Upscale L.A. Pet Store Makes Room for Poor Pooches

Normally, a pet store opening wouldn't exactly make headlines. I’m pretty partial to adopting shelter mutts who need a home rather than buying a designer dog, and swanky pet boutiques don't generally mesh with that philosophy.

Except, sometimes, they do.

Last week, OrangeBone held its grand opening on Melrose in Beverly Hills, complete with celebrities on hand (such as Katherine Heigl and Corey Feldman), but as it turns out, this is not your run of the mill pet shop. You won't find any pricey designer pooches here -- OrangeBone has 100 percent rescue dogs up for adoption.

OrangeBone has teamed up with Last Chance for Animals (LCA), and in just a month, more than 40 shelter dogs have found loving homes. LCA is a non-profit that is dedicated to making Los Angeles a no-kill city in which pet stores won't support puppy mills and instead will work with shelters and rescue groups. LCA endorses pet stores in Los Angeles that are willing to commit to re-homing only shelter animals.

Here's why this is such a big deal -- shelters and rescues aren't always the most pleasant places to visit, and they don’t even always have locations open to the public. They're often overcrowded, understaffed, and under-funded. While it would be fabulous if rich and famous celebrities would bring more attention to the rescues and shelters that work so hard to save the lives of animals (and many do, don't get me wrong), it's just not glamorous.

But OrangeBone is. It's pretty, it's hip and it's clean. The shop sells high-end dog clothes and collars from brands like Juicy Couture and Coach, giving people who are looking for a high fashion furry friend another reason to shop shelter dogs. And, OrangeBone is committed to the health of their puppies -- all pups are examined weekly by a veterinarian, and the dogs are housed in "custom designed, temperature controlled holding units" where they're fed "the best of the best, organic puppy food with purified drinking water" (from the website). Shoot, that's better than what I give my dogs!

Aside from the celeb support OrangeBone received for the grand opening, plenty of stars have posed for a Puparazzi shot -- John Legend, Christina Ricci and Bai Ling (fully clothed, no less!) are among those featured on the site.

I had a chance to talk to Ray Maldonado of OrangeBone, and his passion for what his business does is palpable. You see, OrangeBone had been operational as a standard pet store for about a year and a half, but in mid-December of last year, they made the change to finding homes for only rescue and shelter animals, and he couldn't be more thrilled.

Ray told me stories about well-off women coming in, looking for a specific, fancy breed, and going home with something totally different, but totally appropriate for them. He told me about how he's come down to the shop in the middle of the night because a customer called and just couldn't go another moment without their chosen pooch. And, he told me about the way the older dogs, who had been in the shelter for a long time and were wary of the system, opened up after being in OrangeBone, and opened up even more after finding a companion.

While some of the dogs are purebreds, there are plenty who are perfectly mixed mutts, and you never know which dog will steal your heart until you meet him or her. If you're unable to adopt a dog right now, but would like to help, Ray said that they always have need for dog supplies, like towels and toys. 

"It's so great to see a dog," he said, "who's just arrived and is scared, light up after getting a squeaky toy!"

Finally, Ray is hoping to get the message out to other stores that might be considering a similar model that it can work. 

"You will survive," he said, adding, "People will support you when you’re doing something like this. If you believe, it can happen."