PetSmart Charities aims its adoption week at big dogs
PetSmart Charities opened National Adoption Week on October 19th, 2026, running through October 25th at nearly every PetSmart store, and is urging families to consider big dogs, which Hill's found spent 70% more time in shelters than small dogs in 2025.
PetSmart Charities opened National Adoption Week on October 19th, 2026, putting adoptable pets from local shelters and rescues in nearly every PetSmart store through October 25th. This year the charity is asking families to give big dogs a second look.
"So many of them are calm, loyal companions who have simply been waiting longer for their turn," said Patrick Bell, PetSmart Charities' director of pet placement initiatives.
Big dogs are where shelters are stuck
PetSmart Charities is leaning on the 2026 Hill's shelter report, which found large dogs spent 70% more time in shelters than small dogs in 2025. The wait is shrinking. Their median stay to adoption fell from 19 days to 17.
Large dogs were 26% of dog intakes but only 22% of adoptions, according to the report, which uses Shelter Animals Count data. Its survey found many Americans see big dogs as good family pets but doubt they could handle one.
Dogs have been the harder side of the shelter picture. Dog euthanasia fell 8.5% in 2025, the first decline since 2020, after cats had been improving for years.
In-store adoption runs at real scale
PetSmart Charities says a pet is adopted through its in-store programs every 37 seconds while PetSmart stores are open, and that it helps some 400,000 pets find homes each year. It counts more than 11 million adoptions over 30 years.
It also runs Everyday Adoption Centers in 16 PetSmart stores, where cats, dogs and small pets live and can be adopted seven days a week. The newest opened this week in Parma, Ohio, near Cleveland, with Brandywine Valley SPCA.
The big dog gap is about confidence
Hill's says even one extra day in care strains shelter capacity, and big dogs rack up the most extra days. Its survey points at owner confidence, cost worries and size barriers on the owner side.
That suits an in-store event. A nervous adopter can meet a big dog in a store aisle and ask questions first.
Trainers and daycares near a PetSmart may see new big-dog owners with exactly the handling worries the survey found.
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