As the first building of its kind, the Pet Resource Center is a revolution in the animal care industry. With kennels and cages intentionally omitted, it’s function is similar in many ways to an animal shelter, but its fundamental philosophy is the polar opposite.
LONG TERM GOAL
Best Friends Animal Society has a goal of No-Kill by 2025. To achieve this, they are working with shelters, rescues, and communities and using a deep knowledge and analysis of data to rehome animals and stop the killing of unwanted pets.
After 150 years of shelters that are modelled on short term (3-7 day) stays, Best Friends is changing that paradigm. Animals visibly decay in health and behavior when kept in cages and kennels. Best Friends have developed a better and smarter way.
A NEW WAY
During Covid many shelters were shut down and as a result, a large network of foster parents emerged. Best Friends capitalized on this and halfway through design, we decided that the kennels had to go: The goal was to build a shelter of the future:
People need a place where they can connect with animals in a setting that is un-institutional. We redesigned the Program and the entire approach of the facility.
