BARC ANIMAL SHELTER AND ADOPTIONS

Press Release

National Nonprofit Petco Love Invests in BARC to Save and Improve the Lives of Pets in Houston Post Hurricane Beryl

July 24, 2024 -- BARC, the City of Houston's Animal Shelter and Adoption Center, is set to receive a $25,000 grant investment from national nonprofit Petco Love in support of their lifesaving work for animals in Houston.

Petco Love is a national nonprofit leading change for pets by harnessing the power of love to make communities and pet families closer, stronger, and healthier. Since its founding in 1999, Petco Love has invested nearly $400 million in adoption and other lifesaving efforts. And Petco Love helps find loving homes for pets in partnership with Petco and more than 4,000 organizations -- like ours -- across North America, with 6.8 million pets adopted and counting.

During Hurricane Beryl, BARC faced significant challenges, including power outages and generator failures, resulting in the loss of refrigerated medication and a temporary halt in adoptions. The shelter also received damage to outdoor horse stalls and fences. Staff worked tirelessly through the storm to ensure the safety of the animals while intake continued, and this grant will help restore essential vaccines, repair damaged property, and support ongoing lifesaving efforts.

"In times of a disaster like Hurricane Beryl, we know animal shelter staff are strained as they work tirelessly to keep pets in their care safe while also facing hurdles brought on by the severe weather emergency,” said Susanne Kogut, president of Petco Love. “We are proud to support our partner organization, BARC, to ensure their shelter pets get the best possible care after the storm and before they are adopted into loving homes.”

“We are deeply thankful to Petco Love for their generous grant, which comes at a critical time for BARC as we recover from the impacts of Hurricane Beryl,” said Jarrad Mears, BARC's Shelter Director. “This lifesaving investment will enable us to not only restore vital vaccinations lost during the storm’s power outages and repair damaged property but also to strengthen our efforts in saving more lives. Their partnership allows us to continue providing the highest standard of care to our pets and serve our community with resilience and compassion.”

BARC takes in more than 20,000 pets annually regardless of behavior, breed, or medical condition. BARC works each day to improve Houstonians and their pets' health and safety by pioneering programs such as low-cost and no-cost spay/neuter services, mobile adoptions, transfer/rescue partnerships, and pet registration and microchipping. BARC is also committed to public safety through animal enforcement, which answers calls for service from the community and investigates cases of animal cruelty.

For more information about BARC Animal Shelter, visit petcolove.org.

About Petco Love 
Petco Love is a life-changing nonprofit organization that makes communities and pet families closer, stronger, and healthier. Since our founding in 1999 as the Petco Foundation, we’ve empowered animal welfare organizations by investing nearly $400 million in adoption and other lifesaving efforts. We’ve helped find loving homes for more than 6.8 million pets in partnership with Petco and organizations nationwide. Our love for pets drives us to lead with innovation, creating tools animal lovers need to reunite lost pets, and lead with passion, inspiring and mobilizing communities and our more than 4,000 animal welfare partners to drive lifesaving change alongside us. Is love calling you? Join us. Visit PetcoLove.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X, Threads, and LinkedIn to be part of the lifesaving work we lead every day.