Iams Home 4 The Holidays Set To Feed More Homeless Pets Than Ever Before

Photo of Procter & Gamble Pet Care Employees Kicking off Annual Iams Home 4 the Holidays Pet Adoption Campaign Providing Much-Needed Meals and Helping Homeless Pets Is Just a Click Away The Iams Home 4 the Holidays pet adoption drive enters its 14th year and remains focused on raising awareness of pet adoption while also ensuring proper nutrition for more homeless pets this year. With just the click of a button, anyone can participate in the all-new Digital Dish Drive, an online food donation program that allows everyone an easy way to get involved. The campaign, which runs Oct. 1, 2012 through Jan. 2, 2013, is a partnership between Iams and Helen Woodward Animal Center to give more orphaned pets a fresh start through loving homes and good nutrition. “Shelters and rescues around the country are overflowing with great adoptable animals awaiting forever homes,” said Mike Arms, founder of the adoption drive and president of Helen Woodward Animal Center. “Last year a tiny, starved Chihuahua/dachshund was brought into a shelter, weighing maybe one pound soaking wet, and very cold and miserable. The shelter helped nurse her back to health and she was adopted by a wonderful couple that fell in love with her and named her Baby. Stories like these show us the importance of promoting pet adoption and how a program like Iams Home 4 the Holidays can make a huge difference in the life of a pet.” There are many new and simple ways to get involved in the campaign this year from joining the Iams Facebook community to help feed homeless pets to adopting an animal from a local shelter. New and simple ways consumers can make a difference include:

• Digital Dish Drive – New this year, Iams will feature a different dog and cat available for adoption on the Iams Facebook page, beginning Oct. 1, and during scheduled "feeding" times each day, every “Like” or “Share” will result in a meal donation to a participating shelter.
• Iams Lifelong Rewards – Join the Iams community by mobile sign up at www.Iams.com or at a participating pet adoption center when you adopt your new family member. For every sign up, Iams will donate food to a homeless pet awaiting adoption.
• Bags 4 Bowls – For every specially marked package of Iams pet food purchased during the campaign, Iams will donate one bowl of food to a participating Iams Home 4 the Holidays animal organization.
• Find Adoptable Pets Near You – To find a participating animal shelter or rescue near you, visit home4theholidays.org.

Each year Iams and Helen Woodward Animal Center work to ensure that Iams Home 4 the Holidays is reaching people in new and unique ways to generate widespread awareness for pet homelessness. Last year alone, 1.2 million pets were adopted during the holiday campaign and an estimated 5 million meals were donated to pets in need. “With as many as 7 million orphaned pets in the U.S., this campaign is a wonderful platform to raise awareness about pet homelessness,” said Ondrea Francy, Iams general manager. “This year Iams and Helen Woodward Animal Center are looking to donate more bowls of food than ever before to orphaned pets; last year we gave 5 million meals to animal organizations and we're looking to exceed that goal this year!” As part of the campaign kick-off, Iams employees will celebrate the three-month pet adoption drive with their annual Paws 4 a Cause event at Circle Tail, a pet shelter outside of Cincinnati, OH. More than 300 volunteers from Iams and other P&G Pet Care brands will donate almost 2,400 man hours to give this shelter a much needed makeover and shine the spotlight on the many wonderful animals waiting to be adopted and the shelters that care for them. For more information about the campaign or to find out how to get involved, become a fan of the Iams Facebook page.

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