Which animal shelters could use 2,000 pet products? Hartz Mountain Corp. of Secaucus, N.J., asked that question, and the public answered. As part of its Shelter Donation Program, the pet product manufacturer plans to ship $1 million worth of pet supplies to 150 shelters across the U.S. It's on track to meet its overall goal of donating $3 million worth of products to animal shelters in need. Hartz called on the public Dec. 13 to nominate a shelter to receive 2,000 pet supplies. (Due to the way Hartz stores and ships its products, each donation had to be a minimum of 2,000 items.) Within 10 days, the company received enough nominations to meet its goal of donating $1 million worth of supplies to animal shelters. “It seems everyone is in the holiday spirit as we’ve seen a tremendous amount of goodwill from consumers nominating animal shelters from all over the country, and we’d like to thank them for responding so soon and with such enthusiasm,” said Bob Shipley, Hartz’s senior vice president of customer relations development. “Sadly, it also reminds us that our animal shelters are really suffering this year and need everyone’s help. We hope that Hartz's shelter program will help those shelters we could reach with our donations of pet supplies.” The donations are expected to be shipped to shelters in January and February. Once the 300,000 items are shipped, Hartz will have donated $3 million worth of pet supplies to animal shelters and food banks in the U.S. and Canada. Among the items being donated are dog biscuits and bones, meat treats, rawhide, chews, puppy pads, collars and leashes, bowls, toys, grooming products and bedding, flea and tick treatments, vitamins and dental care products, bird seed, and rabbit and small-animal food.
