08/17/2026
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Adopt a Pet Shelter Plus
Animal shelters everywhere face an ever-growing list of challenges, from rising pet food costs, leading to a greater demand for community pet food pantries, to the need for veterinary resources and more support for the people who dedicate their lives to animals.
Adopt a Pet Shelter Plus brings together a range of resources and benefits to address the many needs shelters face while helping them better serve the animals and communities that depend on them.
Expanded Support for Shelters
Adopt a Pet Shelter Plus expanded its sponsorship benefits this year, giving participating shelters up to $10,000 per year to use toward a variety of support options. Shelters can choose from benefits such as pet food pantry support, conference attendance, Kitten College participation, and event and fundraising sponsorships.
The expanded sponsorship package builds on the program's previous support while giving shelters greater flexibility to direct resources where they are needed most.
Pet food pantry support is particularly important as shelters report growing demand from community members who are struggling to afford food for their pets. These community-based pantries provide free or discounted pet food to families experiencing financial hardship, helping them keep their pets at home rather than surrendering them to a shelter.
"Almost every single shelter that we partner with has some form of pet food pantry now," said Kirsten Shaffer, Adopt a Pet Shelter Plus program manager. "The need is just growing every year."
Significant Food Savings
Adopt a Pet Shelter Plus is currently available to eligible brick-and-mortar animal shelters in the United States, provided the program's distributor can deliver to the facility.
Participating shelters receive 75% off Pedigree products and 90% off Iams products for in-shelter feeding programs. Shelters also receive free adopters' bags, including three-pound bags of Pedigree or Iams food, to send home with adopters and their newest family members.
In return for these benefits, participating shelters agree to exclusively feed and recommend Pedigree and Iams products and to encourage adopters to take advantage of the program's Adopter Portal.
The portal provides additional resources for new pet parents, including a free bag of PrettyLitter, a free first office visit at Banfield or VCA and up to $250 in eligible sick-pet veterinary care following adoption.
Support That Goes Beyond Food
The program's benefits extend beyond feeding.
Adopt a Pet Shelter Plus connects participating shelters with discounts through Mars' veterinary network, including Banfield, VCA and BluePearl. The program also partners with Fear Free to provide expanded continuing education, one-on-one coaching and quarterly webinars designed to give shelter professionals practical guidance to implement Fear Free practices.
Recognizing the emotional demands of animal welfare work, Adopt a Pet Shelter Plus also provides mental health resources for shelter employees and volunteers through its partnership with Kindly Human.
Together, these benefits reflect the program's larger goal: supporting shelters as comprehensively as possible.
"The idea was, let's bring everybody together and try to put together a package that solves more than just food costs," Shaffer said. "We actually want to address as many of the shelter pain points as we possibly can."
Working With Public Shelters
Adopt a Pet Shelter Plus is also committed to working with government-operated shelters, including those that may face additional purchasing, bidding or legal requirements.
Rather than excluding these organizations because of those challenges, the program works with individual shelters to help establish partnerships that meet their specific requirements.
Ongoing Support for Participating Shelters
Another key component of Adopt a Pet Shelter Plus is the ongoing relationship with participating organizations.
Each shelter has an account manager who works directly with the organization to help ensure the program is running smoothly, connect the shelter with available benefits and provide support along the way.
The goal is to make participation as seamless as possible while giving shelters access to a broad range of resources through a single program.
Adopt a Pet Shelter Plus is continuing to evolve, with additional benefits expected to be announced in 2027.
For shelters looking for ways to stretch their resources, strengthen support for their staff and volunteers, and help more pets remain healthy and with their families, Adopt a Pet Shelter Plus offers an increasingly comprehensive collection of tools and resources.
Michigan Pet Alliance is proud to have Adopt a Pet Shelter Plus as a member. Visit with them at their exhibitor booth in October at the 2026 One Voice MPA Conference & Expo!
