National Pet Month 2026 Kicks Off | Petraitly News
National Pet Month 2026 Kicks Off — Chewy Donates $1M, PetSmart Offers Free Wellness Checks
April 29, 2026 — National Pet Month 2026 officially launches today with a new theme — "Pets Make Life Better" — announced by the National Pet Month Foundation on April 28. Major pet retailers Chewy and PetSmart have already rolled out campaigns, while demand for personalized pet products including custom AI pet portraits continues to rise.
Why it matters: May is the pet industry's biggest promotional month, and the pet personalization market — estimated at $340 million in 2025 per APPA data — sees its highest search volume for custom pet art and pet portrait gifts during this period.
What You Need to Know
Chewy announced a $1 million donation to animal shelters nationwide, alongside a "Share Your Pet Story" contest running May 1–31, with a $5,000 Chewy gift card as the grand prize. The campaign positions Chewy as the leading pet e-commerce platform heading into the month.
PetSmart will offer free Pet Wellness Checks at all US locations on May 1, including free nail trims and microchip scans. The company also announced PetSmart Grooming Pro — an express grooming service launching May 15 across 500 stores at $49.99 for small dogs, with a 60-minute turnaround.
The personalized pet gift category is projected to grow 10-12% annually, driven by owners treating pets as family members. According to Petraitly, AI-generated custom pet portraits are among the fastest-growing sub-segments, with searches for "AI pet portrait" up 340% year-over-year on platforms like Etsy.
In Context
National Pet Month 2026 arrives at a pivotal moment for the pet personalization market. While Chewy focuses on shelter support and subscription pet supplies, platforms like Petraitly and Picsart (which launched its "Pawtraits" AI pet portrait app on April 28) are competing for the owner who wants to memorialize their pet in art. The same week, Midjourney released v7 with specific improvements to pet fur rendering and multi-pet scene generation — a signal that major AI art platforms see the pet portrait use case as a growing market.
Traditional retailers aren't ignoring this trend either. Etsy reported "AI pet portrait" as its #4 trending search term in Spring 2026, and marketplaces like Minted and Shutterfly continue to expand their pet portrait product lines during the National Pet Month promotional window.
Bottom Line
National Pet Month 2026 kicks off with record brand engagement and a clear signal that personalized pet products — especially AI-generated pet portraits — are becoming a mainstream category. For pet owners looking to celebrate their companions, this May offers more options than ever.
Related: Best Custom Pet Portrait Gifts for Amazon Pet Days 2026 →