It costs about $2 billion a year to deal with the country’s homeless animals. A pet pharmacy in western New York plans to share 100% of its net profit with some of the nation’s 5,000 animal shelters.
“Every year in the United States five to seven million pets are surrendered or turned over to shelters, roughly 60 to 70% of them never find a home. As a veterinarian I’ve walked in shelters, volunteered my time, when you see those faces and you see those tails wagging, and some are so happy and some are so scared it cannot help, but make an impact on what I felt I could do as a veterinarian,” says Dr. Glenn Buckley.
CEO of Pet Rescue Rx, Glenn Buckley decided to move back to his hometown of Akron, New York after living in Florida for 13 years and open a business with his brother Scott.
“I came back to the area and I just realized how beautiful it was, to me it doesn’t matter what season it is they are all beautiful. To come back here and to be able to start a business is just so rewarding,” says Buckley.
Their business is an online pharmacy already licensed to sell pet medications in 17 states, where the net profits will be donated to pet shelters.
“In the United States last year over $8 billion was spent on pet medication. The largest online pharmacy, last year had over $16 million in net profit and this is why we see a potential that through “Pet Rescue Rx” we can generate a substantial amount of money to return to the shelters,” says Buckley.
The pet pharmacy isn’t registered as a non-profit with the IRS, but Buckley says they plan to operate like one.
“When it comes to compensation of my brother and myself we will follow the guidelines set up by the IRS. We will have on our website full disclosure of all financial information. In order for “Pet Rescue Rx” to sustain itself as a business we have to do what we promise to do,” Buckley adds.
The business is also a way for the family to reconnect after all these years. Glenn Buckley’s brother Scott says he’s very excited to be working with his older brother.
“Glenn left the area when he was late teens early twenties and I got to see him on and off over those years half a dozen times, and now he’s back. I go from hardly ever seeing him to spending every day with him,” says Buckley.
Brother Glenn agrees.
“Seeing each other and learning about each other after all these years has been a wonderful experience, just the time that were spending together,” says Glenn Buckley.
The Buckley’s are optimistic their business will create jobs in the region while helping the country’s abandoned animals.
