Have you ever played the word association game? My husband and I can keep a game going quite a while — one of us will say “so…” and it’s on like Donkey Kong! “Sew, needle, thread, yarn, knit, sweater, chilly, fire”… whatever word comes to mind. We try to stump each other, but it’s also fun to see how long we can keep it going.
So when you hear the name “BISSELL,” what’s the first thing you think of? Probably some sort of home cleaning tool — a carpet cleaner, a floor steamer or vacuum, or even an air purifier. And you’d be right, since BISSELL Homecare has been designing, manufacturing, and selling home cleaning tools since 1876. But something you might not be aware of is how passionate BISSELL Homecare is about animal welfare. Cathy Bissell wants to do more than just sell products that clean up pet accidents well. An animal lover since childhood, Cathy considered becoming a vet, but life took her in a different direction. After working in fashion in New York City, she and her husband, Mark Bissell, returned to Michigan to work for the family business and in 2008 she adopted her first rescue animal, a six year old black lab named Bear.
Bear fit in so well with her family, which included several other dogs and a cat, she wondered why she hadn’t adopted a rescue sooner. She knew she couldn’t adopt all the animals in shelters, but she thought of another way to make a difference: by founding BISSELL Pet Foundation in 2011. She visited shelters all over the country, talking to the people running them and one shelter director was bold enough to suggest BISSELL Homecare donate a percentage of their sales to shelters. It sounded like a great idea, but she didn’t want to make a promise she couldn’t deliver. She talked to her husband and they decided they could initially start by giving to the foundation through online sales. She doesn’t believe people should have to give up their pets in order to keep a clean home. In fact, their website says they are “proud to design products that help make pet messes, odors, and pet homelessness disappear” and their packaging proclaims “Every Purchase Saves Pets.” The company works hard developing products that make it easier for people to clean up after their pets and Cathy tests every one of them.
As the foundation has grown, there are many others who have joined in the mission to “save lives together.” This has enabled BISSELL Pet Foundation to provide grant funding of almost $30M as of this writing to shelters all over the United States and Canada. The foundation believes one of the best ways to save lives is through Spay/Neuter because eliminating unplanned litters of kittens and puppies decreases the number of animals that will need shelter spots. This also increases the odds animals already in shelters will find their fur-ever homes, since those spots aren’t being taken by “cute little kittens and puppies.” Because there is a veterinarian shortage across the country, many shelters can’t keep up with the spay/neuter need in their communities to prevent these unplanned litters.
In 2023, BISSELL Pet Foundation launched Fix the FutureTM, which is structured to provide affordable and accessible spay/neuter, preventative vaccines and microchips to shelter animals and pet owners. SPCA of Brazoria County has been able to spay and neuter hundreds of animals thanks to this program and the hard word of Dr. Sheila Newenham. Dr. Sheila is part of a trusted network of relief veterinarians recruited by BISSELL Pet Foundation to go into communities and provide care to shelters and pet owners as part of the Fix the FutureTM program. She has been deployed to the SPCA BC twice now and the services she provides while here ensure shelter pets are in great shape to be adopted into loving families. The services are also available to community-owned pets for $25 or less when performed by a Fix the FutureTM veterinarian.
In addition to the important work Dr. Sheila does on behalf of animals, it’s no surprise she also enjoys exploring nature in her travels around the country, capturing images of wildlife and sharing her thoughts on her blog. You can enjoy her view of Brazoria County by visiting her at Exploring Nature by Sheila Newenham.
The number of lives saved through the teamwork of shelter staff, volunteers, individual donors, grants, and veterinarians from organizations like BISSELL Pet Foundation is incalculable, because the number of homeless pets is reduced when unplanned litters are eliminated. Working together, we can save them all!
SPCA of Brazoria County 
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