FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Gregory Willey, Friendship Animal Protective League, gregory@friendshipapl.org

Crystal Bugary, Petco Love, media@petcolove.org

National Nonprofit Petco Love Invests in Friendship Animal Protective League to Save and Improve the Lives of Pets in Lorain County, Ohio

Elyria, OH (June 20, 2025) – Friendship Animal Protective League (Friendship APL) is set to receive a $70,000 grant investment from national nonprofit Petco Love in support of their life saving work for pets in Lorain 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 $421 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 more than 7 million pets adopted and counting.

“Our investment in Friendship APL is part of more than $12M 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 free national lost and found database that uses photo-matching technology to simplify the search for lost pets.”

“Petco Love has truly been a blessing for our staff and the pets in our care. Our humane officers rescue pets from cruelty and neglect in a vehicle powered by Petco Love. Our surgical team provides ongoing care and medical treatment with equipment purchased with their support. Our volunteers give needed attention and play to our long-term shelter pets thanks to their amazing generosity. The adoption centers in Elyria and Avon facilitate our cats and kittens with the ability to find them loving homes. We truly could not accomplish all of our life-saving work without Petco Love,” said Gregory Willey, Executive Director, Friendship Animal Protective League.

Friendship Animal Protective League is dedicated to ensuring that no pet should suffer without the basic necessities to live a healthy life, providing the education to promote the human/animal bond, and treating all those who seek our help with kindness, dignity and respect in Lorain County and throughout Northeast Ohio. Since 1957, Friendship Animal Protective League has worked tirelessly to rescue pets from cruelty and neglect, provide care and treatment to the pets in their care, offering supportive programs to keep families and their pets together, and fostering the relationship between humans and pets through volunteerism and adoption. In 2024:

• 6,242 pets came to Friendship APL.
• Our spay and neuter clinic fixed 677 companion pets for the public.
• Our humane officers responded to 612 complaints of cruelty/neglect and seized 1,304 pets.
• We transferred in 1,257 pets including dogs from areas devastated by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
• 30,440 Volunteer Hours in 2024 from our 220 dedicated volunteers.
• 4,359 pets were adopted.
• 463 special needs pets were transferred out to partner organizations.
• 1,063 pets were provided temporary care by our incredible foster families.

For more information about Friendship APL visit friendshipapl.org. Learn more about Petco Love here: petcolove.org.

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About Friendship APL
Friendship APL is a private, independent, non-profit [501(c)(3)] humane society founded in Elyria, Ohio in 1957. We own and operate the largest animal shelter in Lorain County. Friendship APL receives no government funding. We depend on the generosity and financial support of friends and neighbors, and on various fundraisers, to serve the people and animals of Lorain County.

About Petco Love
Petco Love is a life-changing nonprofit organization that makes communities and pet families closer, stronger, and healthier. Since our founding in 1999, we’ve empowered animal welfare organizations by investing nearly $421 million in adoption and other lifesaving efforts. We’ve helped find loving homes for more than 7 million pets in partnership with Petco and organizations nationwide. Our love for pets drives us to lead with innovation, creating tools animal lovers need to reunite lost pets, and lead with passion, inspiring and mobilizing communities and our more than 4,000 animal welfare partners to drive lifesaving change alongside us. Is love calling you? Join us. Visit PetcoLove.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X, Threads, and LinkedIn to be part of the lifesaving work we lead every day.