A Very Sad Panda Goodbye To Two HSSV Superheroes.

We are very sad pandas today. 

Sigh.

We are so sad that we're actually sadder than this puppy's best puppy dog eyes look. 

#puppyacedthesadlook

Which is pretty stinkin' sad. Even Scamp looks forlorn.

Noooooo..

Because we LOVE heroes. And today we lose two of our biggest heroes. No, they're not dead. They're just moving. But we don't know what we'll do without them. Except maybe write a blog so everyone knows what rockstars they are. But first we need to double down on the sad.

You can't leave us...

Elizabeth and Kevin have been with us for over a decade as volunteers. We can't say what-all they did or else this would be a novella. They did EVERYTHING. They made videos...

Including the iconic Eddie The Terrible video. 

They took wonderful pics...

Rub my belly and never, ever leave. 

That helped countless animals find new homes.

They helped with events...

They took dogs like Wiggles to medical appointments..

You aren't leaving, are you? Because you  helped me walk again.

Even when those appointments were in Davis and required hours in the car. They helped run our foster department, getting pooches like Rosie into temporary homes to recuperate while they waited for their forever home. 

If I wear flowers will you stay? 

Despite being absurdly accomplished professionals in their field, they cleaned kennels, washed windows and did about sixty five million loads of laundry. 

(dog is actor playing Kevin)

Because that's the kind of heroes they are. They didn't just do the big, glorious stuff. They also did the boring, occasionally icky, daily stuff that needed to be done. 

We're gonna need a clean up on aisle five - every ten minutes.

They were leaders, mentors, and trainers. Not just to volunteers but to staff, too. Because everything they did, they did exceptionally. The one thing they never, ever did was say no. 

That's a lotta puppy poo up above me. You guys are saints. 

And they taught us so much about human goodness, heroism and love. With all they did, they helped shepherd of thousands of animals into loving homes over the years. 

Thanks for all your help finding me this awesome forever person!

As they move out of the area, we know another shelter and many thousands more animals will be so lucky to have them in their lives. Many, many more animals will have a Kevin-and-Elizabeth smile on their face. 

I'll smile bigger if you stay. 

So please joining us in saying two things. Good bye, we'll miss you horribly...

And thank you. 

*You might notice that we refrained from using Kevin and Elizabeth's last name or photos of them. That's because we didn't ask permission to do a blog on them - we just plowed ahead because they are too amazing not to acknowledge their loss. Also because we haven't ruled out locking them in the building and refusing to let them leave.

Seven Reasons Missing Clear The Shelters Would Be A Crying Shame...

In case you don't follow us social, haven't turned on a TV in a while or just don't pay attention to these things, Saturday July 23rd we'll be partnering with our buddies at NBC Bay Area for Clear The Shelters. It's a big nationwide event that strives to empty the shelters and find loving homes for thousands of animals - including the little muffins in our care. Adoption fees on all pets will be waived that day. 

If you hadn't planned on being here, you should. And our pooches have seven great reasons not to miss it. 

1) Because pets will be flying out of here. 

Airborne Hairball incoming!

Last year we really did almost Clear The Shelter. Our buddies from NBC were here putting a bunch of our cuties on air and folks came flocking in to adopt them. So if you're looking for a new family member come down and come early because, well...

This is my 'I'm outta here' dance. Watch me go!

they will be rocketing out of here.

2) Because Lady, Shorty Snorty Wigglebutt Blockhead Extraordinaire and Queen of Amazing Facial Expressions will be holding court..

I call this 'wistful and hopeful'.

showing off her cornucopia of awesome faces...

And this is 'excited and happy'.

and entertaining suitors that can handle this much awesome.

This one I call 'derp'.

If you don't come, she'll probably make her incredulous face..

And this is my 'what do you mean you were going to skip it?' masterpiece.

And you won't be here to see it.

Plus we heard Muffin wants to go mano-a-mano (or face-a-face) to try and claim her title with some silly rubber-face of her very own.

I've got more pounds of cheek per square inch than the rest of this shelter combined.

So that could be fun.

3) All Crazy Hair, All Day Long...

I went for beachy waves but it didn't work out. 

Oh yes. There will be scruffnuggets..

Some people part their hair on the left - I point mine towards the left. 

And pooches that might be part dryer lint..

It's possible. But I'm not telling you where all those missing socks went. 

Some dogs rockin' the just-got-out-of-bed look...

Would you believe I just woke up like this?

And the straight-up bad hair day. Seriously, don't worry about dressing up to come in, these guys didn't. You, like them, are perfect just the way you are. 

4) Because CheeChoo is still here..

It's a beautiful day. It's always a beautiful day. 

And he's still awesome and really, really hoping that today will be his day.

5) Because Jimmy will be totally shocked if you don't make it..

Huh?

Okay. He won't be. That's just sort of Jimmy's face. But Louie will be completely vexed if you skip it..

Harrumph...

Okay, he won't either. He's just missing some teeth so he makes a lot of vexed faces.  But he would love to see you there. He's a super sweet old guy and no one likes to see a super sweet old guy disappointed. Do you? Okay then. 

6) Poopies.

I poop in your shoes? And you love me forever?

There will be poopies. Do we even need to expand on this? 

What can I destroy today? I lurf you...

We have a bunch of adorable little instruments of mass destruction. They're sure to spray pee all over your home, chew up your shoes and make you love them for all eternity.  Because that is what poopies do. 

7) We hate to be redundant but...

Kitten-pocalypse is coming....

We're up to our ears in these little guys. We have so many of them that, should they choose, they could overthrow the shelter and take over the world. Obviously we don't want that to happen. They need to be shuttled into loving homes. Quick. 

Don't disappoint Louie. Don't miss Lady's awesome faces. Come by. All four of our locations will be waiving adoption fees on all pets. Saturday July 23rd. See you there. 

Three Kittens Who Know Your Daily Struggle.

It's a big weekend coming up. Biiiiiiiig. Why? It's a Petco National Adoption Weekend. Petco wants to help as many animals as possible find good homes. Since we're working towards the same goal (and it's the middle of kitten season) we had this crazy idea: Two Days. Two Locations. One Hundred Kittens. We'll have one hundred kittens for adoption between our Petco Sunnyvale NAC and our Petco West San Jose NAC. One hundred little fuzznuggets looking for forever homes. To help them entice these prospective homes we're doing $10 kitten adoptions at those locations. And since kittens love to be in pairs (and you're more likely to get some sleep if you adopt a pair) we're also doing $15 pair-o-kitten adoptions. It's like Kitten-Palooza. A kitten riot. Kitten bedlam.

But this kitten is still not impressed. 

Don't have a kitten? Wondering why you might want to adopt one? The most obvious answer is that they're  snuggly, silly, loving and will give you 15-20 years of companionship. If that's still not enough reason, let us introduce three kittens that feel your pain.

I just feel it sets a bad example for civility in every day life...

Shasta is just over this whole election thing. The mudslinging, the rhetoric, the tabloid-esque coverage. She thinks it's just over the top. She remembers when politics had dignity. She's never gotten to vote (she's only ten weeks old) but she's always considered herself a staunch independent who votes on issues, not parties. Now she doesn't know what to do. Except maybe bat around that catnip mouse, scratch on the her cardboard scritchie thing and hope someone comes to Petco Sunnyvale this weekend and adopts her. Not only does she really need a forever home, it would take her mind off all the political stress. 

I  need to feel like I can believe in what I do. 

Sage really wanted to study graphic design and art history when she was a little older but now she worries about keeping her career and earning potential options open. It's a tough thing, wondering what industries will be peaking down the line. Particularly if you've only been on the planet for 75 days, give or take. Coding? Business? What should she be looking towards that she can still feel passionate about? She knows she can always fall back on unspooling the toilet paper, chasing the laser pointer and making sure she goes in the litter box so that's probably what she'll go with. In the mean time, she's hoping lots of good people have done ROI analyses on the benefits of this week's Petco $10 kitten adoption event and will be rushing down to meet her. 

We're lacking foresight and it's got a lot of environmental re-purrr-cussions.

Buttercup is all aflutter about the increasing traffic in the Bay Area. The roads here are gridlocked all the time. And doesn't the fact that they're gridlocked with Teslas and Prius's just indicate a lack of moral consistency? She doesn't get it. You have to plan trips to the grocery store like troop movements to avoid being stuck in traffic for hours. It's definitely effecting quality of life. She considers herself an evangelical for long term infrastructure improvements around transit issues. She also considers herself reasonably decent about not shredding the curtains, good with dogs, and an absolute ninja when it comes to chasing down that little jingle ball. She's hoping that onerous travel times won't impede people from coming out to Petco Sunnyvale on Saturday and Sunday to take her home. 

If you don't see a viewpoint you stand behind represented here, come down to our Petco NAC's this weekend anyway. With ONE HUNDRED kittens, you're sure to find your soulmate kitty. We'll see you there. 

100 or bust!