We welcome you to Shop For Rescues
We, that’s Sean and myself, have been friends for over 25 years. We started this company because we both believe that we need to leave this earth in a better place than how it was when we arrived; and that in todays society, things have become so polarized and out of whack that there’s a real need to work towards the betterment of our community and to act with accountability and compassion and to stay off the debating team. Last year, the Pet industry as a whole expanded despite competition from supermarkets, mass merchandisers and online retailers. It did so by offering consumers greater convenience (door to door shipping) and competitive pricing.
With Shop For Rescues, we believe that we can create a paradigm shift in the way 501(c)(3)’s gain access to funding to support their initiatives while providing value for pet owners not currently found in the marketplace today; that by maximizing the operating efficiencies related to that value, we can use a large portion of the company’s revenues to support an effort we believe both vital and worthwhile, a non-traditional funding mechanism to 501(c)(3)’s nationally.
The way we’ve decided to interact with the rescue community in the US is to use a large portion of the revenues from the sale of our products as an ongoing means of support that can repeatedly provide vital financial resources to the efforts needed to directly impact the lives of dogs, cats and horses in abusive homes, over crowded shelters and kill environments.
It is our belief that the most successful companies take steps to meet new challenges and develop skills outside their traditional competencies in order to anticipate the changes driven by an evolving marketplace.
We believe that Shop For Rescues is the first of its kind in the pet supplies vertical. Our only goal is to use a large portion of the revenues derived through the sale of pet products and supplies to help fund rescues and all involved attempting to stop the needless killing of dogs, cats and horses as well as fund medical efforts.
Please be aware that we will also support all kinds of 501(c)(3)’s i.e. that provide hippotherapy for children, service animals for veterans suffering from PTSD, other human beings in need, etc. This is the entire point of Compassionate Commerce - to change society by shopping from a store that uses its monies to support the well being of others instead of seeking the highest ROI for investors.
You will now start to hear that term, Compassionate Commerce a lot; you now know that it started here with Shop For Rescues.
Last year roughly 2.5 million cats, dogs and horses were euthanized (and I can’t even begin to address the numbers of cattle, pigs, chickens, etc. - the animals that we never hear anything about) and although we cannot solve the problem at present, we can make a difference.
My personal belief is that change begins with my own actions and that it’s ok to ask for help. My experience has also been that one should always stay in the process and out of the results and that reliance upon anyone else’s dedication or commitment may only lead to resentment and disappointment.
As pet ownership continues to rise, which in turn will facilitate more growth in the industry, the rise in these numbers will lead to higher demands for products such as food, treats and toys because these goods are and will always be needed every day for the well-being of pets. It will also lead to more animals than ever being abandoned and slaughtered, excuse me “euthanized”.
And here’s an ugly truth… Pet Stores profited roughly $1B from approximately $18.5B in sales last year and their contributions to 501(c)(3)’s paled in comparison; in fact, Sean and I started this company because it made us sick to our stomachs.
The biggest threat to animals today comes from both man and the large general-line retailers such as supermarkets, mass merchandisers and discount retailers who have the ability to stock and offer a wide variety of food products at better than competitive prices.
The only way to counter this threat is for more companies to utilize the business model we’ve chosen to establish or one that's similar… and please be aware, we’re not doing this to impress people with our humanitarian ideals; we have done this because change has to start somewhere and it’s being done because too many animals are unnecessarily destroyed.
So welcome to reality… and as you go through the site, if you go through the site, please pay attention to our donation reporting system. Although we’re just launching, we believe that this is the way to be transparent with the public; we love 501(c)(3)’s but found there was an issue with believability and accountability when it came to the use of funds - although we are not a 501(c)(3), we are aiming for what Guidestar would deem a “Gold” rating…we built our reporting system the way we did because we want people to know exactly what is occurring; we have nothing to hide.
Please always feel free to write and ask questions….Sean and I will respond. Our goal is to be of service to you and to the benefit of the rescues and animals.
We hope that you shop here and realize that there’s much more benefit than elsewhere in the marketplace. Anonymity is of an immense spiritual significance but silence is criminal. We believe this is a way to say enough.
We look forward to hearing from you, I hope to me meet you as we trudge this road… and if you have a moment, give your fur-kid a sweet pat, pet and cuddle for me…remember to thank them for the absolute unconditional love they provide and for making your life better…because all they wish to do is love you and make you happy.