Summer is officially underway, and June is packed with opportunities to engage pet parents, strengthen customer loyalty, and drive traffic to your store. From cat-centric celebrations like Adopt-A-Cat Month and National Hug Your Cat Day to community-focused observances like National Foster a Pet Month and Best Friends Day, this month’s pet holidays offer plenty of reasons to connect with customers in meaningful and memorable ways.
Whether you’re promoting Astro Offers, highlighting Adoption Rewards, planning an in-store event, or creating themed campaigns with the Astro Marketing Suite, these holidays can help you stay relevant, generate excitement, and showcase the products and services that make your store unique. Use this guide as inspiration to build promotions, social media content, email campaigns, and merchandising displays that keep customers engaged all month long.
Month-Long Observances
Week-Long Observances
Single Day Holidays
Month-Long Observances
Adopt-A-Cat Month® & Adopt a Shelter Cat Month®
June is both Adopt-A-Cat Month® and Adopt a Shelter Cat Month®. Adopt-A-Cat Month® was started by American Humane, and Adopt a Shelter Cat Month® originated with the ASPCA. Both organizations offer valuable information for new pet owners welcoming cats or kittens into their homes for the first time. For instance, American Humane has put together a Cat Adoption Checklist that is very shareable.
Bring Awareness by Sharing a Story
Do you have a story to share about a favorite feline in your life? American Humane has put together a fun campaign to highlight the joys of cat companionship. This link is also included in the Adopt-A-Cat Month® Template in your Astro Template Library.
How Retailers Can Get Involved
- Promote Astro’s Sharing the Love Adoption Rewards to help newly adopted cats get started with food, treats, litter, supplements, and toys.
- Create a “Welcome Home Kitty” display featuring cat essentials paired with active Astro Offers and Frequent Buyer Programs.
- Partner with a local rescue or shelter for weekend adoption events, donation drives, or foster education opportunities.
- Use the Astro Marketing Suite to send cat-focused campaign emails featuring kitten care tips, new adopter bundles, and feline-themed My Promotions.
National Foster a Pet Month
Where are all my friends in foster at?! Fosters are heroes! They volunteer their time and home to a shelter pet in need and give them a safe place to land before they enter their forever home. The fostering process, while full of commitment, is beneficial for the shelter pet and rewarding for the foster family! Fostering provides the animal more opportunities for socialization, exploration, and expressing a wide range of normal behaviors that are difficult to achieve when the animal remains in a shelter environment.
Do you know pet fosters in your community? Do they know you are Sharing the Love? Fosters want nothing more than to know that their foster babies are living happy and healthy lives in their new homes. As a pet health food retailer, you can help them make that a reality. The foster has set the pet up for success socially and behaviorally; now it’s up to you to help their new owner care for them going forward.
How Retailers Can Get Involved
- Work with local rescues to create foster starter kits that include food, treats, calming aids, crates, litter supplies, or enrichment toys.
- Offer a special My Promotion for foster families, such as bonus loyalty points or discounts on foster essentials.
- Highlight easy-to-donate items in-store and encourage customers to purchase supplies for local shelters and foster networks.
- Use social media and email campaigns to spotlight adoptable pets, foster success stories, and local rescue partners.
National Pet Preparedness Month
Whether you live in an area prone to natural disasters or not, it’s still a good idea to be prepared in case of an emergency. Ready.gov has several pages dedicated to Pet Preparedness because they’re part of the family, too!
One really good idea is to keep selfies and identification records for your pet on your phone just in case you need to prove ownership. Microchipping is also a lifesaver if you were to become separated.
We’ve gathered some shareable information for you to pass along to your customers. Feel free to include some of your own tips. Do you carry any safety items like reflective vests, safety harnesses, GPS tags, ID tags, or canned food? – I’m sure you do let your customers know!
How Retailers Can Get Involved
- Build emergency preparedness displays featuring travel carriers, first aid supplies, calming products, ID tags, backup food, bottled water, and emergency kits.
- Create a “Prepared Pet Parent” campaign using Astro Offers and My Promotions on preparedness essentials.
- Host a preparedness checklist event or social media series teaching customers how to prepare for storms, evacuations, and power outages with pets.
- Encourage customers to update pet records, microchip information, and emergency contacts during the month.
National Microchipping Month
It is always a good idea to microchip a pet. The first thing a rescue worker does when picking up a lost pet is wand them to check for a chip.
Are there low-cost clinics in your area that offer chipping services? Do you have a clinic on-site? Home Again is a popular microchipping company whose products are available at vet offices across the country. Their pages are full of tips and FAQs about microchipping.
How Retailers Can Get Involved
- Partner with a local veterinarian or rescue group to host a low-cost microchip clinic in-store or nearby.
- Promote collars, ID tags, GPS trackers, and travel safety products alongside microchipping awareness messaging.
- Use the Astro Marketing Suite to send reminder campaigns encouraging customers to verify and update their pet’s chip registration information.
- Offer a My Promotion tied to safety products, such as discounts on travel crates, harnesses, or personalized ID tags.
Pride Month
Love is Love! Pride Month is celebrated every June in tribute to those involved in the Stonewall Riots, and we’re getting ready to dust off our rainbow flags, douse ourselves in glitter, and go join in the fun. With parades, festivals, and concerts going on across the globe, there’s always some way for you to get involved — as well as learn some important social history along the way.
How Retailers Can Get Involved
- Celebrate inclusivity by decorating your store with Pride-themed pet displays, toys, accessories, and bandanas.
- Partner with LGBTQ+ rescue organizations, shelters, or community groups for fundraising or adoption-focused events.
- Launch a colorful “Love is Love (and Pets Love Everyone)” My Promotion or themed giveaway campaign.
- Encourage customers to share photos of their pets in Pride gear on social media for a chance to win prizes or loyalty rewards.
Week-Long Observances
Pet Appreciation Week
1st Full Week of June - June 7-13, 2026
How Retailers Can Get Involved
- Run a week-long customer appreciation event featuring rotating Astro Offers, bonus points days, giveaways, or free samples.
- Encourage staff to create “favorite product picks” displays showcasing products their own pets love.
- Use the Marketing Suite to send a multi-email campaign series celebrating pets and highlighting different product categories each day.
- Host fun in-store activities like treat tastings, photo booths, or pet-friendly social events.
Animal Rights Awareness Week
June 15-21, 2026
Animal Rights Awareness Week each year provides education and tools in the campaign to support animal rights. The campaign focuses on advocating for the humane treatment of animals, including pets, farm animals, and wildlife. It brings awareness regarding animals used for medical research and testing, too.
How Retailers Can Get Involved
- Spotlight ethically sourced, sustainable, cruelty-free, or PSC-accredited brands throughout your store.
- Educate customers about responsible sourcing, adoption, enrichment, and humane care practices through signage and social content.
- Organize donation drives for local rescues or shelters in need of food, toys, bedding, or supplies.
- Share educational content about responsible pet ownership and the importance of supporting animal welfare organizations.
Take Your Pet to Work Week
June 22-26, 2026
If you’ve spent any time working from home, I imagine your pets, like mine, have blossomed into our assistants. They have mastered the Zoom Meeting tailwhip to the face and the mid-presentation snore or fart. I’m also pretty sure that kitten is still practicing law. Yup. They’re pure Pros.
In all seriousness, we know that inviting pets into the workspace decreases stress and increases productivity and creativity. You guys know this because your whole workday is pets!
For your customers who are bringing their pets into the office this week, let them know your doors are always open for a work-lunch visit. Showcase your best treat and snack, June Astro Offers, to reward them for being good little worker bees.
How Retailers Can Get Involved
- Promote travel-friendly products like portable bowls, calming chews, crates, seat covers, and harnesses.
- Encourage customers to share photos of their workplace pets using a branded hashtag or social contest.
- Create a themed My Promotion for “Office Pets” featuring treats, enrichment toys, and cleanup essentials.
- Use email and social campaigns to spotlight pet-friendly workplaces and the benefits pets can bring to employee morale.
Single Day Holidays
International Sheltie Day
Annually on June 1
There’s just something about a Sheltie’s smile that instantly makes me feel all warm and fuzzy- they smile with their eyes and I am here for it!
How Retailers Can Get Involved
- Feature products that support active herding breeds, including training treats, puzzle toys, agility equipment, and high-performance nutrition.
- Host a “Herding Heroes” social media campaign celebrating Shelties and other working dogs in your community.
- Create a My Promotion on grooming tools, brushes, shampoos, and coat care products to help Shelties maintain their beautiful coats.
- Invite customers to share stories and photos of their Shelties for a chance to be featured on your social channels or in-store displays.
National Hug Your Cat Day
Annually on June 4
Cats are individuals. And just like people, there are cats that are huggers, and cats that aren’t. Either way, they are deserving of affection befitting their desired love language. Healthy treats, toys, and foods will never disappoint!
Social Media Fun: Prompt your customers with the question: Hugger or Bugger? Ask for anecdotes about their cat’s preferred hugging style, their tolerated style, or their total disregard for hooman affections.
How Retailers Can Get Involved
- Promote calming treats, cozy beds, catnip toys, and enrichment products that help cats feel safe and comfortable.
- Run a cat-themed social media contest encouraging customers to share photos of their cuddly cats.
- Create a “Spoil Your Cat” display featuring Astro Offers on feline favorites.
- Send a playful Marketing Suite campaign reminding customers to celebrate their feline companions with treats and affection.
National Best Friends Day
Annually on June 8
Technically, this is a human holiday celebrating human relationships with one another. But! We believe some of the greatest friendships a human will ever have is the one they share with their pets. Especially the bond we shared with our childhood pets – these sweethearts are often our very first best friends.
How did you meet your pet soulmate- or mates? I’m sure those stories are always at the tip of your tongue and live rent-free in your heart.
This is a great holiday to invite your customers to share their Adoption Stories with the world! What are some of their favorite activities to spend time with their pet? Do they go on adventures, or are they fans of snuggling up on the couch with a good movie? Whatever it is that makes their relationship with their best fur, feathered, scaled, or hairless friend special, we all want to know about it! Let’s fill the internet with soul-stirring pics of happy people and their pets.
How Retailers Can Get Involved
- Celebrate the bond between pets and their people with a “Best Friends Forever” campaign featuring matching accessories, toys, and treats.
- Encourage customers to post photos with their pets and share what makes their friendship special using a store-branded hashtag.
- Offer a special My Promotion or bonus loyalty points on products designed for shared adventures, such as walking gear, travel accessories, and outdoor toys.
- Use the Astro Marketing Suite to send a heartfelt email thanking customers for choosing your store and celebrating the friendships they share with their pets.
Marketing Campaign Idea: Run a “Tag Your Best Friend” social media giveaway where customers can nominate their pet for a prize package. Pair the campaign with Astro Offers on treats, toys, and enrichment products to encourage customers to spoil their furry best friends.
World Pet Memorial Day
June 9, 2026
World Pet Memorial Day is a time for pet owners who have lost a beloved pet to remember, honor, celebrate, and reflect on the life of a departed pet.
How Retailers Can Get Involved
- Create a quiet remembrance space in-store where customers can leave photos or notes honoring beloved pets.
- Share thoughtful social media posts encouraging customers to celebrate the lives and memories of pets they’ve lost.
- Partner with a local rescue or memorial service to host a remembrance fundraiser or candlelighting event.
- Offer memorial-themed keepsakes, frames, paw print kits, or donations to local shelters in honor of departed pets.
Father's Day
June 21, 2026
Starter children? Nope. They are my children! LOL
A survey of 2,000 pet owners showed that over 40% of them say their pets fill the role of a child. Caring for another living being is truly a unique experience, regardless of species. Our pets rely on us, and we love one another unconditionally.
Then we have our Dads who have developed adorable and often hilarious relationships with the family pet. I especially love the memes of dads that originally did not want a pet, but then become that pet’s BEST friend after mom or one of the kids brought the pet into the household.
Father’s Day is a great day to celebrate our Dads, and an even better time to give props to the amazing dog-cat-hamster-chicken-etc. Dads out there!
How Retailers Can Get Involved
- Promote “Pet Dad” gifts like grilling accessories, matching apparel, toys, treats, and outdoor gear.
- Create a “Dog Dad” or “Cat Dad” photo station for social media engagement and community fun.
- Run a Father’s Day My Promotion featuring bonus loyalty points or discounts on popular pet dad essentials.
- Send a themed Marketing Suite email highlighting gifts perfect for pet-loving fathers.
Take Your Cat to Work Day®
June 22, 2026
No bobbleheads and stress balls are safe!
Cats across the nation are sitting on their hooman’s desks and slowly pushing pencil jars and succulents to the floor.
What is this? Did you just cast a spell on me!?
We feel the need to preserve our cat’s contributions: gyupopapnf””’;””””””’////
And we send those emails without alteration.
Wordsmiths and masters of “Fang” Shui – every day should be Take Your Cat to Work Day!
For instance, a cat purrs within a range of 20-140 Hz, which is known to be medically therapeutic for illnesses in humans. A cat’s purr can not only lower stress it can also help labored breathing, lower blood pressure, help heal infections, and even heal bones!
With all these business kitties in the workplace, now is a great time to remind your customers to pack them a nice lunch!
How Retailers Can Get Involved
- Feature calming supplements, travel carriers, portable litter boxes, and enrichment toys designed for adventurous cats.
- Encourage customers to share photos or videos of their “coworker cats” on social media.
- Run a cat-office themed campaign with playful messaging and feline-focused Astro Offers.
- Highlight products that help reduce stress during travel or changes in routine.
National Garfield the Cat Day
Annually on June 19
Ok, personal theories aside. Each year on National Garfield the Cat Day celebrates the fictional cartoon character, Garfield. Jim Davis created the comic strip Garfield and the title’s protagonist, a tabby cat by the same name. The observance celebrates Garfield and the entertainment he brings us.
Garfield launched on June 19, 1978. The strip chronicled the life of the lead character, the cat Garfield (named after Jim Davis’s grandfather). It also introduced Garfield’s owner, Jon Arbuckle, and Jon’s dog, Odie. The publication became syndicated in 2013 in roughly 2,580 newspapers and journals and holds the Guinness World Record for being the world’s most widely syndicated comic strip.
Marketing Materials: Campaign Image under Astro Media > Lifestyle > Holiday
Ugliest Dog Day
Annually on June 20
June 20th is Ugliest Dog Day. Yep. There’s a day for that too. How can someone call a dog ugly? Every single picture tagged #ugliestdog that you see, you will probably say – that dog is adorable! Cause they are. They all are!
What started as a fun contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair has grown into an annual celebration of the “ugly” dogs amongst us. Today we honor all the facially challenged pups with faces only a mother could love. However, when it comes to our fur-buddies, these “ugly” features are nothing short of adorable!
How Retailers Can Get Involved
- Host a lighthearted “Ugliest Dog Contest” in-store or online with prizes for funniest expressions, wild hair, or goofy personalities.
- Celebrate the uniqueness of every pet with social campaigns focused on personality over perfection.
- Pair the holiday with grooming products, shampoos, brushes, and spa-themed Astro Offers.
- Encourage customers to share funny pet photos to boost engagement and community interaction.
Social Media Fun: Grab your favorite pup, give them an extra big snuggle, and go in for the ugly selfie – explore all of your bad angles and face smooshes together. Share your best-ugliest post on our Facebook page #UgliestDogDay. The winner earns our utmost respect!
Take Your Dog to Work Day®
June 26, 2026
To our sheer delight, dogs in the workplace are becoming more and more common. Offices are now more dog-friendly than ever, and for good reason!
How Retailers Can Get Involved
- Promote travel bowls, car restraints, office-friendly toys, and calming chews for workplace pups.
- Offer themed treats or “Office Dog Survival Kits” featuring portable essentials for busy pet parents.
- Use the Marketing Suite to run a same-day campaign encouraging customers to stop in with their dogs after work.
- Host an in-store social event or treat bar for local working pet parents and their dogs.
My Promotion Idea: Are there any dog-friendly offices near your shop? Have you thought about putting together some bag lunches for pet owners to grab for their dogs during their lunch break? (Or you could deliver – like doggie Postmates lol!) All you would need are some paper bags and something to stuff them with – chews, treats, a toy (something quiet), single-serve cups or pouches, etc. To advertise your cute Doggie Bag Lunches, design your prototype and take some pictures. Then post it to your socials and tag the dog-friendly businesses you know near you.
Ok! I love this. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been working with my dog at the office and wishing I could get a bully stick delivered!
National Dog Party Day
Annually on June 21
National Dog Party Day is celebrated on June 21st, and it’s a fun holiday for dogs to let loose and enjoy the company of other canines.
If you’ve never thrown a dog party before, this is a good day to give it a chance. Dog parties can be as elaborate or as laid-back as you and your pup want them to be. You don’t need to spend a lot of money to throw a party that your dog and their furry friends will enjoy.
How Retailers Can Get Involved
- Host an in-store dog party featuring pup cups, treat tastings, games, photo stations, or local vendors.
- Build party-themed displays with toys, treats, birthday gear, and celebration accessories.
- Create a “Party Pack” My Promotion bundling toys, treats, and decorations together for easy upselling.
- Encourage customers to throw birthday-style celebrations for their dogs and share photos online.
National Dachshund Day
Annually on June 21
Celebrating the longest dog on the longest day of the year. Gotta love that! National Dachshund Day is always celebrated on the Summer Solstice.
Dachshunds and their mixes also have one of the longest lifespans compared to other dog breeds, and typically live 12-15 years. Of the 23 dogs to hold the Guinness World Record for the oldest living dog, two have been Dachshunds and one a Dachshund mix. A Doxie named Chanel, age 21 years, held the record until 2009.
This is also a great holiday to bring awareness to your favorite local or national Dachshund Rescue Group, such as Dachshund Rescue of North America. Since Dachshunds typically live longer than most dogs, many of these rescues appear to be seniors.
How Retailers Can Get Involved
- Create a “Long Dog Celebration” display featuring products sized for small breeds, including harnesses, ramps, orthopedic beds, and joint support supplements.
- Host a Dachshund photo contest and encourage customers to share pictures of their wiener dogs on social media for a chance to win prizes.
- Highlight Astro Offers on small-breed foods, treats, chews, and wellness products that are popular among Dachshund owners.
- Partner with a local Dachshund rescue or breed club for an adoption event, fundraiser, or breed education day.
Cat World Domination Day
Annually on June 24
Ok. June is officially my favorite month. It’s so cat-centric I can barely contain myself! We got Adopt-a-Cat Month, Hug Your Cat Day, Garfield the Cat Day, Take Your Cat to Work Day, and finally, Cat World Domination Day.
It makes sense, looking at this natural progression. And if you adopted a cat at the start of June, they will surely rule your world by the 24th!
I’m pretty sure this was something started by cats to convince us that they have not, in fact, already taken over the planet.
A recent study on cat DNA has evidence that humans never domesticated cats! It turns out that cats domesticated themselves. Imagine- cats deciding what to do and making us think it was our idea. Sound familiar? It’s all starting to make so much sense!
We found a fun blog article with tips on How to Survive Cat World Domination Day. Our favorite tip:
Give Them Daily Offerings: Including chicken, fish or other tasty cat nom noms. Make sure you offer these up in a gold plated bowl, this will please the cat God. They love shiny things.
This is a super fun holiday! A quick Google search will land you dozens of hilarious articles contemplating their domination strategy while peppering in fun facts about cats and their nature. Cats really are the coolest! And if they do take over the world (or admit they’ve already done so centuries ago ) I’d be totally cool for it. Catnip for all!
We need to make sure the cats are appeased for when they do take over the world. Nutritious treats, healthy foods, and high-quality cat litter – all qualify as proper offerings!
How Retailers Can Get Involved
- Lean into the humor of the holiday with playful “Cats Rule the World” displays and social media posts.
- Feature premium cat products, towers, scratchers, interactive toys, and gourmet treats fit for feline rulers.
- Run a “Cats Take Over the Store” campaign series with cat-only deals or bonus loyalty rewards.
- Encourage customers to submit photos of their cats acting like tiny dictators for a fun online contest.
Social Media Fun: Prompt your customers with some questions – Is your cat plotting world domination? Do you think they could be a leader? What do you suspect they are doing while you are sleeping or out of the house? We want to hear your theories and see any evidence you have collected while investigating their behavior!
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