In a heartwarming effort to uplift and support the lives of pets in Houston, BARC, the City of Houston's Animal Shelter and Adoption Center, has been awarded a generous $25,000 grant from the national nonprofit Petco Love. This investment aims to bolster BARC’s critical work in animal rescue and care, especially in the aftermath of the devastating Hurricane Beryl.

Petco Love, renowned for its transformative initiatives for pets, has been a beacon of hope since its inception in 1999. The nonprofit has contributed nearly $400 million towards adoption and other lifesaving endeavors, collaborating with over 4,000 organizations across North America. Their partnership efforts have facilitated the adoption of 6.8 million pets, making communities and pet families closer, stronger, and healthier.

Hurricane Beryl posed significant challenges for BARC, including power outages and generator failures, which resulted in the loss of refrigerated medications and a temporary suspension of adoptions. The storm also inflicted damage on outdoor horse stalls and fences. Despite these hurdles, the dedicated BARC staff worked relentlessly to ensure the safety and well-being of the animals, even as intake operations continued unabated. The grant from Petco Love will be instrumental in restoring essential vaccines, repairing damaged property, and reinforcing BARC’s ongoing lifesaving initiatives.

"In times of disaster like Hurricane Beryl, animal shelter staff are strained as they work tirelessly to keep pets in their care safe while also facing hurdles brought on by the severe weather emergency,” said Susanne Kogut, president of Petco Love. “We are proud to support our partner organization, BARC, to ensure their shelter pets get the best possible care after the storm and before they are adopted into loving homes.”

Jarrad Mears, BARC's Shelter Director, expressed deep gratitude for Petco Love’s timely support. “We are deeply thankful to Petco Love for their generous grant, which comes at a critical time for BARC as we recover from the impacts of Hurricane Beryl. This lifesaving investment will enable us to not only restore vital vaccinations lost during the storm’s power outages and repair damaged property but also to strengthen our efforts in saving more lives. Their partnership allows us to continue providing the highest standard of care to our pets and serve our community with resilience and compassion.”

BARC takes in over 20,000 pets annually, without discrimination towards behavior, breed, or medical condition. The organization is dedicated to enhancing the health and safety of Houstonians and their pets through innovative programs such as low-cost and no-cost spay/neuter services, mobile adoptions, transfer/rescue partnerships, and pet registration and microchipping. Additionally, BARC is committed to public safety through animal enforcement, responding to community service calls and investigating cases of animal cruelty.

For more information about BARC and their initiatives, visit houstonstylemagazine.com and petcolove.org.