ADOPT-A-PET CENTER SELLING OUT MALL OUTLET PROVES VERY SUCCESSFUL.

Byline: Donna Huffaker Staff Writer

BURBANK - So many people have adopted dogs and cats from the Burbank Animal Shelter that the city has borrowed animals from other shelters for its annual holiday adoption program at the mall.

``It's like having a jail that's empty - it's a really good thing,'' said Ellie Knapp, project manager for the city and in charge of Burbank's Home for the Holidays program at Media City Center.

On a recent weekday afternoon, only one dog, two cats and a guinea pig sat in the display window on the mall's lower level, hoping to snare a shopper's attention. By Saturday, however, the windows should be filled with six to 12 more adoption candidates, including rabbits, from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Los Angeles.

Lt. Aaron Reyes of the SPCA said pet overpopulation and homeless pets are national problems, with a majority of shelters trying desperately to find quality solutions and get them into good homes before the animals must be put to sleep. Burbank is the exception, not the rule, Reyes said.

``We're very happy their program is such a success. If they call us again and request more animals, we'll be more than happy to work with them,'' he said.

Reyes and Knapp agree that one reason for Burbank's success in relocating animals from their shelter cages to cozy homes is the city's weekly Adopt a Pet program, televised on Charter Communications Channel 6. Formerly it was Vice Mayor Bob Kramer who held the tail-wagging canines and squirming felines, as he spoke to the camera about how each needs a good home. But years after launching the idea, Kramer, who now is running for city treasurer, has passed the leash to Mayor Bill Wiggins and Councilman David Laurell, who will take turns hosting the show.

At the shelter, kittens go like hotcakes, said Knapp, who advises anyone interested in adopting a kitten to wait for the doors to open at 8 a.m. the day the animal is available for adoption - and hope to win the raffle. Many people interested in one animal must take a number, and whoever holds the number randomly selected by shelter employees gets to adopt that animal.

After animals arrive at the shelter, by law, employees must keep them for a week, to give owners time to come and claim them, Knapp said. Before the week is up, however, the animals may be advertised, so it's important to keep track of their availability or they'll likely be gone, Knapp said.

Unlike kittens and puppies, who tend to be rambunctious and have sharp teeth, many older dogs make better pets for young children, Knapp said. And that is something most people might not think about. So, showing off the animals to shoppers looking for Christmas gifts - in a mall that does not offer a pet store - is an effective way to find them homes, she said.

Last year, during a two-week period, people adopted 53 dogs and cats and a couple of rabbits from the animal shelter's site at the mall.

An area enclosed by a picket fence allows shelter volunteers to play with and pet the animals throughout the day. The mall also features another closed-off area where prospective adoptive families can interact with the animals to see how everyone gets along, Knapp said.

After a day at the mall, the animals return to their ``homes'' at the shelter.

``This kind of program gives a softer feel to the holidays. Shoppers will be racing around, but they can't walk by our window without stopping,'' Knapp said.

In Glendale, animals offered for adoption are featured on ``Weaver's Dog House,'' a Channel 6 cable show hosted by Mayor Dave Weaver.

The Glendale Humane Society runs a pretty steady adoption pace, said executive director Leslie Eppick. The shelter has placed more animals in recent years, due to the success of the cable program, she said, noting a 96 percent adoption rate for animals featured om the show.

Burbank's Home for the Holidays adoption program is located on the mall's lower level at the southeast side of the merry-go-round. Today through Dec. 23, adoption hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

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3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- ran in Valley edition only) Volunteer Jasma Wise, 14, and Daniel Whalen, 10, make friends with a dog at the Burbank Holiday Pet Adoption Center.

(2 -- ran in Bulldog edition only) At Burbank Media Center, Dorian Matthes, a mall employee, checks out a cat offered for adoption when the Burbank Animal Shelter set up shop in the mall.

(3 -- ran in Bulldog edition only) Animal shelter volunteer Natacha Quintanella scratches the belly of an appreciative pit bull that is up for adoption. The city's successful Home for the Holidays drive is held next to the merry-go-round in the Burbank Media Center.

Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer