FRANKLIN, Tenn., February 11, 2025 – For the seventh year in a row, Mars Petcare has awarded grants to help cities with programs that have a lasting impact on keeping pets and pet parents together and making communities pet friendly.

Innovative Programs Making an Impact

Five cities each received a $20,000 BETTER CITIES FOR PETS™ grant. The grants, which were awarded in late 2024, went to:

Baltimore, Maryland – to create a Return to Home Coordinator position at Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) that will manage a reunification process for lost pets and provide support for pet parents in crisis.

Camuy, Porto Rico – to support the Camuy Pet City Program, which includes municipal bylaws enabling pets in public spaces, assistance for local businesses to be pet friendly, and a public awareness campaign.

Fremont, California – to help first-time pet parents from underserved communities in their adoption journey, including offering pre-adoption training, help matching with the right pet, and post-adoption support and training.

Lancaster, Ohio – to create a database of pet-friendly local businesses and provide signage that helps foster a community where pets and pet parents can be together and navigate public spaces confidently knowing that pets are welcome.

Nashville, Tennessee – to support a local park’s program to increase pet-focused activities, resources and educational opportunities, while fostering social and community connectively and responsible pet ownership.

The Benefits of Pet-Friendly Cities

The 2024 grant recipients are leading the way with programs that support the benefits of pets for communities, while also helping keep people and pets together.

In a recent survey of cities participating in the BETTER CITIES FOR PETS™ program, 100% agreed that pets contribute to a stronger sense of community and 98% said being pet friendly is an important factor in the future health and growth of their city.¹

At the individual level, about nine in 10 adults say pets act as conversation starters or ice breakers, and 83% of adults say they’ve communicated or interacted with people they otherwise would not have connected with because of their pet.²

Recognizing and Supporting Cities

Today, more than 180 cities across 41 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Canada have achieved certification in the BETTER CITIES FOR PETS™ program. Together, these cities are home to more than 12 million pets.³ See the cities at BetterCitiesForPets.com/cities.

To help cities achieve the benefits of being pet friendly, the BETTER CITIES FOR PETS™ program provides free online resources, a playbook for cities, certification programs, grants and policy advocacy.

For example, 90% of last year’s survey respondents said they need support for responsible pet ownership, so the program launched a Responsible Pet Ownership Communication Toolkit for cities in 2024.

Communities that want to be more pet friendly can visit BetterCitiesForPets.com to explore the program’s playbook, free toolkits and other resources, as well as apply for certification.

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1. Mars Petcare online survey of BETTER CITIES FOR PETS™ program participants, conducted January-March 2024.

2. KRC Research online surveys of 1,000 pet parents each from the U.S. and Canada from October 30 – November 6, 2023, and KRC Research online surveys of 1,000 adults each from the U.S. and Canada in December 2023.

3. Calculated using household data from census.gov and calculations from the American Veterinary Medical Association for estimating number of dogs and cats per household.