Stamps to the Rescue!

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Apr 30, 2010, 05:26 ET

New Stamps Encourage Pet Adoption ... One Letter at a Time

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., April 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Postal Service continued a 50-year tradition today with the dedication of its latest social awareness stamp -- Animal Rescue: Adopt a Shelter Pet. The 44-cent stamps, on sale nationwide today, feature photographs of five cats and five dogs from animal shelters and rescue groups.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100430/DC96862 )

"As a pet owner myself, I find this campaign enormously gratifying. Because of these stamps and the Stamps to the Rescue campaign, more people will learn about the plight of shelter animals," said Joseph Corbett, Postal Service Chief Financial Officer. "More people, we believe, will adopt shelter animals, fewer people will abandon their pets, more people will spay or neuter their animals, and fewer animals will suffer."

Ellen DeGeneres, talk show host, animal advocate and co-owner, HALO, Purely for Pets; Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO, Humane Society of the United States; Betsy Saul, co-founder, Petfinder.com, and Jone Bouman, director of communications, American Humane Association's Film & TV Unit, joined Corbett on stage at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences to pay tribute to the stamps, the campaign and the cause.

The animals featured on the Animal Rescue: Adopt a Shelter Pet commemorative stamps are based on photographs of cats and dogs from shelters and rescue groups — seven from an animal shelter in New Milford, CT — taken by veteran stamp photographer Sally Andersen-Bruce. Derry Noyes was the designer and art director. All were adopted into loving families.

The Postal Service has been issuing social awareness stamps for more than 50 years. Stamp subjects have included a variety of important social issues of the day. Past stamps have highlighted children's health, literacy, breast cancer awareness, organ and tissue donation, philanthropy and Alzheimer's awareness.

The stamps were introduced to the public on The Ellen DeGeneres Show last month. The Postal Service has been working with DeGeneres and HALO, a holistic pet care company she co-owns, to promote the stamps and the Stamps to the Rescue campaign. Created by the Postal Service to provide additional information about the stamps and pet adoption, the campaign includes posters featuring DeGeneres in post offices nationwide as well as an Internet presence at www.stampstotherescue.com.

"If there was just a modest uptick in the percentage of people acquiring their animals from shelters, we would eliminate the euthanasia of healthy pets in this nation," said Pacelle, president, Humane Society of the United States. "We hope this new Postal Service awareness campaign will place a stamp of approval on shelter dogs and cats and help us lick the problem of pet overpopulation."

The Postal Service has been working with the American Humane Association, HALO, Purely for Pets, the Humane Society of the US, and Petfinder.com to promote the Animal Rescue: Adopt a Shelter Pet stamps, the Stamps to the Rescue campaign and shelter pet adoption as widely as possible.

"These stamps literally will be sending the adoption message into homes and workplaces all over the country," said Saul, Petfinder.com co-founder. "They have the capacity to really make a difference."

Cats and dogs have been featured on other U.S. postage stamps. A 13-cent stamp of a kitten and puppy playing in the snow was issued in 1982 for use on holiday postcards; in 1998, images of a cat and a dog were included in the "Bright Eyes" set of five pets; and most recently, in 2002, photographs of a kitten and puppy, also taken by Andersen-Bruce, were featured on the "Neuter or Spay" stamps.

The stamps can be ordered online at usps.com/shop or stampstotherescue.com, or by calling 800.STAMP.24 (1.800.782.6724).

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

How to Order the First Day of Issue Postmark

Customers have 60 days to obtain the first day of issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at post offices, at the Postal Store at www.usps.com/shop or by calling 800.STAMP.24. Customers should place a stamp on an envelope addressed to the recipient and place that envelope in a larger envelope addressed to:

ANIMAL RESCUE: ADOPT A SHELTER PET STAMPS

C/O POSTMASTER

7035 LAUREL CANYON BLVD.

HOLLYWOOD, CA 91605-9998

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the U.S. Mail. There is no charge for the postmark. All orders must be postmarked by June 1.

How to Order First-Day Covers

Stamp Fulfillment Services also offers first-day covers for new stamp issuances and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation. There are 10 philatelic products available for this stamp issuance at www.usps.com/shop or by calling 800.STAMP.24.

576094 Adopt a Shelter Pet Note Cards $12.95

576077 All About Your Best Friend Book (Dog) $14.95

576078 All About Your Best Friend Book (Cat) $14.95

576068 Digital Color Postmark First Day Covers, Set of 10 $15.00

576071 Pet Adoption Certificate w/stamp & cancellation (Dog) $4.95

576072 Pet Adoption Certificate w/stamp & cancellation (Cat) $4.95

576099 Adopt a Shelter Pet Cancellation Keepsakes (1-cat, 1-dog) $11.95

576063 First Day Covers, Set of 10 $8.20

576091 Ceremony Program $6.95

576084 Uncut Press Sheet $70.40

Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, including video of some of the animals featured on the stamps, visit the USPS Newsroom at www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/welcome.htm.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 36,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, the Postal Service relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years and the third Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $68 billion and delivers nearly half the world's mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 28th in the 2009 Fortune 500.

SOURCE U.S. Postal Service