSAND TO INCUBATOR GRANTEES
$377 TH OUSAND FOR VETERINARY CARE INNOVATION
Veterinary Care Innovation
UNDERSTANDING CHALLENGES TO HELP FIND SOLUTIONS
The issues and barriers that impact access to veterinary care are complex, especially considering the geographical, cultural and regulatory landscape across Canada. To better understand how to tackle these unique challenges, PetSmart Charities of Canada funded the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) at the University of Guelph to research the barriers to veterinary care in Canada, and how those
barriers are being addressed by programs and services across the country. The research underscored that a broad spectrum of barriers creates need for non-traditional solutions and innovations that help remove obstacles for pet parents. The team is taking the learnings from their research and working to create evaluation criteria aimed at making it easier to understand the unique needs of the communities they serve, and to help organizations measure their impact more effectively. By sharing resources and insights from the research, the team is helping organizations provide care to even more pets across Canada.
PET HUNGER AWARENESS
Preventing Pet Hunger
When people face hunger, so do their pets. At PetSmart Charities of Canada, we’re working to change that through partnerships that ensure family pets have access to nutritious food.
In 2024, we marked our second annual Pet Hunger Awareness Day. What began as a call to action has become a movement—mobilizing communities, raising awareness, and fueling donations to help end pet hunger. For Pet Hunger Awareness Day, PetSmart Charities of Canada and Humane Canada unveiled an interactive map to help pet parents locate pet food pantries near them. According to a nationwide study, over 80% of Canadians did not know where to turn for pet food assistance in their community. To help combat this, PetSmart Charities of Canada funded the development of Humane Canada’s first-of-its-kind interactive map, as well as grants to participating organizations, so that more pet parents would be able to find food for their beloved pets when they needed it.
That’s the power of partnership. Through our collaboration, we’re helping pet parents find the resources they need, so that no one has to choose between feeding themselves or their pets.
Ending pet hunger is a community effort—and your support makes it possible. Together, we’re feeding bellies and filling hearts.
“She’s just awesome,” said Nicole
Journey to 400,000
When PetSmart associate Nicole met her adorable kitten Rosie, it was love at first snuggle. After losing her childhood cat, Nicole knew she wanted to adopt another feline friend. “I had a cat-sized hole in my heart,” said Nicole. Already a pet parent to a dog named Bella, Nicole met Rosie at the PetSmart store in Cambridge, Ontario, and just knew that they were meant to be together. Rosie was adopted through PetSmart Charities of Canada’s adoption partner, Toronto Cat Rescue.
Rosie didn’t just win over Nicole—she made history as the 400 thousandth pet adopted through PetSmart Charities of Canada. Now at home with her family, Rosie fills each day with joy. “She’s just awesome,” said Nicole.
This milestone adoption is a testament to the powerful bond between people and pets and the life-changing impact of the collaboration between PetSmart Charities of Canada, PetSmart stores, and over one hundred shelters and rescues across the country.
Saving Lives, One Store at a Time
...CANADA’S 160+ PETSMART STORES HELP BUILD MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS SO THAT MORE PETS CAN FIND LOVING HOMES.
Our Connecting Pets and People team is hard at work doing what their name suggests – connecting local adoption partners with PetSmart stores to strengthen rescue & shelter collaborations and boost in-store adoptions. Their work in communities across Canada’s 160+ PetSmart stores help build meaningful connections so that more pets can find loving homes.
Thanks to the partnership between Kitty Cat Prevent A Litter (KCPAL) and the PetSmart store in Courtenay, British Columbia, KCPAL doubled their adoptions in 2024. With support from a $40,000 grant from PetSmart Charities of Canada, they have expanded their in-store adoption program and helped more kitties (and even some puppies) find loving families.
20,370
IN
2024 BREAKDOWN
OVER 90 CENTS OF EVERY $1 GOES DIRECTLY TO HELP PETS AND THOSE WHO LOVE THEM
PARTNERSHIPS
Each year, PetSmart helps provide critical support to advance the mission at PetSmart Charities of Canada. From hosting pet adoptions at over 160 PetSmart stores to collecting donations from customers at the register and online, our friends at PetSmart stand by their mission to help everyone experience more joy with pets. 100 percent of those donations are passed directly on to PetSmart Charities of Canada to support pet adoptions, alleviate pet hunger, integrate pets into disaster response efforts, and promote access to veterinary care.
Since opening its doors in Canada nearly 30 years ago, PetSmart has never sold cats or dogs. Instead, local shelter partners were invited to
bring adoptable pets into stores to promote adoptions. That’s how PetSmart Charities of Canada was created – and together, we have since facilitated more than 400 thousand pet adoptions. In addition, PetSmart Charities of Canada helps bring to life the ways in which PetSmart celebrates pets and the people that love them. To highlight our shared passion to support pets and people in need, customers are invited to extend their support through PetSmart’s Treats Rewards loyalty program. Throughout 2024, PetSmart Treats Rewards members donated more than 21 million points to PetSmart Charities of Canada. Additionally, PetSmart grew its popular Chance & Friends collection to include Halloween offerings alongside its winter holiday collection. For every purchase of a Chance & Friends plush toy, funds were donated to PetSmart Charities of Canada, totalling over $380 thousand.
PETSMART FUNDRAISING PROGRAMS
PetSmart associates are the heart of our fundraising efforts, raising millions in donations at checkout each year. Their impact goes far beyond the register — from leading in-store campaigns to volunteering and donating from their own paychecks. Their dedication fuels our mission—and we’re deeply grateful for their unwavering support.
A percentage of sales from Chance & Friends plush toy collections are donated to PetSmart Charities of Canada.
PetSmart associates championed two in-store fundraising campaigns in 2024. Their support helped build accessible veterinary care and alleviate pet hunger.
The PetSmart Treats Rewards loyalty program offers members 2X points for every $1 dollar donated at checkout. Several times a year, members are also invited to donate points to PetSmart Charities, which in 2024 was more than $16,000 across Canada.
PETSMART LOYALTY TEAM
Supporting adoptions
Hill’s Pet Nutrition and PetSmart Charities of Canada formed a strategic partnership to support pet adoption and welfare across Canada. As the official feeding sponsor of PetSmart Charities of Canada, Hill’s supplies Science Diet pet food to all in-store Adoption Centres, ensuring that adoptable pets receive high-quality nutrition while awaiting their loving homes. In 2024, Hill’s took that commitment even further by supporting
three National Adoption Week events in Canada. Together, Hill’s and PetSmart Charities of Canada aim to strengthen the bond between pets and people, facilitating successful adoptions and promoting lifelong pet health.
Dr. Elsey’s also generously supports our adoption program by providing litter for our Everyday Cat Adoption Centres.
How You Can Help
Thank you for helping change lives—for pets and for all who love them. Your support makes a real difference, from helping families stay together to making sure more pets find loving homes.
We can’t do this without YOU. Every donation, every engagement, every act of kindness adds up. When you donate, you help expand programs that keep pets healthy and happy. When you spread the word or support adoption, you help grow a community that believes pets make the world a better place.
There’s no single way to make an impact—but every way matters. Whether you give, advocate, foster, or simply care—you’re part of a movement that’s creating a better future For Pets. For People. For Good.
make a bigger impact
become a champion for good
As a Champion for Good, your monthly donation plays a vital role in supporting families through pet adoption, creating access to affordable veterinary care, combating pet food insecurity, and assisting families who have experienced a natural disaster. Join us and make a monthly contribution for those in need.
become a planned estate contributor
Remembering PetSmart Charities of Canada in your final wishes is a lasting way to change the lives of pets and people who love them. Whether through an outright gift in your will/ bequest or by designating us as the beneficiary of your life insurance or retirement account, you will help make the world a better place for pets and their families for generations to come.
become a corporate partner
As a corporate partner, your contributions lead the change for good. Your support not only helps homeless pets find loving families it also ensures that families stay together with their pets even during life’s toughest moments.