Petland Charities SPCA Story

Petland Charities is dedicated to providing support and assistance to animals everywhere, particularly in times of crisis.

When Hurricane Ian slammed into the west coast of Florida, many of our Petland locations were in danger. Our 15 stores in Florida all received emergency preparation guidelines, and did what they could to prepare for the storm.

We are very thankful that there was no catastrophic damage to any of our stores. Our locations in Ft. Myers, Naples, and Bradenton experienced power outages, but otherwise had minimal damage.

When Petland became aware of the projected impact of Hurricane Ian, our team quickly deployed a company-wide initiative to support the at-risk stores. Under Petland CEO Joe Watson’s leadership, Petland selected employees TJ Evans and Chris Oranzi to execute the team’s plan of action.

TJ and Chris filled a truck with generators, bottled water, gas, extension cords and fans. They drove to Georgia to await the passing of the hurricane and be ready to quickly get to our stores.

The next morning TJ and Chris drove south towards the storm’s path to lend assistance to our Petland family and friends. Their first stop was to our friends at the Tampa Bay SPCA. TJ and Chris delivered much needed dog crates to be used for holding lost dogs displaced from their homes.

Tampa SPCA CEO Martha Boden responded to their courageous actions by saying, “Thank you so much! It was a treat to meet a couple of your team members. They were very helpful.”

After leaving the SPCA, TJ and Chris brought the supplies to each store and hooked up generators and fans to supply much needed power. They helped clean storm debris and take down protective window coverings. All stores are now back in operation with electricity and water. Below you can find photos from TJ and Chris’ journey.

After traveling over 2,500 miles, TJ and Chris returned home Saturday evening. Their dedication to Petland and willingness to take on this emergency response effort is greatly appreciated.

Here are some of the messages Petland received from franchisees who were helped by TJ and Chris:

“Hey guys. Man. I’m so thankful. Thank you. Thank you so much. Myself and my family appreciate you, TJ, Chris and Petland Corporate, Thank you.”

“Thank you very much. I really appreciate it.”

“Hey TJ, thank you so much for all your help. The team and I really appreciate it.”

“Thanks, guys, for all the help in this difficult situation.”