Pets Lifeline begins move into new facility

Pets Lifeline Executive Director Nancy King was beaming as she gave the Index-Tribune a tour of the animal rescue center’s nearly completed state-of-the-art, two-story facility on Eighth Street East on April 9.

She paused on the center’s new second-story “catio” – which her grandson enthusiastically prefers to call the “Meow-cony” – to look out at the view of a vineyard on Eighth Street East.

“Hearing people’s reactions on the first few tours I have given has been so gratifying,” King said. “Visitors have been struck by the design and the way we have made the animals the priority in the space.”

For almost four decades, Pets Lifeline has provided care and adoption services for hundreds of cats and dogs annually. King estimates it has “given a second chance at happiness” to almost 20,000 animals since its founding in 1982.

But its ramshackle and narrow old buildings, trailers and portables on its Eighth Street East “campus” had long needed an overhaul, said King, in order for the nonprofit to continue to expand its mission in the Valley.

On April 27, King’s long, hard-fought dream became a reality when moving vans began transporting the contents of the temporary shelter into the new Animal Resource Center.

Pets Lifeline began its capital fundraising in the fall of 2017 and broke ground in September, 2019, on a new $3.4 million facility designed by architect Henry Wix, with construction managed by contractor Scott Miller.

The construction project is on time and on budget (with the exception of a few minor “change orders”), according to King, who oversaw the work from the other side of town, in the pet rescue center’s temporary “mobile pet village” on Broadway, on land loaned to Pets Lifeline by the Sangiacomo family.

From the beginning, the focus on the new center’s design was all about making it easier to intake, treat and adopt animals, said King. The previous reception area of less than 200 square feet has been expanded to 960 square feet in the new shelter. A “welcome lobby” allows visitors to move freely from the animal viewing areas to the adoption center, and staff anticipate that the additional space will allow it to increase the number of adoptions that can be processed daily, reducing the average length and cost of shelter stays.

On the second floor, a new “cattery” featuring eight interconnected cat habitats will allow felines to flow freely between spaces, eliminating the need to crate and move them between cleanings, thereby reducing stress on the animals. An area is dedicated for feline adoptions and two meet-and-greet rooms allow the kitties to charm potential two-legged companions.

The shelter’s canine habitat will accommodate 20 indoor and outdoor kennels, up from the previous maximum of 13. A new 3,150-square-foot run is planned for large dogs, along with a 600-square-foot run to accommodate smaller breeds. Previously, all canines shared a single, significantly smaller outdoor run.

A state-of-the-art veterinary clinic and lab will replace the 160-square-foot trailer previously used for medical interventions, providing a modernized exam room, a full surgery room, medical recovery and isolation rooms for both cats and dogs within 1,375 square feet of new construction. Previously, only cats and small dogs could be safely operated on. Larger animals required treatment off-site. King hopes in the future to be able to offer veterinary services to the public from the new facility.

A classroom with an attached courtyard will serve year-round as an education hub for dog training, pet ownership workshops, pet assistant therapy certification and extensive humane education programming, as well as for after-school programs and summer camps.

The building has a generator that kicks on in the event of an emergency.

Last week, capital campaign chair and former board president Monica Dashwood looked out at the view and thought how far Pets Lifeline has come since its founding.

“It took a phenomenal team effort to get to this point,” she said. “An amazing board, incredible donors, a fantastic staff, the truly creative architect and designer… with Nancy leading the way. It was quite a moment for me – realizing after all this time that we had really done it."

With additional reporting by Kate Williams. Contact Lorna at lorna.sheridan@sonomanews.com.