News

Jun 11, 2023

Best Friends Animal Society Announces Opening of New Pet Resource Center

Best Friends Pet Resource Center BENTONVILLE,

Best Friends Pet Resource Center

BENTONVILLE, Ark. (PRWEB) March 14, 2023

Best Friends Animal Society, a leading national animal welfare organization dedicated to ending the killing of dogs and cats in America's shelters by 2025, is disrupting a 150-year-old industry by opening the Best Friends Pet Resource Center. This first-of-its-kind, fully reimagined shelter in Bentonville, Arkansas has the backing of local philanthropic trailblazers and Fortune 500 companies and is ideally situated in a city known for its innovation and growth.

"We are thrilled to open the Best Friends Pet Resource Center in the pioneering city of Bentonville," said Julie Castle, CEO, Best Friends Animal Society. "This center will usher in a new era of how animals are sheltered in our country, because it's a new type of animal shelter that's as much for people as it is for pets. It puts the focus on building relationships between the two—whether it's helping someone to find an adoptable pet in a beautiful, modern environment, supporting people with pets who need help by connecting them with resources and social services, or involving community members in programs that save more pets in Arkansas and nationwide. It's designed as a community destination with something for everyone who loves animals."

The Best Friends Pet Resource Center is more than just a place to adopt a pet. It offers resources and services for both people and pets and breaks the mold of the antiquated facilities that have previously been the norm. Designed without cages and kennels, the center is a community destination that connects people with adoptable pets, offers support for families to keep pets in homes and provides opportunities for animal lovers to help make the state of Arkansas, and the entire country, no-kill by 2025. More than half of all shelters in America are now no-kill, but to get them all to that place, it will take the support of people in local communities. This center represents the new model of how a community and shelter are intertwined for pet lifesaving.

The new center, which will fill critical gaps for local service in Northwest Arkansas, is the largest facility for animals in the region and will serve an estimated 13,000 dogs and cats each year. It is a 20,000-square-foot facility sitting on a property of six acres of land owned by Best Friends in the future site of the 8th St. Gateway Park.

While the goals of the Pet Resource Center are serious, the design of the center is playful, featuring installations from local artists, pet fixtures evoking the Ozarks, and even a slide from one floor to the below for a touch of whimsy. An on-site coffee lounge with free WiFi allows people to work in the company of adoptable cats and dogs. And people can bring their own dogs to the center for a DIY dog bathing station or to participate in dog socialization activities.

Other services to be offered at the Best Friends Pet Resource Center include: 

Programs and services will be rolled out continuously after opening, and fully operational after several months. To learn more, visit: bestfriends.org/nwa.

This project was made possible by more than 600 generous individuals, corporations and foundations, including: Alice L. Walton Foundation, Alumbra Innovations Foundation, BISSELL, Blue Buffalo, Builders Initiative Foundation, Fresh Step, Nestlé Purina, Giorgi Family Foundation, Mars Petcare, JB Hunt, Rachael Ray Foundation, Tina Santi Flaherty, Walmart, and Walton Family Foundation.

The building was completed by: RA-DA, HFA and Baldwin & Shell Construction Company.

"Thanks to local animal advocates, civic leaders, forward-thinking partners and passionate Northwest Arkansas residents this hub of innovative lifesaving was brought to life. We’re so excited for the future of Best Friends in NWA and the change this community is going to create together," Castle added.

The Best Friends Pet Resource Center is located at 1312 Melissa Drive in Bentonville, and is open Monday-Thursday from 10 am-6 pm, Friday 10 a.m.-7 p.m., and Saturday-Sunday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Best Friends has been working on the ground in Northwest Arkansas since 2018 and leads the NWA PAW coalition.

About Best Friends Animal Society

Best Friends Animal Society is a leading animal welfare organization working to end the killing of dogs and cats in America's shelters by 2025. Founded in 1984, Best Friends is a pioneer in the no-kill movement and has helped reduce the number of animals killed in shelters from an estimated 17 million per year to around 355,000. Best Friends runs lifesaving programs across the country, as well as the nation's largest no-kill animal sanctuary. Working collaboratively with a network of more than 4,000 animal welfare and shelter partners, and community members nationwide, Best Friends is working to Save Them All®. For more information, visit bestfriends.org. -

Share article on social media or email:

View article via: