Supporting Local Shelters with Pedigree

This post was sponsored by Pedigree. To learn more about their see what good food can do campaign and Shelter Beautification Project, please click here.

Years before I was married though well into adulthood, I visited my first animal shelter. I had decided that rescuing a dog was something I must do, something I needed to do, even though I hadn’t graduated college and was living in what I eventually learned was an unstable environment. Needless to say, I didn’t end up adopting a pet that day, but the experience at the shelter made a lasting impression upon me, one that absolutely influenced our decision to adopt Charlie and Theo from their respective SPCAs.

I didn’t actually accompany Justin to the SPCA in Queens where he found Charlie. It was far away and I had Jack and Zoe at home, sad because we didn’t adopt a kitten from the Petco in Union Square that morning. I also didn’t think I could bear to see all those little souls locked behind bars in sterile cages with their sad lonely faces. He went though, and brought her home-she literally was being unloaded off of a truck when he arrived to adopt her. Bringing her home was the first taste of welcoming a shelter animal into our lives… Clearly and fortunately not the last.

Visiting the Santa Cruz SPCA was a little bit surprising for me. I had expected a large industrial building with cells and cages built into the walls like the last one I went into. This was hardly the case, as I should have known given this is Santa Cruz. We arrived to find a one story track home with puppies in pens in the front driveway, and dogs running amok in the fenced off front yard. What was lacking in setting was equally filled in by the personal experience with the women running the shelter. Isn’t that always the case? In the best of situations, the facilities might be sacrificed but the heart and dedication and love is there ten fold… Never more true than when you’re visiting a shelter for abandoned animals.

It was a pretty clear and easy decision to use the attention that we’ve gotten surrounding Theo and Beau to help benefit the Santa Cruz SPCA, and I’m really excited about this particular campaign with Pedigree. Pedigree is not only donating to Theo’s shelter, but they are helping shelters around the country though their real life stories, documentary style see what good food can do campaign and shelter beautification project.

Pedigree has teamed up with Greater Good-a local charity-and have begun improving shelters in every state, such as painting and renovating kennels. They recently teamed up with dog-lover Miranda Lambert in her hometown while she got personally involved in the renovation process at her local shelter in Tishomingo.

While it feels like our journey as shelter supporters and pet adoption advocates is just beginning, it’s something that I can say has always been in my destiny and will be in my life passionately for a very long time. It’s truly an honor to be able to use this platform as a way to call attention to this particular cause.

To get involved, please share your pet adoption story on Facebook, twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #DogTales. For every story shared, Pedigree will donate a bowl of food to a shelter in need. I know by the amount of personal emails and notes I’ve received sharing adorable photos and heartwarming stories, there are a lot of you out there that are passionate about supporting shelters and pet adoption as well. I love each and every one and I encourage you to share even a moment on your social channels!

Thank you to Pedigree for not only supporting shelters around the country, but specifically donating to the Santa Cruz SPCA as well as sponsoring this post.