Mall mania

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Saving a life is now as easy as a trip to Trolley Square.
By Best Friends Animal Society

By Denise LeBeau

 

Homeless pets in Northern Utah just got another great venue for finding a loving home. Located in Salt Lake City’s Trolley Square (600 South and 700 East), the Best Friends Pet Adoption Center’s grand opening will take place on Thursday, May 17th. The center will feature a variety of adoptable pets from Salt Lake County Animal Services (SLCoAS).

 

Best Friends and SLCoAS partnership

 

 

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Best Friends Pet Adoption Center at Trolley Square

 

 

By partnering with SLCoAS, Best Friends is focusing on making a sustainable impact on the number of animals leaving the shelter system. The center will use the new Best Friends Adoption Mobile to transport the animals from the shelter to the adoption center. The center will serve as a microcosm of the animals available at the shelter — dogs and cats, purebreds and mixes, of all ages and sizes.

 

"We are mindful of having a real mix among the 10 dogs and 10 cats that will be available at the center, and we also see the center as an opportunity to get people to visit the shelter," says Melissa Lipani, outreach and adoptions manager at Best Friends. "So while we’re talking to them about the animals in the center, if they don’t see the right companion animal for their home, we can send them back to SLCoAS to meet more animals who are a better fit for their criteria."

 

Working together for good

 

 

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The center will serve as a microcosm of the animals
available at the shelter.

 

 

The center is also looking spiffier thanks to a recent financial contribution from Utah Friends for Animal Care and Effective Solutions (Utah FACES), an animal welfare organization dedicated to saving more lives in Northern Utah. The donation helped pay for kitty climbing stairs, bookcases, and paint. Utah FACES also supplied volunteer power to ready the space for the grand opening.

 

Melissa is thrilled with the partnership. "Salt Lake County Animal Services is extremely committed to the no-kill mission, and this center presents a different way for the public to get their pets," she explains.

 

This isn’t the first retail venue in Utah to embrace saving lives. Created by No More Homeless Pets in Utah in 2001 and now run by Friends of Animals Utah, Furburbia at the Tanger Outlet in Park City has been a rousing success.

 

Volunteer opportunities

 

The new Best Friends Pet Adoption Center located in Salt Lake City’s Trolley Square has many different volunteer opportunities available. If you’re interested, please email kristinas@bestfriends.org.

 

Photos by Melissa Lipani