Bringing the Pets to the People

The grand opening of a pet adoption center at a downtown shopping mall Tuesday drew an odd crowd.

Women in overcoats and stockings sat on the carpet talking baby-talk and tickling wet dog noses. Men in suits spun their umbrellas as they peered through the front window, waving and smiling.

Everyone’s voice rose an octave: “Oh, oh, oh,” one woman accompanied a whimpering dog. “He’s so sweet,” cooed another.

In other words, it all went as planned.

Members of the Los Angeles branch of the SPCA said they hope the location and ambience of the Seventh Market Place will attract more passersby than their distant, less-inviting shelters.

“Typically animal shelters are located in the worst part of town,” said Madeline Bernstein, president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Los Angeles. “So people don’t want to go there.”

The mall, she said, provides a pleasant venue for the agency to showcase its dogs, cats, rabbits and reptiles to shoppers and business people eating lunch.

Moreover, it offers all the amenities of a pet store, from rawhides to kitty litter, from Whisker Lickin’s cat food to Porky Jerky Knuckle Bones.

The building’s owner, TrizecHahn, donated the space to the SPCA after the agency successfully operated a temporary adoption center there for two weeks in December, said Bernstein. She said 49 animals were adopted.

One executive, she said, visited the center for lunch every day, sitting on the floor to eat his sandwich in front of a dog cage.

“Animals relax people,” she said. “They reduce the blood pressure.”

Of course, the goal of the center is to find homes for the abandoned and stray animals. More than 57,000 animals were euthanized last year in Los Angeles, said Sharon Morris, general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Animal Regulation. Bernstein estimated that close to 200,000 were killed countywide, while people continue buying animals

from pet stores.

“One of the misconceptions [with shelter animals] is that you’re going to find a 6-year-old dog that hasn’t had a bath in months, that’s flea-ridden and mangy,” said Larson Sutton of the SPCA.

All the animals are washed, spayed or neutered, and even undergo obedience training, often in a program that brings the animals together with at-risk youths, agency members said.

Tuesday, a lively brown mutt named Jordon tried to lick his way from his cage while drawing a crowd of admirers.

“This one here has a lot of spirit,” said Carol Kulava, an insurance defense attorney who stopped in at lunch. “He’d take you for a run.”

Liz Moseley spent the weekend looking for cats at a shelter, but preferred the atmosphere at the center. “This smells a lot nicer,” she said, before filling out the forms to buy a kitten.

All potential buyers must go through a screening process to ensure the animals are being sent to a decent home, Sutton said. He said the procedure can be completed within 10 minutes.

Within half an hour of the opening, one woman toted out a gray tabby in a cardboard box, and Moseley bought her kitten. Dozens of passersby began filtering into the center.

“The whole idea of adopting animal shelters in retail places is fairly new,” Morris said. “You get more families, more flexibility with hours.”

The SPCA center will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Dogs will be for sale only on Mondays and Fridays.

“They should do more of this,” said Kulava. “There’s plenty of empty space [in shopping centers]. Why couldn’t every mall do this?”