PETCO Foundation Awards Search Dog Foundation $30,000 Grant

PETCO Foundation Awards Search Dog Foundation $30,000 Grant 


SAN DIEGO, Dec. 22  /PRNewswire/ -- The PETCO Foundation awarded a $30,000 grant
to the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF) which will be utilized to
fund a portion the Graduating Class of 2004.  Each year, the Foundation trains
approximately 24 dogs to be part of advanced certified canine search teams
throughout the United States.

(Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030603/PETCOLOGO )

"The PETCO Foundation makes a real difference in our ability to provide highly
trained canine search teams to a nation that is in desperate need of this
resource," says Wilma Melville, SDF Founder and Executive Director, "The Search
Dog Foundation values its partnership with the PETCO Foundation and the trust
they place in us."

The PETCO Foundation applauds the work of the Search Dog Foundation,
demonstrated through their continued financial support for these noble animals. 
In the wake of the September 11 tragedies, PETCO Foundation presented a $150,000
grant to the Search Dog Foundation which had trained 13 of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) Certified Canine Search Teams deployed to the World
Trade Center site.

"This is just one more example of the valuable roles animals play in our lives,"
says PETCO Foundation Director Paul Jolly.  "A primary part of our mission is to
promote the human-animal bond, and these search dogs are the very embodiment of
that spirit."

The Search Dog Foundation (SDF) is responsible for training 40% of the United
States' and 80% of the California's FEMA Advanced Certified Canines Search
Teams.  These teams are called into action by the emergency services to find
live victims in any natural or man-made disaster possible, from earthquakes to
building collapses to train wrecks.  Many of these dogs were once abandoned in
shelters and now are helping to save lives -- in other words, from rescued to
rescuer.

The National Disaster Search Dog Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose
mission is to prepare rescue dogs and partner them with firefighters to become
the most highly trained canine search teams in the nation.  The Foundation is
responsible for training over 40% of all of the nation's Advanced FEMA canine
search teams and 80% of California's.  Website: http://www.searchdogsusa.org/ or
call 1-888-4K9-HERO

PETCO (NASDAQ:PETC) is a leading specialty retailer of premium pet food,
supplies and services with a commitment to quality animal care and education.
PETCO operates more than 650 neighborhood stores in 43 states and the District
of Columbia, as well as a leading destination for on-line pet food and supplies
at http://www.petco.com/ .  The PETCO Foundation as raised more than $13 million
since inception in 1999.  More than 1,600 non-profit grassroots animal welfare
organizations from around the nation have received support from the Foundation.


http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030603/PETCOLOGO

http://photoarchive.ap.org/

DATASOURCE: PETCO Foundation; National Disaster Search Dog Foundation



CONTACT:  Margaret Logreira, SDF Media Coordinator of National Disaster

Search Dog Foundation, [phone], or cell, [phone],

; or Shawn Underwood, Communications Rep of PETCO,

[phone], 



Web site:  http://www.petco.com/

http://www.searchdogsusa.org/ 

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