‘Tons of Love’ and Giving Trees: Mud Bay aims for record-breaking holiday donations to NW animal shelters

OLYMPIA, Wash. (KTVZ) -- Independent pet retailer Mud Bay is looking to propel record-breaking donations — including 15 tons of pet food — to local Pacific NW animal shelters this holiday season.

“We’ve all seen how the shelters in our communities have been at max capacity,” said Mud Bay Shelter Programs Manager Justin Anderson. “This year we’re really focusing on helping with taking care of all the pets looking for their forever homes.”

As a proud PNW company, Mud Bay has always recognized the importance of being a part of each community we serve. We have forged relationships with 65 incredible animal welfare organizations and shelters to be our partners—one tied specifically to a Mud Bay location in their community.

For years, Mud Bay has run two programs to help shelter pets during the holidays: Tons of Love and Giving Trees. Each program helps direct resources to shelters in different ways.

Tons of Love is a collaborative effort between Mud Bay, longtime pet food manufacturing partners, and Mud Bay customers. Whenever shoppers purchase food for their own pet from Mud Bay, the manufacturers will make a corresponding food donation to Tons of Love, which this year has an ambitious goal of getting over 15 tons of high-quality, nutritious pet food into shelters to help feed pets. Our Distribution Team does the final lap to get the items to the shelters.

“Mud Bay's Tons of Love has triple impact-- it helps the animals, supports our shelter, and connects us to our community of animal lovers,” said Caitlin Jaeger of the Oregon Humane Society. “We're so grateful to be involved in this meaningful program.” 

Also, each of Mud Bay’s 64 locations in Washington and Oregon have Giving Trees available from now until December 31st. Each Giving Tree contains an organization’s donation tags that shoppers can select and donate a specific item from the wishlist of one of the animals in their care. These donations go directly to the partnered organization in the community, such as Homeward Pet Adoption Center.

"Mud Bay's Giving Tree campaign is a lifesaver, literally. The donations we receive fill our shelves, allowing us to provide quality meals to the homeless animals in our shelter and support pets in need in our community well into the new year. Mud Bay has been an advocate for less fortunate animals and a strong supporter of the work we do at Homeward Pet Adoption Center for years. We're looking forward to helping even more animals through our partnership with Mud Bay," said Jim Keller of Homeward Pet Adoption Center.

As well, Mud Bay will also match Giving Tree donations—up to $30,000—to help shelters get needed food and supplies for the holidays, part of over $1,000,000 Mud Bay donates annually to local animal welfare organizations in Washington and Oregon.

“We’re a part of each community, and we want to make sure we do as much as possible for those organizations that are doing such great work to continue to help every animal they can,” said Anderson.

Founded in Olympia in 1988, family and employee-owned Mud Bay has grown to become the PNW’s largest independent pet retailer, with 64 locations and over 500 employees in Washington and Oregon. Mud Bay locations are well-known for their welcoming environments, dedicated team of animal lovers (known as “Muddies”), everyday great value and in-depth knowledge of pet foods, treats, toys and gear.