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The Indiana Daily Student

community events

Local pet store promotes adoption with Pet Appreciation Week

Junior Liam Foran plays with ten-year-old Golden Retriever Max during the Rent-A-Puppy event Thursday at Dunn Meadow. "I've been away from my dogs for too long, and I just needed some puppy love," Foran said.

Pet owners and hopeful pet owners alike are being searched out by the Tractor Supply Company store to help celebrate pets during Pet Appreciation Week.

The main event Sept. 17 will include pet adoptions with community groups, samples, giveaways, drawings for gift cards and other family friendly activities, according to a Tractor Supply Co press release.

“Our store is so close-knit to the community and we want a way to give back to it,” said Michele Daniels, coordinator of the event this year.

This is Daniels’ first year coordinating the event, but she said she is excited for the anticipated turnout and interaction with the animals.

Deals on pet products, from food and treats to toys and crates, will be featured from Sept. 14-18, during the span of the celebration week.

“Pet Appreciation Week is a time when our love for animals really shines,” Alita Wilcoxen, manager of the Bloomington Tractor Supply store, said in the release. “It’s an opportunity for us to celebrate the love of pets, find great homes for local adoptable animals and showcase the community partners and rescues who care for these animals year round.”

Several activities will take place during the main event including live music, a dog wash, a cookout, face painting and free pony rides.

“Each time we throw an event we try to support a different local cause,” Daniels said.

Horse Angels, a southern Indiana horse rescue and rehabilitation center, is a non-profit organization that the store frequently benefits.

The non-profit will also be in attendance for the main event as a support for the other animal rescue centers in attendance.

Owen County Humane Society and Bloomington Humane Society will be supplying the adoptable pets for the event.

In addition to supporting community groups in their work to find good homes for dogs and cats, Pet Appreciation Week will help raise awareness of the importance of spaying and neutering pets.

Information will be provided on proper pet care and nutrition during the entire event, according to the release.

Everyone that adopts a pet at the event will receive a bag full of treats and toys for the dog, in addition to coupons for dog food.

Pet Appreciation Week is open to the public. This includes all leashed, friendly pets, according to the release.

All events of the week will take place in the parking lot of Tractor Supply at 5790 W State Road 46.

Stores are located primarily in towns outlying major metropolitan markets and in rural communities.

“They aren’t just people that come into our store,” Daniels said. “They are our family.”

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