Maricopa County and PetSmart Charities open Everyday Adoption Center in Old Town Scottsdale

Maricopa County and PetSmart Charities opened an Everyday Adoption Center in Old Town Scottsdale on Saturday, offering 46 kennels to house dogs available for adoption and aiming to shorten lengths of stay at the county's two main shelters.

County staff described the new site as a convenient option for families in the area and thanked PetSmart Charities for building the kennel. “We live in a large county, but we only have 2 main shelters, but there's just such a demand for dogs. And frankly, we're just seeing a lot more dogs coming in. So here at this everyday adoption center here in Scottsdale, we have 46 kennels and we really wanna thank PetSmart Charities for doing such a great job of building this kennel. So now families can come in. They don't have to go to 1 of the county's shelters,” the staff member said.

The center's location near retail traffic is intended to increase adoptions by exposing people who visit PetSmart to animals available for adoption. A reporter's account in the transcript noted 11 dogs were adopted on the center's first day.

Kevin Campbell, a local resident who visited on opening day, said he and his wife often adopt older dogs. “We're looking for an addition to our family. We always adopt senior dogs, typically, a little bit older. They seem to be very grateful, and we're even more grateful to have them,” Campbell said.

Besides adding kennel capacity, the transcript states that the former tenant at the site had been adopting out about 3,000 animals a year with short lengths of stay. County staff also said that during the last two summers Animal Care and Control rented extra kennel space because intake numbers were high; staff said the new kennels free up space in Maricopa County's east and west shelters and that shorter stays help keep dogs stress-free and healthy until adoption.

The transcript did not specify operating hours, staffing details, or funding arrangements for the site.