A Behind the Scenes Peek at Best Friends' NYC Pet Adoption Center

When I was at Cat Camp  this past March my favorite spot was the adoption area. It was great to see so many local shelters participating (such as The Patricia H. Ladew Foundation) as well as great organizations such as Best Friends Animal Society. I was happy to learn that Best Friends was opening an adoption center right here in New York City. I have a lot of respect for Best Friends and applaud their endeavors to give all animals the best life they deserve and for their efforts to make the USA “No-Kill” by 2025. You can imagine how happy I was that Lola The Rescued Cat was accepted as a Best Friend’s Ambassador this past July! 

Last month I was lucky to get a personal tour of the Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in SoHo by Hannah Stember, their Public Relations Manager. The center is described as a “state of the art” facility, and with its sleek and modern design, it lived up to its reputation. 

The Pets' Living Quarters

At any given time up to 30 pets are housed in the center. There are two cat rooms that are enclosed behind floor to ceiling windows.

The cats have plenty of comfortable spaces where they can lounge and relax, and cubbies hide in if they want some alone space. 

All of the cats wear collars with their names written on them. Blue for boys, pink for girls. I think this is a great idea! 

All of the cats looked happy, relaxed and very well cared for, and I'm always impressed when a facility that is home to so many cats is clean and well organized. 

The kittens are separated from the larger cats until they are strong enough and reach a certain weight. At that time they go into the general area. 

The dogs have roomy suites which feature partially frosted glass doors with small sniff holes to mitigate noise and distractions. This aids in reducing any stress the dogs may be experiencing. I love how the dogs' living areas are referred to as "suites" and not "kennels"!

Small play rooms and consultation spaces are available that visitors can utilize to meet and play with the animals and complete adoption papers.

This handsome guy was coming back from a walk when I arrived. He's hanging out in one of the consultation rooms. 

A soft day-to-night lighting system communicates the time of day by dimming to a warmer light in the evening and in the morning, mimicking the outside color temperature and helping to keep the animals healthy and connected to the outside world.

Kittens! 

The center is staffed 24 hours a day to man the round-the-clock kitten nursery so the most vulnerable homeless pet population can be bottle-fed. Similar to a real nursery, the neonatal unit has strict protocols to ensure the health of kittens who have been separated from their mothers before they are old enough to survive without them. 

I wasn't able to enter the nursery, but I did get to snap a few photos of the cutest little kittens. 

That little cutie in the top left corner taking a bath looks like a baby Lola.

Design

The center’s physical design is inspired by the slot canyons in Southern Utah (where Best Friends runs the country’s largest no-kill sanctuary) and features warm, natural materials so that visitors feel as though they are walking through a natural and warm landscape. The atmosphere is very soothing, making visitors, and their current residents, very comfortable and relaxed. Best Friends wanted to make sure to have a careful balance of materials to make their space inviting, which they accomplished nicely. When you enter the center you do not feel like you’re entering a “shelter”.  I think their choice of colors is brilliant. If you read about the psychology of colors, the properties of orange are physical comfort, food, warmth, security, and fun. The properties of brown are seriousness, warmth, nature, earthiness, reliability, and support. 

In case you haven't noticed yet, this facility is not referred to as a "shelter", it is a "pet adoption center." This phrasing, accompanied with the unique design, makes an immediate impact on people looking to add a furry family member to their home and to people who walk in as they pass by.  You will not see any cages or bars, and there is no echo in the building when dogs bark or people talk.  It is a comfortable space for the two-legged and four-legged alike. 

Cause Cooperative Model

Best Friends opened this national concept space in New York City to raise awareness for the nearly 5,500 dogs and cats killed every day in U.S. shelters and to engage people in the work Best Friends is doing to end the killing. This no-kill concept space introduces a “cause cooperative” model. The center showcases adoptable dogs and cats from eight local and regional non-profit organizations, and the New York City-run shelter, Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC). Cooperation and coalition building is a core component for a community to achieve no-kill, and Best Friends is using the new center as a demonstration of collective impact. The local shelters/rescues were chosen by their ability to keep a constant flow of animals needing forever homes coming into the center. When one animal is adopted, another comes in to take its place. This way the center is always at maximum capacity. 

Best Friends and NYC

Best Friends is no stranger to NYC. They have been involved here since 2009, working with local shelters and rescue groups. They have helped thousands of animals find loving homes and helped local and regional humane organizations and shelters raise close to $1.2MM through Best Friends’ Strut Your Mutt event. 

No Kill by 2015

One of the goals of the Best Friends Pet Adoption Center is to inspire and educate visitors from around the country. 

The center was launched in coordination with a new national initiative to lead the country to no-kill ** by the year 2025, which means that dogs and cats will no longer die in U.S. shelters due to lack of space. The space serves as a physical demonstration of the huge progress and momentum underway to end the killing of dogs and cats in our nation’s shelters. (*“No kill” is commonly defined as a “save rate” of 90 percent of the dogs and cats entering shelters.) 

This cute little guy hardly stayed still for a photo!

“Our new state-of-the-art Center in the heart of Manhattan will demonstrate to locals and visitors alike the problems and solutions facing our country’s homeless pet population,” said Gregory Castle, CEO and Co-Founder of Best Friends Animal Society. “We’ve planted a stake in the ground to take this country no-kill by 2025, but we can’t do it alone. Our hope is that visitors leave the Center with a new best friend and feeling inspired and equipped with the knowledge needed to achieve our mission.” 

Best Friends wanted to the center to be a  playful, gallery-style setting designed to help tell a story about the problems and solutions facing our country’s homeless pet population. They nailed it! 

One of the cat rooms faces the street to grab the attention of passersby (many of whom are tourists.) Visitors are invited to become part of the lifesaving work and are always welcome to stop by whenever the center is open. Through their high-end digital media of interactive displays and maps, visitors to connect with rescue groups and find adoptable animals in their own communities. Visitors can also learn about the state and progress of the no-kill movement, and share images and personal stories about their own pets.

My photos of the digital displays did not come out well, but I was able to capture a video.  



The number to text a photo of your pet to is: 646-362-4884. 

Selfie Station

When you visit, don't forget to stop by the selfie station.

I thought this was just adorable! The kiosk wasn't working on the day of my visit, so I wasn't able to post my selfie. (Now I have to go back just for that!)

Best Friends Gear

The center has a small shop where visitors can stock up on their Best Friends gear. 

I should have picked up a copy of their book while I was there, which I really want to read. (Another reason to go back!) 

I love this shirt! And I can always use another water bottle. 

How You Can Get Involved

There are many ways you can get involved with Best Friends. 

Volunteer

Very often when people hear the word volunteer, their first response is "I don't have time to commit to that on a regular basis." There is more than one way to volunteer, and Best Friends has them covered. 

Volunteers can assist at the center with a variety of tasks, at mobile adoptions and super adoption weekends, at special events such as Strut Your Mutt (which is taking place this year on October 17), or by transporting ( giving homeless pets a lift from the shelter to their new foster homes, to and from veterinary appointments, and to adoption events.) 

If you're going to visit the NYC area, you can volunteer for a day at the shelter. I think that's a great reason to plan a vacation here!

For more details or to sign up, visit their volunteer page. 

Foster

Right now, Best Friends–New York is in need of dedicated volunteers in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to open their homes to a foster pet. You can choose what type of animal you foster, from large and small dogs to kittens, nursing mothers, and adult cats. Best Friends provides all veterinary care and covers vet care costs. The only thing foster families need to provide is a loving and nurturing environment for their foster pets.

To foster, register as a volunteer and then sign up to become a foster.

Adopt

I think we all know that when you adopt a pet from a shelter, you're saving the lives of two animals; the one you save, and the one you made space for in the shelter. To find your new best friend search the pets at Best Friends who are ready for adoption here. You can also apply for adoption on that same page. 

Be A Community Ambassador

Community ambassadors help spread the word about Best Friends by handing out brochures and postcards and speaking with the public at New York, New Jersey and Connecticut businesses, colleges, events, restaurants and retail stores. You can also be a community ambassador on social media. Spread the word about the wonderful work Best Friends does, tweet about their events, share photos, etc. 

Donate

You can donate on line here. You can also donate by mail and send your gift to: 

Best Friends Pet Adoption Center
Attn: Donations
307 West Broadway
New York, NY 10013

If you don't live in the NYC area you can either help out at a center near you or decide to be a Community Ambassador. 

 Center Details

Best Friends Pet Adoption Center is located at 307 West Broadway in Manhattan. (That's West Broadway - this New Yorker couldn't figure out why she couldn't find the center on Broadway!) and their hours are Monday - Saturday 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. and Sunday 12 - 6 p.m. For additional information you can call them at 347-76ADOPT.

I really enjoyed visiting the Center (thank you, Hannah, for your hospitality) and was so impressed by everything. I'll definitely be visiting again and I'm hoping to be able to volunteer at an event soon. I think some of my fellow cat bloggers and I need to plan a "Cat Lady Retreat" in NYC and spend a day at the center. What do you think? 

You can follow Best Friends' NYC Adoption Center on Facebook or visit their website for more information. 

Visiting the sanctuary in Utah has been on my bucket list for quite some time. After seeing the Pet Adoption Center I need to start working on planning my trip out west. Have you ever visited the sanctuary in Utah? 

Dawn