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Highland Park’s PETCO will double as adoption center
Updated: February 26, 2013 12:13PM
HIGHLAND PARK — The Highland Park City Council on Monday granted PETCO Animal Supplies Inc. permission to use a portion of its Deerfield Road store for a PAWS Chicago dog and cat adoption center.
The council amended PETCO’s special use permit to allow up to 40 cats and 40 dogs overnight at a given time. No individual dog or cat may be housed for more than 21 consecutive days.
Under the permit terms, the shelter cannot accept donated stray dogs and cats or those given up by their owners. Any animal offered for donation must be directed to PAWS in Chicago or a similar shelter that accepts donated animals.
All animals offered for adoption also must be healthy and spayed or neutered if more than four months old. All of the dogs and cats will be fully immunized and micro-chipped for identification.
The nonprofit PAWS is a humane organization dedicated to ending the killing of homeless pets. The adoption center will be PAWS’ first satellite location outside Chicago, where it operates a similar shelter in the Lincoln Park neighborhood and a free spay and neuter clinic in Little Village.
The center will be staffed by two paid employees, one full- and one part-time, in addition to trained volunteers. The adoption center will be housed in a portion of the PETCO store that originally was designated for a doggie day care center, but has not been used as such in recent years. The center has kennel space and a floor flushing system.
According to PAWS, dogs will be exercised and walked three times each day in landscaped areas on the south side of the truck dock and the east side of Toys R’ Us, which shares the building with PETCO.
PETCO provided the city with documents that both Toys R’ Us and the Jewel Food Store on the other side of the shopping center are supportive of the plan.
