Furkid’s Foster Volunteer Nationally Recognized By Petco

CUMMING, GA — Furkids Animal Rescue and Shelters, in partnership with Petco Foundation and Skechers, is celebrating National Foster a Pet Month by recognizing Foster Hero Susan Struble for her dedication and commitment to animals at Furkids.

Struble has been recognized as one of 22 National Foster Heroes by the Petco Foundation and Skechers’ charity footwear collection, BOBS from Skechers in celebration of National Foster a Pet Month in June.

Struble has been instrumental in Furkids' efforts to save even the most seriously injured and ill animals, fostering more than 1,200 cats and kittens while focusing on medical cases that need extra care.

Her efforts don’t stop there. Once her fosters are ready, she works to find them the perfect loving home through the Furkids adoption center she manages. She has worked to build referrals and awareness of the center, taking it from 1-2 adoptions per month to as many as 15 in one week. On top of that, Struble is out in the field, helping Trap-Neuter-Release countless cats, bringing them into the Furkids program when possible. And, she is the primary caregiver for her adult son, who has serious ongoing medical needs.

“Susan is a miracle worker, and Furkids is grateful for every day that she dedicates to our lifesaving efforts,” said Samantha Shelton, CEO and Founder of Furkids. “We can’t imagine anyone better suited to receive recognition as a Petco Foster Hero, because that is what Susan Struble truly is.”

For stepping up and saving animal lives around metro Atlanta, Struble is receiving a prize pack including BOBS from Skechers shoes and her incredible lifesaving work is being honored along with her National Foster Hero peers on petcofoundation.org. She also received a surprise thank you visit from Shelton and the Furkids team, complete with balloons, a gift card and a lawn sign recognizing her home as a Furkids foster home.

“It is an honor to recognize the Local Foster Heroes who are making a difference in their communities and demonstrating the lifesaving impact of fostering pets,” said Susanne Kogut, president of the Petco Foundation. “During the response to the COVID-19 crisis, we saw a significant spike in the number of people fostering pets. Our goal is to continue this trend, inspire more people to join the pet fostering movement and make pets sheltering in foster homes, versus animal shelters, the new normal. Because, if less than 2 percent of pet-owning households in the U.S. fostered one pet a year, we could eliminate unnecessary euthanasia in animal shelters tomorrow.”

National Foster a Pet Month is part of the Petco Foundation’s Pledge to Save Pet Lives which encourages animal lovers to adopt, foster, volunteer and/or donate this summer with a goal of inspiring 1.5 million pledges to match the approximate number of pets unnecessarily euthanized in shelters each year in the U.S.

In addition to mobilizing the animal-loving public to help local animal welfare organizations save lives through the COVID-19 crisis, the Petco Foundation’s Pledge to Save Pet Lives included $1 million in emergency product and cash donations to animal shelters. This commitment follows the Petco Foundation’s recent distribution of more than $13 million to animal welfare ­organizations nationwide.