• by Danielle Oster , Yesterday

Bissell Pet Foundation is celebrating a significant milestone, as the vacuum cleaner brand’s pet rescue and adoption organization says it has impacted one million pets since its launch in 2011.

To mark that milestone, Bissell launched an Instagram post this week highlighting the charity’s activities -- including “Empty The Shelters,” which claims to be the largest funded adoption event in the country;  emergency rescue, transport and shelter support for pets threatened by natural disaster, in collaboration with Animal Search and Rescue and partner shelters; and a pet transport program that moves animals from overcrowded shelters to areas with higher adoption demand, which Bissell says has helped thousands of pets get adopted.

Among the campaign’s touching stories of pets who have been rescued by Bissell Pet Foundation’s initiatives are a trio of canine beneficiaries. Helen was found under a house in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, suffering from sunburn and dehydration so severe she was unable to stand up.

Hope was found on the side of a Louisiana road, starved and mutilated, her condition so severe that euthanasia was considered.

Hangar Hank survived extensive injuries after being hit by a car, and abandoned alongside a rural Louisiana roadside for nearly a month.

All three animals received emergency care through Bissell Pet Foundation and were subsequently adopted.

According to Bissell, the campaign arrives as animal shelters face increased intake challenges, and lower adoption rates nationally. It also follows an increased focus on pet cleaning solutions for the 150-year-old brand.

Last year, Bissell launched a brand refresh that included new messaging to focus on pets. The company introduced its “Science of Pet” testing standards; and related “Pet Proven” and “Pet Proven Ultimate” badges for products in its portfolio that exceeded efficiency targets for pet messes.

"The Pet Proven badges are all about simplifying the shopping experience, making it easier for pet parents to find the highest-performing products for tackling fur, tracked-in dirt, and messes,"  Lauren Aylsworth, director of cross-category marketing, said in a statement last October. “By doing so, we hope to inspire more people to embrace pet adoption, knowing they have reliable solutions to manage the challenges that come with it.”

Around the time of the brand refresh, Bissell Pet Foundation also collaborated with Amazon Ads on a charitable “From Cart to Care” campaign, which reportedly marked the first time Amazon temporarily suspended sales on its platform to focus on soliciting donations for a charitable cause.