Frisco Spca Is Cat’s Meow ‘Oldies And Uglies’ Pets Up For Adoption Living High Life At Posh Pound
Picture this: Persian rugs. Art in gilded frames. Plush couches. Picture windows. Skylights. A color TV in every room. And a stable of dietitians, groomers and personal trainers at beck and call.
Get this: It’s the pound.
Welcome to the new Maddie’s Pet Adoption Center at the San Francisco SPCA.
With individual, furnished, glass-enclosed “apartments” for each of its canine and feline guests, the animal shelter is so surreal - even by San Francisco’s standards - that it’s sure to become a tourist attraction.
Richard Avanzino, who heads the SPCA, brags that there’s not another animal shelter like it in the world.
Five years in the planning, Maddie’s Pet Adoption Center is named after a miniature schnauzer owned by Cheryl and Dave Duffield, head of PeopleSoft, the software company. The Duffields donated $1 million to the SPCA in Maddie’s memory.
The center has two aims, said Avanzino. First, transform unwanted animals into model pets. Second, make the prospect of their adoption as appealing to folks as possible.
Few universally desirable pets, such as puppies, kittens or purebreds of any age, are likely to be at the center, he said.
“Most of our population is the oldies and uglies, not the cuties and cuddlies,” he said. “We are the safety net. We are the last hope.”
The San Francisco SPCA is one of the few shelters nationwide that has a “no-kill” policy, he said, meaning that it is dedicated to saving all animals brought to it. Last year, 62 animals with terminal illnesses or untreatable aggression problems were euthanized, compared with the 4,700 animals adopted, said Avanzino.
Gone are the rows of caged kennels of yesteryear’s shelter. Instead, most of the 110 to 150 animals who live at the new shelter have their own rooms, furnished to look like the homes of people.
And to help encourage adoptions, visitors won’t be turned off by doggie or kitty smells, or barking, thanks to state-of-the art ventilation systems and soundproofing.
In the dog wing, off Lassie Lane, the pooches are encouraged to hone the good manners they’d be expected to display once they’re adopted.
By recreating home-like settings, the dogs learn that couches are not meant for peeing, and table legs are not chew toys.
They also get used to the constant blare of the TV set, another staple of the home lives they’ll encounter, said Lynn Spivak, the center’s spokeswoman. For their enjoyment, the 13-inch color TV sets run videos of animal shows like “Babe.”
To help instill etiquette, a battalion of dog trainers is on hand to correct behavior. The trainers also give obedience classes in such basic commands as “sit” and “stay.”
Unlike at other shelters, the dogs are taken outside, to a fenced-in courtyard for walks and runs. Indoors, trios of dogs take turns in the “rumpus room,” where they learn to play nice.
Meanwhile, over at the Kittie Condos, cats watch fish in aquariums, clamber onto cat trees, peer at pigeons from their window perches, lounge on cushions and rake their nails on carpeted scratching posts.
Folks interested in adopting a pet are welcome to enter the apartments to play with the animals, said Avanzino. Before entering a dog’s abode, folks are encouraged to have the dog greet them first by placing their hand against the “sniff window,” a glass pane with a small circle cutout.
After touring the center and meeting the animals, folks can sit in a cavernous, sun-drenched lobby sipping complimentary cappuccino, herbal tea or fresh-squeezed lemonade and eating homemade popcorn. More seating is available on the outdoor veranda overlooking the dog run.
It costs the shelter an average of $487 to place each animal, said Avanzino. Each can be adopted for $28. The price includes spaying or neutering, vaccinations, a leash and collar.
And if the animal has been at the shelter for weeks or even months, the animal’s bedding will go to his new home with him to make it feel more comfy.