PETC Petco Animal Supplies

HSUS, PETCO Showcase 'Think Adoption First' at 'Animal Care Expo' Event With Leaders of U.S. Animal Welfare Community ATLANTA, April 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) today joined the nation's leading pet specialty retailer PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc. in announcing the retailer's 'Think Adoption First' program at the 14th annual 'Animal Care Expo' in Atlanta. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030603/PETCOLOGO) Through the 'Think Adoption First' program, PETCO, the PETCO Foundation and Petfinder.com, the company's online partner, will encourage customers to consider adoption as the first option when thinking about adding a new companion animal to their homes. PETCO does not sell dogs or cats, and for nearly 40 years has worked with shelters to find homes for millions of adoptable animals. As part of the 'Think Adoption First' effort, PETCO, with the help of Petfinder.com's searchable database, will also reach out to placement groups and shelters that offer small mammals, reptiles and birds for adoption, in an effort to help find families for all homeless animals as well as resources for customers interested in these species. PETCO will encourage customers to seek adoptable animals in the community as a first option, providing informational resource centers and in-store adoption opportunities to a larger variety of rescue groups. PETCO store associates have received information on how to promote the 'Think Adoption First' philosophy so they can properly suggest adoption first when customers express interest in adding a companion animal to their home. Over 1,300 grassroots animal welfare representatives from the animal care, control, sheltering and rescue communities from all 50 states and 26 foreign countries are in Atlanta this week attending the annual educational and product exposition conference sponsored by the HSUS. The goal of the conference is to provide educational workshops and training on related animal welfare topics and to exhibit the latest products and services for the animal welfare industry. HSUS President and Chief Executive Officer Wayne Pacelle said, "We're extremely pleased to showcase PETCO's 'Think Adoption First' program at our annual Animal Care Expo conference. PETCO's adoption promotion program should directly link people with animals in need and address the problems associated with homeless animals, and we congratulate PETCO on developing this innovative idea and aggressively implementing it." PETCO's Chief Executive Officer James Myers said, "We have a long history of supporting animal welfare and adoptions and we're broadening that philosophy with our 'Think Adoption First' program. We will, simply put, recommend adoption before purchase of any animal at our more than 730 stores across the county. Think Adoption First is the right thing to do, and we are absolutely committed to making this work, to the benefit of adoptable animals and our community animal welfare partners." At this week's HSUS Animal Care Expo, PETCO, the PETCO Foundation, and Petfinder.com are encouraging animal welfare groups to join in the adoption effort. About HSUS The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization with more than 8.5 million members and constituents. The non-profit HSUS is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals and equine protection, wildlife and habitat protection, animals in research and farm animals and sustainable agriculture. HSUS opposes keeping all non-domesticated animals as pets. The HSUS protects all animals through education, investigation, litigation, legislation, advocacy, and fieldwork. The organization is based in Washington and has field representatives across the country. It is on the web at hsus.org. About PETCO (NASDAQ:PETC) PETCO, established in 1965, is a leading specialty retailer of premium pet food, supplies and services. PETCO's vision is to best promote, through its people, the highest level of well being for companion animals, and to support the human-animal bond. It operates over 730 stores in 47 states and the District of Columbia and is a leading destination for on-line pet food and supplies at www.petco.com. PETCO stores also offer for sale small mammal, reptiles and birds and as well as these species plus dogs and cats for adoption in cooperation with animal shelters and rescue groups. Since its inception in 1999, the PETCO Foundation, PETCO's non-profit organization, has raised more than $22 million in support of more than 2,600 non-profit grassroots animal welfare organizations around the nation. About Petfinder.com Petfinder.com is the nation's largest and oldest online adoption community. Working with more than 8,500 active animal welfare organizations across the country, Petfinder.com offers a searchable database of adoptable companion animals. Last year, Petfinder.com adoption partners found homes for more than 1.5 million animals, making it the nation's largest animal adoption organization. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030603/PETCOLOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc. CONTACT: John M. Snyder, +1-301-529-9757, or Martha Armstrong, +1-301-919-6377, both of Humane Society of the United States; or Don Cowan of PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc., Cell, +1-619-417-5244 Web site: http://www.petco.com/ http://hsus.org/ http://petfinder.com/

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