National Pet Day
Give a little extra love and pampering to your pet, or if you can, take the plunge to enrich your life and the life of a smaller friend by adopting a pet.
Drive pet product sales, adoption awareness, and shelter donations by positioning National Pet Day as the ultimate moment for pet pampering and rescue advocacy.
- Adopt, don't shop: Partner with shelters to highlight rescue animals available for adoption on April 4th
- Pet pampering bundles: Promote toys, treats, grooming products, and accessories as 'National Pet Day gift sets'
- User-generated content: Encourage pet owners to share photos/videos of their pets on social media with branded hashtags
- Shelter fundraising: Launch donation campaigns and volunteer sign-ups tied to the 6.5M animals entering shelters annually
National Pet Day began in 2006 when animal welfare advocate, Colleen Paige, decided she wanted to celebrate the joy that pets bring into people’s lives. As a Pet & Family Lifestyle Expert, she wanted to celebrate all pets.
Advocating for the adoption of pets from animal shelters, she brainstormed the holiday to create public awareness for the animals awaiting homes in shelters. According to the ASPCA, approximately 6.5 million animals enter animal shelters every year.
The number of animals entering shelters has been significantly decreasing over the years. But there’s still a significant number of animals entering and being euthanized due to shelter capacity and lack of awareness.
Page hopes that these numbers can continue to decrease with the celebration of National Pet Day. Encouraging adoption as a first choice is one of the main ideas behind National Pet Day.
This is especially true in regards to those who are thinking about purchasing a pet from a breeder. On this day, people are encouraged to love their pets, spoil them, adopt pets, and volunteer at the local animal shelter.
National Pet Day celebrates the unconditional love that animals give to people in their daily lives. It also encourages people to take the time to spend time with their beloved animals.
Adopt a Pet
Celebrate National Pet Day by adopting a pet from a local shelter or pure breed rescue organization. Adopting an animal can become the greatest gift ever received in your life and can help save lives.
Volunteer at a Shelter
You can also volunteer at your local shelter and help take care of the animals by giving the dogs walks around the area. You can also help feed and care for them. Donate blankets, food, and toys if you can’t afford an animal.
Enjoy Your Pets
If you have a pet, spend time with them by taking pictures of them, buy them new toys, give them treats, and give them the love that they always give back. There are lots of different activities you can enjoy on National Pet Day with your fluffy friend! You could try to teach your pet some new tricks, and make sure you reward him for his efforts! You could also purchase a special gift for your pet or go to that extra mile and make one. Telling your pet that you love him or her as well!
Pets of Instagram
You could create a social media account for your pet on National Pet Day. There is a lot of pet Instagram accounts that have gone viral. If you think that you have an extra lovable pet, why not create an Instagram account and see just how famous your furry friend can become?
Learn About Pets
You could also spend some time learning a bit more about pets and the role they have played in history. There are some incredibly interesting stories and tales about animals and different beliefs amongst Ancient tribes and communities. A good place to start is with the Egyptians. Did you know that the Egyptians even sacrificed their country for cats? In 525 BCE, the Egyptians refused to fight because it would offend their goddess. This resulted in the Egyptian Army surrendering to the Persians, who had an image of the Egyptian cat deity, Bastet, painted on their shields. There is no denying that cats played a very important role in Ancient Egypt, and so it is certainly worth looking into this further, as well as exploring different cultures and their association with animals too.