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A new partnership between the Kent County SPCA and the nonprofit PetSmart Charities Inc. could help save as many as 1,300 dogs and cats a year in Dover with the new pet-adoption center inside the PetSmart store in Dover.
The pet-adoption center opened with a grand opening celebration on Saturday at the PetSmart store located at 1390 N. DuPont Highway, however, they’ve had a soft-opening for the past six weeks that has already seen roughly 140 cats and dogs get adopted.
Mary Ann D’Amato, community partnership coordinator with the KCSPCA, is excited about the center as it is only the fourth adoption center in a PetSmart in the country.
“The reason we’re giving this opportunity is because of the amount of adoptions we have a year, it’s a high level of adoptions,” D’Amato said, “we chose to get a new adoption center to help us with the adoptions. We’ve had cats here for a number of years, now we’ll have dogs here as well.”
Greg Coulson, manager of the Dover PetSmart, said that while all PetSmart stores have a small adoption center they aren’t as big in size compared to this new center.
Before, only 6 to 10 cats could be held at one time. Dogs would be available to adopt through adoption weekends throughout the year, but they couldn’t keep dogs at the store on a daily basis. This new adoption center will allow them to do this. Moreover, the animals will stay in the center until they are adopted.
The adoption center will be open seven days a week during the store’s operating hours. There are 20 kennels for adult dogs, puppies and small dogs. The cat adoption center houses up to 16 cats. There also are play areas for dogs awaiting adoption and meet-and-greet areas for prospective adopters.
The enhanced adoption center is a part of a nationwide initiative from PetSmart Charities with the goal of saving more homeless pets. There are also adoption centers in Forth Worth, Texas; Yuma, Ariz.; and Scottsdale, Ariz.
“We are very proud to be part of this collaborative effort with Kent County SPCA,” said Susana Della Maddalena, vice president and executive director of PetSmart Charities, “at PetSmart Charities, our goal is to save the lives of pets who don’t have homes. This type of collaboration – one that promotes pet adoptions and reduces euthanasia –is key to meeting that goal.”
A new partnership between the Kent County SPCA and the nonprofit PetSmart Charities Inc. could help save as many as 1,300 dogs and cats a year in Dover with the new pet-adoption center inside the PetSmart store in Dover.
The pet-adoption center opened with a grand opening celebration on Saturday at the PetSmart store located at 1390 N. DuPont Highway, however, they’ve had a soft-opening for the past six weeks that has already seen roughly 140 cats and dogs get adopted.
Mary Ann D’Amato, community partnership coordinator with the KCSPCA, is excited about the center as it is only the fourth adoption center in a PetSmart in the country.
“The reason we’re giving this opportunity is because of the amount of adoptions we have a year, it’s a high level of adoptions,” D’Amato said, “we chose to get a new adoption center to help us with the adoptions. We’ve had cats here for a number of years, now we’ll have dogs here as well.”
Greg Coulson, manager of the Dover PetSmart, said that while all PetSmart stores have a small adoption center they aren’t as big in size compared to this new center.
Before, only 6 to 10 cats could be held at one time. Dogs would be available to adopt through adoption weekends throughout the year, but they couldn’t keep dogs at the store on a daily basis. This new adoption center will allow them to do this. Moreover, the animals will stay in the center until they are adopted.
The adoption center will be open seven days a week during the store’s operating hours. There are 20 kennels for adult dogs, puppies and small dogs. The cat adoption center houses up to 16 cats. There also are play areas for dogs awaiting adoption and meet-and-greet areas for prospective adopters.
The enhanced adoption center is a part of a nationwide initiative from PetSmart Charities with the goal of saving more homeless pets. There are also adoption centers in Forth Worth, Texas; Yuma, Ariz.; and Scottsdale, Ariz.
“We are very proud to be part of this collaborative effort with Kent County SPCA,” said Susana Della Maddalena, vice president and executive director of PetSmart Charities, “at PetSmart Charities, our goal is to save the lives of pets who don’t have homes. This type of collaboration – one that promotes pet adoptions and reduces euthanasia –is key to meeting that goal.”
D’Amato and Coulson said the new center may be able to lure more people to adopt. Coulson believes the people who were unwilling to drive to the KCSPCA in Camden to adopt, may be more willing to drive to PetSmart to adopt because it’s closer.
For D’Amato, she thinks the atmosphere at PetSmart may be more appealing to potential adopters. She said some people don’t go to shelters because they either want to “take all the animals home” or feel bad when they leave. As PetSmart adoption center doesn’t have a shelter feel to it, more people may be willing to go and adopt a cat or dog.
Either way, the goal for this new adoption center is to get more cats and dogs adopted.
“While we are a pet store, a lot of what we do is, we save lives,” Coulson said, “We are in the pet business but overpopulation doesn’t do anyone any good.”
Email Jennifer Dailey at jennifer.dailey@doverpost.com
