The 10th annual PetSmart Charities Rescue Waggin’ Summit was held in Indianapolis and I was fortunate enough to attend as a guest speaker. The Summit welcomed shelter teams from May 8-10 to help celebrate the following successes that the Rescue Waggin’ program has achieved throughout the past 10 years:
- Saving more than 70,000 dogs
- Providing funding for more than 2 million spay/shelter surgeries
- Transporting more than 60,000 dogs to high-demand shelters
The Rescue Waggin’ program is incredibly successful and the shelters were thrilled to be part of its origination. I spoke with various shelter members who expressed their appreciation for PetSmart’s generosity. Without the program’s commitment to providing funding, thousands of dogs may not have had a second chance for survival.
The summit opened with an evening welcome presented by Todd Cramer, the senior program manager for adoptions at PetSmart Charities. During his presentation, Todd discussed the best adoption processes as well as the importance of a good adoption program for the shelter, community and animals.
I had the opportunity on the second day to speak about SENTRY GOODbehavior pheromone products and how these four products can be used individually or as a part of a robust behavior correction plan. Considering the fact that the Rescue Waggin’ program focuses on relocating dogs, I tackled transportation and explored how GOODbehavior products — used both individually and in combinations — can help manage bad behaviors associated with traveling.
Summit attendees were each provided with a Calming Collar for Dogs and GOODbehavior brochure to help educate them on the full line of products and which ones work best to tackle the most challenging behavior problems. In addition, attendees were thrilled to receive a shelter kit form that helps enhance shelter adoptions through the donation of pheromone-based products by Sergeant’s Pet Care Products.
It was a wonderful experience and I am proud that Sergeant’s is a sponsor of this amazing charity. It’s not every day you get to be part of an organization that saves thousands of lives.
About our guest blogger: Elizabeth Kroll received a BSBA in Marketing at the University of Denver. She later moved to San Francisco where she was a Research Analyst for Russell Reynolds Associates for about four years. She moved back to Denver to receive her Veterinary Technician License and was a Vet Tech. Elizabeth now lives in Omaha, Neb., where she is the Category Manager of Health and Well-Being at Sergeant’s Pet Care Products. She has a dog, Hank, a 1-year-old Teddy Bear breed (Bichon/Shitzu mix). He is very well behaved; however, he is very stubborn and it took him about eight months to get potty trained. Elizabeth has used some of the SENTRY calming products and lots of patience and he is now a good boy!
