OK, be honest: as you look through these photos, don’t you think the new Wallis Annenberg PetSpace is beautiful enough to be a luxury hotel? Southern California cat lovers recently gathered in a virtual clowder alongside a pack of dog devotees to celebrate the shelter’s grand opening.
A high-tech facility built to help efforts to lower the euthanasia rate in Los Angeles animal shelters, the two-story, 30,000-square-foot pet adoption and education center in Playa Vista allows animal lovers to not only meet adorable, adoptable companion animals, but also watch pets getting the glamour treatment in the grooming room, view vet visits, and see the workouts of animals in need of physical therapy thanks to PetSpace’s “clear” vision for visitors, who can learn about various aspects of the community center during a behind-the-scenes tour.
Along with finding loving pet parents for cats, dogs and rabbits in need, the Wallis Annenberg PetSpace also instills a passion for compassion in the next generation through special Paws & Pages events, which offers youngsters the opportunity to improve their reading and communication skills as they tell a tale to a patient, nonjudgmental listener– one of PetSpace’s adoptable dogs or cats.
The community center also offers fun for both the young and the young at heart, with a two-story slide and an animatronic cat who watches people at play inside a human hamster wheel!
Famous Faces Attend Grand Opening
An array of animal-loving luminaries used their star wattage to shine a spotlight on the new facility at the grand opening, including Westworld star Jimmi Simpson, Dorm Life‘s Anne Lane, UnREAL cast member Kim Matula, Maria Shriver, Katherine Schwarzenegger, and a line up of celebrity canines and cats. Representing Rovers were such famous Fidos as Lassie and Marnie, while internet sensations Nala and Coffee Cat showed support for their fellow felines.
The Adoptables of The Wallis Annenberg PetSpace
Although famous fans of our four-legged friends were in attendance, the true stars of the day were the adoptables who hope to be cast in the real life role of a special someone’s furry family member. The Wallis Annenberg PetSpace will serve as a temporary home for approximately 40 cats, 40 dogs and 100 rabbits at any given time– each one pulled from one of seven Los Angeles area animal shelters (with many chosen from the Downey shelter and the Carson shelter in Gardena).
While cats wait for the day when they meet their forever pet parent, they will enjoy a stay in toy-filled glass suites, while outside each door an interactive flatscreen shares the cat’s photos and vital information. Once adopted (at a flat $80 adoption fee for all animals) each cat or dog heads to their new home with a complimentary adoption kit.
Wallis Annenberg, philanthropist and CEO of The Annenberg Foundation, prepares to cut the ribbon at the grand opening of The Wallis Annenberg PetSpace, with a little help from Lassie:
Located at 12005 Bluff Creek Drive in Playa Vista, California, the Wallis Annenberg PetSpace is open each Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
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