Health Network News

A city-owned pet adoption facility inside a PetSmart in southwest Fort Worth — believed to be the very first of its sort in the country — is preserving the city money, generating business and, more important, hooking up countless homeless cats and dogs with new households. Ever since the Fort Worth Adoption Center opened April 25 down South Hulen Street, no adoptable pet was put to sleep within the city, said Brandon Bennett, director of the Code Compliance Department.

Every year, about 4,500 adoptable animals find themselves in the city pound. Until now, around 2,500 were put down when their time ran out inside the animal shelter, which can house 400 strays, he mentioned. Three hundred animals have been adopted ever since the center opened, a 100 percent improvement from last year, Bennett said. Demand has been so huge that pets from other cities’ shelters have been added in, he said.

Here, individuals have clean, enjoyable areas where they can interact with the pets.” Launching a similar stand-alone center in such a desirable location would have cost $2 million to $4 million and would not have attracted large walk-in traffic coming from an adjoining pet shop, Bennett said. “This has been so successful, we’re already discussing about starting another center in north Fort Worth. We are getting calls relating to this every day from around the country. Everybody wins, and we haven’t spent one general-fund dollar,” he said. PetSmart and PetSmart Charities are just as satisfied with the relationship.

The shop provided the 1,800-square-foot space, plus the nonprofit group donated $150,000 to develop the in-house kennel with “viewing rooms,” grooming zones and cages for about ten dogs and 10 cats. “We realized it is good, but it’s been even better than we believed. We could not be happier,” store manager Kristal Tackett said. “People return multiple times to check the pets. We have had people drive in from two hours away.” The center is a “successful model” for PetSmart Charities along with other communities to consider, said Kim Noetzel, communications manager for the nonprofit group.

“There are lots of people out there who would like to save a shelter pet, and perhaps they are discouraged,” Noetzel said. “It can be very overwhelming and emotional to travel right into a shelter setting. This type of collaboration makes it simpler to visit and not be overwhelmed or sad. It is a great way to boost adoptions. “It is a great halo effect for the business, but that’s not necessarily why we did it — it’s for the animals,” she mentioned. The unsung persona of the pet adoption center is Bill Boecker, who together with his spouse, Toni, came up with the idea for the relationship and worked for months to make it happen, Bennett said. Boecker, an executive to the Bass family’s real estate interests, also co-founded Fort Worth Pet Adoption Partners, which finances the center.