$50 Million, High-Tech Pet Adoption Center Opens In Los Angeles

Source: Care2.com, Laura Goldman @lauragoldman
Photo: Thinkstock

This isn’t your same-old, same-old depressing animal shelter, not by a long shot. The state-of-the-art Wallis Annenberg PetSpace, which just opened in Los Angeles, is a 30,000-square-foot combination of a pet adoption center, school and research lab.

After being greeted by a giant, animatronic cat and dog, visitors to PetSpace can touch interactive screens to learn more about each of the adoption center’s 180 pets that need forever homes. Adoption specialists are available to help prospective pet parents find the perfect match for their lifestyle and needs.

Educational programs enlighten visitors about the importance of spaying and neutering their pets, getting regular veterinary care and other essential topics. With the press of a button, visitors can observe veterinarians performing examinations and surgeries on pets, and ask them questions via a microphone.

The $50 million facility is also home to the new Leadership Institute, where 16 research fellows, including scientists, ethicists and animal physiologists, will study the bond between humans and animals.

The pets at PetSpace – it has space for 40 dogs, 40 cats and 100 bunnies and other small animals – all come from Los Angeles County’s Department of Animal Care and Control (DACC) shelters. Instead of languishing in small, smelly cement cells, they live inside spacious, clean enclosures with TVs and music playing. More than 100 volunteers provide them with quality play and cuddle time. On Sunday afternoons, the “Paws & Pages” program invites visiting children to read aloud to the pets.

But wait, there’s more! There are also indoor and outdoor training areas where dogs can work off their energy. An exercise room even has an underwater treadmill for dogs with orthopedic issues. Cats have their own quiet area.

“As you can imagine, with the county we’re publicly funded, so an organization that’s privately funded like the Annenberg PetSpace, they have resources that are beyond what we have at our care centers,” Allison Cardona, deputy director for the DACC, told L.A. Weekly. She said PetSpace is willing to take in pets with medical or behavioral issues that county shelters wouldn’t be able to treat.

Madeline Bernstein, president of the nonprofit spcaLA, which has two pet adoption centers in Los Angeles County, thinks combining pet adoption with education is necessary for improving the animal shelter system.

“[It affects] the kind of commitment you’re making if you end up having that pet for the rest of that pet’s life,” she told the Los Angeles Times. “The more people know about vaccines and herd health, the more they protect other animals that they come in contact with.”

For more than 10 years, the philanthropic Annenberg Foundation had tried to secure a location in the L.A. area for a state-of-the-art pet adoption center. Proposals to open one atop the cliffs of Rancho Palos Verdes or near the wetlands of Ballona Creek failed due to complaints about the possibility of noise and traffic, and the inappropriateness of these locations for an animal shelter.

But now PetSpace has finally opened its doors in what seems like an entirely appropriate location: Playa Vista, which is also known as “Silicon Beach.” It should fit right in with its neighbors, including pioneers in digital technology like Google, Facebook and YouTube.

While some may scoff that PetScape is a little over the top, general manager Carol Laumen hopes this first-of-its-kind facility will have a positive impact on the future of animal shelters.

“It’s going to cause people to think about a new way of having animals housed while they’re waiting for homes,” she said.

The adoption fee for all pets is $80. For more information, check out the PetSpace website.

http://www.care2.com/causes/50-million-high-tech-pet-adoption-center-opens-in-los-angeles.html