Athens, TX (June 7, 2024) – Athens Animal Rescue Shelter has received a $20,000 grant investment from national nonprofit Petco Love in support of their lifesaving work for animals in Henderson County.

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. And Petco Love helps find loving homes for pets in partnership with Petco and more than 4,000 organizations — like ours — across North America, with 6.8 million pets adopted and counting. 

“Our investment in Athens Animal Rescue Shelter is part of more than $15M in investments recently announced by Petco Love to power local organizations across the country as part of our commitment to create a future in which no pet is unnecessarily euthanized,” said Susanne Kogut, president of Petco Love. “Our local investments are only part of our strategy to empower animal lovers to drive lifesaving change right alongside us. We launched Petco Love Lost, a national lost and found database that uses patented image-recognition technology to simplify the search for lost pets.”

“Effective May 1, 2024, the Athens Animal Rescue Shelter is no longer managed by the current Board of Directors. The City of Athens and Henderson County have decided not to renew the AARS partnership agreement,” said Jennifer Miller, Director of the Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake. “As a result of this change and transition, there were many additional expenses incurred to close this facility. AARS did not leave any pets behind in the care of the new management team. This lifesaving investment from Petco Love provided the critical funding needed to support the additional operational expenses and pet care.” 

These expenses included pet transports, emergency pet care, medical expenses, spay/neuter surgeries, and foster care. “This investment was awarded at a time when AARS desperately needed this additional funding assistance to ensure a smooth transition to support the care of all the pets. The Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake (sister shelter) also assisted in this transition and transfers of pets where needed,” Miller added. If you are looking to adopt, foster, donate, or volunteer, contact us at the Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake at hsccl.org. Learn more about Petco Love here: petcolove.org.

About Athens Animal Rescue Shelter
Athens Animal Rescue Shelter was a nonprofit organization that responded to animals in need through the generous support of individuals, businesses, and foundations. We provided shelter, food, medical treatment, love, and care to every animal who was brought to the facility. Our mission was to promote the humane treatment of animals through care, education, and advocacy.