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HOUSTON - The City of Houston's Animal Shelter and Adoption Center, BARC, will be receiving a $25,000 grant investment from national nonprofit, Petco Love, according to a release.
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.
According to officials, 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 the 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."
Officials said 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.
"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."