BUCKHANNON, WV (May 11, 2023) – The Lewis-Upshur Animal Control Facility has received a $30,000 grant investment from national nonprofit Petco Love in support of their lifesaving work for animals in Upshur and Lewis Counties in West Virginia.

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 $350 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 6.7 million pets adopted and counting.

“Our investment in the Lewis Upshur Animal Control Facility 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 recently launched Petco Love Lost, a national lost and found database that uses pet image technology to simplify the search for lost pets.”

“This lifesaving investment is going to make it possible to supply our surgical unit with all the required/necessary equipment we will need to purchase for the unit and everything to make the unit a sterile environment. Staff here at the shelter can’t be more excited about receiving this grant from Petco Love,” said Jan Cochran, Director of the Lewis-Upshur Animal Control Facility.

The Lewis-Animal Control Facility is a dual-county animal welfare organization, serving both Lewis and Upshur County, West Virginia; operated and managed by the Upshur County Commission. The goal of the facility is to find loving homes for as many of the shelter animals as possible. In addition to hosting several spay/neuter clinics, the facility also assists with the arrangement of transportation to rescue groups in the Maryland, DC and Virginia areas.

For more information about the Lewis-Upshur Animal Control Facility, visit upshuranimalcontrol.org. Learn more about Petco Love here: petcolove.org.