For the first time, the Humane Society has partnered with a pet store for animal adoptions.
"I think his name should be Casanova, he's such a lover," Dawn MacConaghy said while hugging one of two pups up for adoption. "This one's Stew and that's Jambalaya," she said, as the dogs romped in the playroom.
The third member of the family was adopted early in the day, even before the new adoption center officially opened.
"They're mastif-shepherd mix and they're four months old," MacConaghy said.
San Diego Humane Society has opened a new adoption center in El Cajon inside the Petco store on North 2nd Street and East Madison Avenue. It's MacConaghy's first time volunteering and she lives nearby in Bloom Valley. She said after raising her children, she now has some extra time.
"I always wanted to work with animals and I had the opportunity and I got online and looked it up and heard about this, and it's perfect, I'm right down the road and I love it," she said.
"Jambalya, excuse me," she added, going after the pup.
Eddie the Chihuahua mix was transferred here from Yuma. The one-year-old has spent almost his entire life in a shelter, but someone's got to adopt that cute little face. In the slightly larger category, there's three-year-old Bonnie, a spayed, mixed pitbull who's very active and alert.
Or maybe young Trevor is more to your liking. He's what you call a lionhead bunny. All the animals have either been turned in by their owners or transferred from other shelters. And yes, they've been spayed or neutered and are ready for adoption.
"It's going to be an experience where you can actually sit down and get to know the animal before you make that decision. You also have an opportunity to bring your animal in to see if it makes sense for your household," Kim Shannon from the San Diego Humane Society said.
This is the first time the Humane Society has partnered with a pet store and it's the first foray into the East County.
"This particular project has been generously donated by the Petco Foundation and so it's been an incredible opportunity for us," Shannon said.
They've set a goal to find homes for 50 animals throughout the grand opening this weekend. The new adoption center is at 540 N. 2nd Street in El Cajon. It's open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Thursday through Monday.
