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PetSmart Charities® Sends Emergency Relief to North Dakota to Assist Pets Affected by Flooding

(Phoenix) – As flood waters rise and evacuations continue in Fargo, N.D., PetSmart Charities is sending an Emergency Relief Waggin’® trailer stocked with at least 16 tons of much-needed pet food and supplies, as well as a back-up trailer loaded with essential care items for pets and their rescuers, to the affected areas.

“We received a request for assistance from officials with the North Dakota State Board of Animal Health and immediately began readying our vehicles for deployment to the scene,” said Susana Della Maddalena, executive director of PetSmart Charities.  “Initial reports are that at least 1,000 pets could be affected by this disaster, so we have doubled the amount of supplies we typically send, and we have a third vehicle on standby, as it might also be needed in the wake of this situation.”

Both the 53-foot Emergency Relief Waggin’ trailer and back-up trailer are loaded with at least 26 pallets of pet food and supplies, and emergency relief equipment for rescuers and caregivers.  They departed from the PetSmart® Distribution Center in Ottawa, Ill, today and are scheduled to arrive Saturday at the Cedric Theel location in Bismarck at 1144 Missouri Ave.

Each PetSmart Charities Emergency Relief Waggin’ vehicle is stocked with emergency animal-care and volunteer supplies valued at $60,000 per load. Supplies include pet food, crates, beds, bowls, litter and litter pans, and other necessary animal-care items, as well as a generator, fans, tents, a battery charger, lights and other supplies to assist the volunteers on site who are caring for displaced companion animals.

“The sole purpose of our Emergency Relief Waggin’ program is to ensure that necessary assistance is readily available for animals in need as a result of natural or man-made disasters,” Della Maddalena added.  “We want to do our part so these helpless pets to get the care and comfort they need and deserve.”

PetSmart Charities® established its Emergency Relief Program in 2007 to provide assistance following natural and man-made disasters.  Members of the public who would like to support PetSmart Charities’ Emergency Relief Waggin’ Program can make a tax-deductible donation in one of two ways:

1. Make a credit card donation via the PetSmart Charities Web site at: www.petsmartcharities.org/donate/emergency-relief.php;
2. Mail a check earmarked for “Emergency Relief” directly to:  PetSmart Charities, Attn: Emergency Relief; 19601 N. 27^th Avenue, Phoenix, Ariz., 85027.

Learn more at http://www.petsmartcharities.org/programs/emergency-relief.php