Petco Holiday Wishes Come True For Senior Dog Who Wins $25,000

Angela Vuckovic
by Angela Vuckovic
The Petco Foundation’s Holiday Wishes Campaign has “wrapped” – here’s the story that stood out among thousands of entries and won over the hearts of both the judges and the public!


For the last five years, The Petco Foundation, in partnership with Petco, organized Holiday Wishes Campaign, which awards grants to animal welfare organizations across the country. This year’s campaign will support the lifesaving work of rescues with $765,000– including one $100,000 grand prize and a series of finalist awards ranging from $5,000 to $50,000. The grant investments will be awarded to the rescue organization that the winners adopted their pet from, and all top contestants will get a $1,000 Petco gift card.


The 52 finalists were selected from thousands of entries, and their inspiring stories have been revealed on The Petco Foundation’s website. But this year, the campaign had a new component- The People’s Choice Awards, where the public voted for their favorites, giving a chance to 5 lucky contestants to win additional funding for their rescues.


Although each entry is heart-melting and uplifting in its own way, the grand prize winner of People’s Choice Award was a story that really tugged at my heartstrings. A family from Baltimore adopted a senior pooch, Kaylee, from their local shelter, only to find out that she is terminally ill, with a 2-month prognosis to live. The family set out to create Kaylee’s Bucket List, and make the rest of this old gal’s life as perfect as possible. But, their story is not one filled with sadness, but instead with hope, as it beautifully portrays the profound impact pets can have on our lives. Kaylee has taught her family so much about canine love and kindness in so little time. Melissa, Kaylee’s owner, said:


“My children have learned compassion in a way I’ve never dreamed possible. They happily gave up a vacation to Disney World because we needed the money to pay for Kaylee’s care. They told me, “That’s ok. We wouldn’t want to go without her anyway.” On top of the joy she’s brought to our home, Kaylee has reminded us of the good in the world.”


Kaylee’s family won $25,000 (in addition to their $10,000 grant) for BARCS animal shelter. Hopefully, this will go a long way to helping some other unfortunate pooches find a fantastic furever family as Kaylee did!


Bring out the tissues, people. You’ll laugh, cry, and feel all the feels reading these heartwarming adoption stories. And, if you haven’t already, you might get inspired to adopt a dog of your own.

Angela Vuckovic
Angela Vuckovic

A proud mama to seven dogs and ten cats, Angela spends her days writing for her fellow pet parents and pampering her furballs, all of whom are rescues. When she's not gushing over her adorable cats or playing with her dogs, she can be found curled up with a good fantasy book.

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