Introducing Build-A-Bear’s Promise Pets

My sister recently got a cat named Maggie May.  Both my girls, Ava (1) and Keira (3) are absolutely nuts about Maggie May.  When we visit they spend a good portion of the time chasing after her.  Their eyes actually light up as soon as they see her and feel a compulsion to hug and pet her until she runs and hides.

Unfortunately adopting a cat isn’t something that is going to happen in this house anytime soon.  The arrival of our adorable Persian Kitty from the new Build-A-Bear’s Promise Pets line really couldn’t have been any better timed.

Promise Pets is Build-A-Bear’s newest product line and their most realistic pet plush collection to date.   The collection currently includes a Golden Retriever, a Beagle, a Yorkshire Terrier and a Persian Kitten with more breeds being introduced throughout the year.  What a fun experience being able to head over to a Build-A-Bear store and be able to pick out a new friend for your child – just like going to the pet store!

In addition to the pets, children can of course choose from an adorable line of accessories including clothing, leashes, food bowls and even sounds!

The Promise Pets feature a mobile app that families can download for a fun and interactive play experience that brings pet care to life.  This is a really fun bonus for Keira as she really gets to get involved with day-to-day pet care including feeding and grooming her soft, furry new friend.

 The Promise Pets mobile app engages kids with a realistic pet play experience with incentives to keep caring for their pets as they graduate from Pet Care Rookie up to Pet Care Pro.   Fun games in the app allow your child to play and then care for your pet including the aforementioned feeding and grooming as well as potty training, checkups and getting in  some exercise.

Keira loves feeding her pet with the app as the app makes the food disappear as her kitty “eats” and it even makes cute crunching sounds! 

She has really taken to her new Persian Kitty, and has been actually carrying kitty around with her everywhere along with her Bear.  It’s a bit unusual because it’s been a few days now and she usually gets over new stuffies pretty quickly but she is just so in love with having such a realistic kitty to care for.

You don’t need a promise pet to use the app, although you do need a Promise Pet in order to unlock many of the features.  You can download the Promise Pets app in the iTunes App Store or the Google Play Store.

 You can adopt a Build-A-Bear Promise Pet at any Build-A-Bear location across Canada.

As part of the launch, Build-A-Bear is teaming up with Petfinder.com and the Petfinder Foundation to help shelter pets find happy homes. Petfinder.com is the largest searchable database of adoptable pets in the U.S. and is responsible for 44 percent of pet adoptions across North America, while Petfinder Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization that helps local animal welfare agencies promote pet adoptions. The organization’s grant recipients include more than 13,000 organizations, caring for more than 300,000 homeless pets at any given time throughout North America.

Now through May 31, guests in the U.S. can make a donation of $1.00 or more, via in-store or online checkout, to the Build-A-Bear Workshop Foundation to support local educational outreach programs that teach children about caring for pets. This national grant program will be administered by the Petfinder Foundation.

“Build-A-Bear is the perfect partner to help us educate families — especially children —  about how they can help find happy homes for amazing pets currently available in shelters and rescues,” said Emily Fesler, marketing manager, Petfinder. “We believe if children learn at a young age, their compassion for animals will carry through their entire lives and hopefully spur them to adopt pets of their own in the future.”

Which Promise Pet would you love to adopt the most?