Pet Valu in Okotoks has been fundraising every year, helping to raise money for local animal rescue groups.
June was Pet Appreciation Month, and Pet Valu in Okotoks has been fundraising money for local animal rescue groups for the past 13 years through their Paw Fundraiser.
Through this year's fundraiser, they were raising money for Heaven Can Wait Animal Rescue, Okotoks Pound Rescue, and Moe Dog Rescue Mission.
"It's a month-long fundraiser. We've come up with a number of different ideas over the years to help drive donations for our local rescues," Carly Tiller, Owner and Manager of Pet Valu Okotoks, explains. "One of the main drivers is our silent auction and all of the items are donated by local businesses."
On top of the silent auction, Pet Valu also donated all of their dog washes for the entire month of June to the fundraiser.
"We have a self-serve dog wash in our stores that customers use, and we donate the proceeds directly to the fundraiser."
To fundraise, they sold Pride cookies, held different bake sales, hosted a paint night, and did two jail and bails this year where they locked someone up to help raise money.
They were also accepting donations at the cash register at the time of purchase.
Their goal was to raise $25,000 in June, which was a number they had come up with based off of previous fundraising.
"We ended up raising a total of $25,206.90. To date, we've raised $147,000."
They also held adoption events, where they helped to find homes for 12 dogs and five cats.
According to Tiller, Pet Valu stores across Canada help to fundraise for their local shelters.
"We live, eat, sleep, breathe animals," Tiller says.
If you missed out on this fundraiser, don't worry, because they will host another one in October, on top of accepting donations throughout the year.
Tiller extends a thank you to everyone in the community for their support.