PET WELFARE AND HUMANE TREATMENT
The humane and responsible treatment of animals is of paramount importance to us; therefore, we dedicate significant time, expertise, and resources to providing pets within our Pet Care Centers (PCCs) industry-leading, world-class care. Additionally, we take pride in educating pet parents on how they can embrace every dimension of health for their pet’s wellbeing, enabling them to provide the quality of life their pet deserves.
Our companion animal and aquatic life vendors are required to uphold the same high standards of animal care and welfare as we do by participating in our Petco Vendor Certification and Standards of Excellence Program. This program includes a rigorous certification process and regular audits for our live animal vendors.
Our employees undergo extensive training to equip them with the knowledge and skills to tend to the animals in their care. While in our care, our procedures require that every animal receives an hourly health check to maintain their continued safety and wellbeing. If any issues are identified, they are expected to be addressed immediately.
We provide pet parents with information to help take care of and meet the wellbeing needs of their pets. We also advocate for humane pet parenting practices, such as positive reinforcements, and provide support for pet parents with these methods.
HEALTH AND SAFETY IN PET CARE CENTERS
Our employees undergo extensive training to equip them with the knowledge and skills to tend to the animals in their care. While in our care, our procedures require that every animal receives an hourly health check to maintain their continued safety and wellbeing. If any issues are identified, they are expected to be addressed immediately. Ill or injured animals, as well as overstock, adoption, and maternity animals, are cared for in our Wellness Rooms, which are required to be kept to our highest health and cleanliness standards. PCC employees are trained in the special protocols we have in place for these rooms.
CLEAN GROOMING
In addition to the ingredients we feed them, the ingredients we put on pets’ skins can also enter their bodies and impact their health. Over the past three years, we have been gradually removing unnecessary ingredients from the grooming products we sell and use, including:
• Parabens
• Phthalates
• Chemical dyes
In April 2023, we launched our Clean Grooming campaign, which extends this effort to our grooming services. Petco’s Self-Serve Dog Wash stations also offer Clean Grooming products only.
RESPONSIBLE MARINE AQUATIC LIFE SOURCING
As one of the world’s largest buyers of marine aquatic life, we strive to lead the way in conserving ocean life. Wherever possible, our marine life is aquacultured (born, bred, and raised in an aquarium environment); if this is not possible, then our marine life is sustainably collected following strict standards.
Our Vendor Certification Program allows us to track the collection or breeding site of all our aquatic life, which is audited annually, and ensures vendors meet our requirements. Our commitment to aquaculture has encouraged the breeding of marine species that were not previously available through aquaculture, helping us make progress that impacts the entire industry.
PETS IN THE CLASSROOM
Pets in the Classroom is a program under the Pet Care Trust, a nonprofit foundation that aims to enhance students’ educational and personal development through interaction with pets in their classroom. Teachers have reported that a classroom pet enhances student compassion, responsibility, engagement, attendance, social skills, self-esteem, and even academic performance. For more than a decade, Petco has been partnering with Pets in the Classroom, funding grants for pets in thousands of classrooms nationwide.
Petco and the Pet Care Trust have teamed up to create the Pets in the Classroom program, which supplies products and funding for classroom critters at low cost to schools, with no out-of-pocket supply cost.
Petco Love, formerly named The Petco Foundation, is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is proudly leading the way in pet lifesaving programs. Together, Petco and our generous customers have donated nearly $410M to date. These funds have also allowed Petco Love to serve families and create communities that are closer, healthier, and stronger.
