Bentonville, Arkansas, an area characterized by community and innovation, will become home to Best Friends Animal Society’s Best Friends Pet Resource Center on March 11. The center is a first-of-its-kind animal shelter, benefiting animals and people of the community alike. Best Friends Animal Society’s mission is to connect people to adoptable pets, offer support that will keep pets in homes and enable the whole country to be no-kill by 2025.
The days of overcrowded, traditional kill-shelters will soon be a thing of the past thanks to Best Friends Animal Society’s groundbreaking concept of no-kill, free-range shelters. Here, homeless pets will not be confined to tiny kennels or cramped cages but allowed to roam around the 20,000-square-foot facility that sits on 6 acres. The center is equipped with play yards for dogs and climbing trees for cats, allowing all the animals to live their lives to the fullest while awaiting a new home.
The space includes amenities for visitors such as the Cat Café, a designated volunteer area and a conference room available for rent. The whole community will be invited to enjoy the space and spend time with animals through adoption, fostering, or volunteer opportunities. Some of the opportunities the center offers are taking an animal out for the day, making toys for the animals on site and fostering a homeless pet at home.
Other aspects that set the resource center apart from the traditional shelter model are the onsite resources for pet owners. The center will provide access to resources and services such as its veterinary clinic, pet-food pantry, dog training classes, DIY bathing stations and humane education. The center will also be reaching out into the community to protect the animals and people of neighborhoods with nomadic cats. A trap, neuter, vaccinate, and return program will benefit community cats and their caregivers by ensuring the animals are safe, healthy and have a positive influence in their neighborhoods.
Another unique aspect of the Best Friends Pet Resource Center is its Pet Transportation Hub. This service will be a mode of transportation for animals in overcrowded shelters across the region to travel to a safe, new home in Arkansas. The center also serves as a comfortable stop for animals on a longer journey to their new home.
Best Friends Pet Resource Center Grand Opening Celebration will kick off March 11 with remarks from Best Friends CEO Julie Castle and others at 9:45 a.m., followed by a ribbon cutting and the official opening and tour of the Best Friends Pet Resource Center.
During the grand opening celebration March 11 and 12, there will be a range of events available at the center for both pets and people. Some things to look forward to include the photo booth, Ask the Vet 101 tent, a stuffy animal clinic and multiple pet-centered art activities. Check out Best Friends Animal Society’s website for more information on all of the events and times.
The center will greatly benefit our community by helping 13,000 dogs and cats each year. All the available resources will be made possible with the help of donations and community involvement; every dollar goes straight to work to support and care for homeless pets. Get involved in the Best Friends Animal Society’s mission by adopting, fostering, donating or volunteering today.
The Best Friends Pet Resource Center is located at 1312 Melissa Drive in Bentonville and will be open beginning March 11. The hours are Mondays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fridays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more details about Best Friends Pet Resource Center, visit https://bestfriends.org/northwest-arkansas/pet-resource-center.
Photos courtesy of Best Friends Animal Society
