ileana is right. when i was in southern illinois, one of the local vets agreed to hold a rescue fair and silent auction. about 25 different breeds (rescues) participated. extreme southern illinois is basically an economically depressed agricultural area. we wanted to have t-shirts made that people could buy and i went to the petco foundation for help as all of us in rescue were struggling for every dollar and foster home. the application process was very user friendly and we received a check very quickly, enough to have 400 t-shirts made. i am NOT telling anyone to support petco or their practices but, with their help on that day, many rescues, including GSDs, were helped. siane Diane Silver-Strasser Silstra German Shepherds http://skatiebugz.blogspot.com In a message dated 9/7/2009 6:03:37 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, InquestGSD@xxxxxxx writes: You get a new dog, you are going to need stuff for that dog, especially if this is your family's first dog. But you are not obligated to buy stuff at Petco or Petsmart when you adopt a dog or cat at either location. I know (having worked a few adoption days there) that Petco gives every new adoptive family, gives as in FREE, an adoption booklet that contains over $200 worth in coupons and discount, so that they can save money on purchases. And a list of items their new pet may need. They also donate money to local rescue groups every year, and any rescue organization that is registered non-profit with the IRS can apply for assistance with the Petco Foundation. They also hold Low Cost vaccination clinics either weekly or monthly (here is weekly). Are they still going to make a buck? Sure, but they also help A LOT! And they don't take any money from the adoptions, neither Petco nor Petsmart. That money stays with the rescue groups. They only request that the animals at the adoption clinics are up to date on vaccines and have good temperaments, and volunteers are over 18. Fair. Ileana Sandy, Don't think for a second that Petco and Petsmart that allows these adopt-a-thons aren't raking in the money! The people that adopt these animals are buying a TON of supplies and goodies for the new baby, and are virtually a captive audience. They are raking the bucks in and the public "sees" it as a goodwill endevor. Mo > > Our local Petco allows the local shelter to bring dogs & cats to the > store for a couple hours on Saturdays. They try to find homes for > (only) rescues & Petco does not get any money from this endevor. > > Sandy ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2009. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communicat_ion, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/ ============================================================================ _ (http://skatiebugz.blogspot.com/) **************A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps! (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1222846709x1201493018/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072&hmpgID=115&bcd =JulystepsfooterNO115) ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2009. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/ ============================================================================