Animal fans bank on visible location.

Byline: Andrea Damewood The Register-Guard

For their third Sunday in a row, Julie Testi and her 10-year-old son, Mark, visited Key Bank on Coburg Road, but not to make a deposit or take out a loan.

Instead, they were looking for the perfect dog to withdraw from a local animal shelter.

And though he had been there each time the pair visited the adoption site run by a newly formed nonprofit agency called Save the Pets, it wasn't until this Sunday that they got to know Chance, a big black labrador mix sporting a multi-colored bandana.

Testi said she's been looking for a labrador to help with a disability that limits her mobility, and that she wanted to give a homeless animal a family.

But the cacophony of barking common to animal shelters is overwhelming, she said.

"Here, you're outside, you're actually mingling," she said, as Chance obediently plunked down when Mark said, "Sit, please."

"(At shelters) it's just a lot of commotion, and here these dogs are calm for the most part."

That, Save the Pets President Lori Smith said, is the idea behind the outdoor adoptions.

Shelters are often stressful for pets, so they don't show their true personalities to prospective owners, she said. And owners are usually turned off by the melee and the long drive required for most to reach outlying animal shelters that many visitors say they find depressing.

The Save the Pets pooches - most from Lane County Animal Regulation Authority - lounged on pads, soaked up the sun, munched on T-Bonz treats and occasionally barked at one another.

Each dog is assigned a volunteer who strolls with them on a leash, dispensing information about the pet's history and assessing potential matches, Smith said.

"I'm impressed with all the people out here," Testi said. "They've gone out of their way to help."

Smith said she'll continue to bring dogs and cats to the high-visibility location at the intersection of Coburg and Cal Young roads every Sunday for as long as the weather stays nice.

"Just bringing them out here for one day, even if they don't get adopted, helps them thrive," Smith said.

But many of the pets who visit the site don't return to their shelters or foster homes: At least 19 dogs and six cats have been adopted, she said.

Save the Pets has a loftier goal than pet connections hosted on concrete - the group is raising money to start a pet store-style adoption center in the Ferry Street Bridge area where local shelters and rescue groups can showcase their animals.

"We want to make it somewhere where you want to go in, where the dogs aren't stressed out," Smith said.

The group has only collected a few thousand dollars out of the more than $100,000 Smith estimates is necessary to open up a shop. Save the Pets' first benefit dinner will be Tuesday at Oakway Wine & Deli.

Smith said she's hoping to establish the nonprofit's reputation and donor base, but sees recent animal activism in Lane County as a sign there are many people in the area interested in helping her cause.

"There's just something in the air," she said. "I think people are becoming educated that we have a serious crisis on our hands with animals."

Eugene resident Bill Oakley, who lives nearby, was drawn in by the group's signs and balloons, and stopped to give about $50.

"I was driving by and thought I'd like to donate something so that maybe somebody can have a dog for free," he said, adding that he and his wife normally donate to the Greenhill Humane Society. "This seems like a good cause, too. ... It's a doggone good idea."

Adoption fees for spayed or neutered pets are $55, and $128 for unaltered animals.

As for Julie and Mark Testi and Chance?

The adoption is pending a home visit and owner screening, Smith said.

"They said they're soulmates," she said.

SAVE THE PETS

A new group is raising money to start a pet adoption boutique in Eugene

Adoptions: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Sunday at Key Bank, 1380 Coburg Road

Fundraiser: A benefit dinner will be from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Oakway Wine & Deli, featuring wine tasting, live music, a silent auction and raffle

Tickets: $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Tickets can be purchased in advance by visiting www.savethepets.net or calling 683-PETS.