Karen S. Kim
The Glendale Humane Society is out of the doghouse with PETCO.
The society once again will be allowed to hold in-store adoptions
at PETCO, 231 N. Glendale Blvd., on Sundays starting next month,
officials from both groups said.
The in-store pet adoptions have been on hold since Aug. 11, when
Glendale Humane Society board member Betty Evans was turned away by a
PETCO employee as she tried to bring 11 dogs and cats into the shop.
PETCO officials said the snub arose from their concerns about
animal-care practices at the animal shelter.
Allegations of animal abuse and improper management at the shelter
have plagued the Glendale Humane Society since last year. Criticism
of the shelter rose again this year when the Humane Society became
the subject of a city investigation into the deaths of six kittens at
the facility.
But Humane Society and PETCO officials said they're not dwelling
on the past.
"We had a meeting with PETCO, we cleared the air, told them the
truth of where we were and where we were headed," Humane Society
spokeswoman Paulette Ramsay Wood said Friday. "They told us their
criteria and we showed them we were meeting that already."
PETCO Foundation Director Paul Jolly agreed.
"We are very pleased with the proactive and forward-thinking
attitudes of the present board of the Glendale Humane Society," he
said in a statement. "We are impressed with the commitment of the
volunteers and staff, and feel that they have the best interest of
the animals at heart."
Pet adoptions also will be offered at Virgil's Hardware & Home
Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.
Customers will have a chance to stop by and see shelter animals
seeking homes.
"This is a very pet-friendly store," said Delaura Palacios,
general manager of Virgil's. "We invite pets in and give them treats.
We're trying to do [adoptions] at least every couple of months."
