With a $200,000 upgrade, Humane Society in Golden Valley caters to pets and people

Last Wednesday afternoon, Alyssa Kremer and Lindsey Holzworth lingered in the cat adoption area at the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley.

The two had gotten their cat, Charlie, there a few years ago, and now they were looking for another pet to keep her company. "It's nice to see, in this environment, which cats are playful or quiet and reserved," said Kremer, who noted the center's new look.

The shelter recently held a "grand reveal" celebration to show off changes it made over the summer. The adoption center was renovated to be more aesthetically pleasing and easier to navigate and to show off the pets more. The adoption process itself was updated with new technology.

The $200,000 project stemmed from the Humane Society's strategic plan, according to CEO Janelle Dixon. "We've been working on a project for some time around customer-centric adoption," she said.

It's not just the animals' experience at the place that matters. "The people who come here and use our services are important, too," Dixon said. Historically, that hasn't been the focus of animal welfare. However, a positive experience for customers means that "they're more likely to adopt," she said.

In an effort to draw more pet adopters, the Humane Society has been gathering feedback over the past couple of years about all aspects of the shelter experience. For example, it asked individuals and focus groups, "what do people see [in the shelter] and what does it sound like?" Dixon said.

"One thing we found was that the shelter wasn't intuitive. People came in and didn't know where to go," she said. Through the research, "we got a sense of what the shelter could look like to meet the needs and provide an excellent customer service experience," Dixon said.

Purina representatives arrived to help the shelter meet that goal. They put together DIY-type climbing towers and cubbies for the cats on the day of the "grand reveal," as well.

Paul Sorenson, a spokesman for the Humane Society, said the cat area was emphasized because "that's where we could make the largest impact improving the experience for both animals and adopters."

Last year, the shelter placed 17,003 animals in homes, and nearly half of those were cats, Sorenson said.

The shelter sought to make the adoption center more accessible and to improve the cat housing, Dixon said. It meant improving sightlines, brightening the interior, creating comfortable seating areas and building spacious "cat colony" rooms.

In the lobby, three showcase windows feature several cats and kittens playing and resting. People can also peer into the cat colony rooms from there, thanks to glass doors and newly exposed windows.

Oversized images of animals have been applied to walls throughout the shelter while other walls and columns were repainted bright colors. A trail of orange paw prints leads visitors to the dog area. "There's a lot more visually going on in the space. It reminds you of the animals and the human-animal bond," Dixon said.

In the colony rooms, visitors can play with the cats and "see who comes to them," Dixon said. It works the other way around, as well. The cats now have places to perch and look out. "We see this difference in terms of the enrichment that the cats have, their ability to see out into the world," Dixon said.

Previously, the cat area had "more of a cage structure," said Pam Haryn, the Humane Society's site manager. Some cages are still in use, but most of the cats are free to roam around in the colony rooms. The rooms, which fit three to six cats, are stocked with toys, climbing structures, pillows and food. The rooms more closely resemble a homelike setting, she said. It reduces stress in the cats and it reveals their natural behaviors, Haryn said.

On Wednesday afternoon, Ivy, an 11-year-old shorthair with black and tan highlights, curled up quietly in a corner of the colony room. Just across the room, Gato, a younger medium hair, was much livelier. He repeatedly tried to get out of the room. "That's the escape artist," said volunteer Steve Hutton, adding, "He's smarter than is good for him."

The adoption process itself has also been updated. Volunteers and staffers are equipped with electronic tablets and headsets. That way, they can answer questions about a pet right away instead of having to run to a computer in another room or trying to track down somebody, Dixon said.

Additionally, comfortable chairs, couches and coffee tables encourage informal conversation between workers and customers. Volunteers and staffers fill out an electronic form incrementally. The customer no longer has to stand at a counter and fill out a long form at the end, Dixon said.

Now, people pay the adoption fee at the checkout desk just before they leave. The new process is "relaxed, more efficient and it has a much better feel," Dixon said.

The process used to be "very transactional. We wanted it to be relational. That was the key," she said, adding that the Humane Society's four other locations will undergo similar changes over the next nine months.

Customer service staffer Brennan Blickhan said that the shelter had 40 adoptions last Sunday, yet "it never felt chaotic or overwhelming. It's a testament to how the new process is working," Blickhan said.

The new process has also created "stronger bonds between staff and volunteers" who are working together more closely, he said.

"It's very cheery," she said, adding, "If I was rich, I would make places like this all over. It's good to see the cats are well taken care of."

Anna Pratt is a Minneapolis freelance writer. She can be reached at annaprattjournalist@gmail.com.