Pet Friends holds ribbon-cutting for beautification project

Local rescue group, Pet Friends and Rescue of Hollister, held a ribbon-cutting for its new beautification project on April 22. The renovated spot at 2975 Buena Vista Road has a grassy area with a fire hydrant in the center and several benches around the perimeter. This enables a family to sit and spend time with an animal before deciding if they are a good match.

Pet Rescue also encourages potential new pet owners to walk dogs down by the river behind their facility to bond and to be sure the family and pet match.

Roeslein & Associates, the parent company of Pride Conveyance Systems Inc., chose Pet Friends and Rescue as their beneficiary for the company’s Animal Welfare Month. Pride president, Shannon Pride said the employees initially raised $2,000 which the company matched. Since the goal was $5,000, Pride asked employees to contribute again so they could reach their goal. A total of $5,001 was raised.

Sara Talbot, an employee at Pet Friends said, “It’s a great place to be. I get to hang out with cats and kittens. Who wouldn’t want that?” 

Pet Friend’s staff member Elijah Klasson said most of all he is “happy to help people find animals.” 

Officer Alyssa Bautista of Hollister Police Animal Care and Services said Pet Friends takes a lot of the city shelter’s animals to Pet Friends because it is a much less stressful facility. She added it’s “a better place to decompress.”

Pet Friends has a unique adoption protocol. Board President Jack Scutchall said anyone wanting to adopt must visit three times. The first time is to find a pet and start the paperwork. The second time the family, including children and other pets, must visit with the potential new family member. The third time is to complete the adoption and take their new family member to their forever home. Fees for adoptions are $225 for a dog or a cat. Fees includes all vaccinations, spay/neuter and microchipping. 

An ongoing fundraising highlight of the beautification project is a memorial walkway. Each engraved brick has the pet’s name, birth year, death year, and an optional third line for the family name or a short message.

Veronica Sanchez, a member of Pet Friends and the customer service coordinator at Pride Conveyance, said, “Our work has just begun. This will make it easier.”