Window dressings for Prada and Yves Saint Laurent aren’t usually neighbors with kittens and puppies available for adoption — unless it’s Christmas in San Francisco. For the last 31 years, the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SF SPCA) has partnered with Macy’s in Union Square to match happy holiday shoppers with the newest member of their family.
Six brightly lit windows hold pairs of kittens, puppies and smaller adult cats and dogs. The booths are specially designed to be temperature controlled, comfortable and easily accessible to the more than 20 SPCA staff members who monitor the animals behind the scenes.
In 2016, the holiday windows resulted in 257 animal adoptions and raised nearly $100,000 for operations throughout the rest of the year. In total, over the last 31 years, the SF SPCA reports that this event alone has helped more than 9,000 animals get adopted.
“[The holiday windows] get our animals in front of a totally different audience,” says Krista Maloney, media relations manager at the SF SPCA. “People who maybe aren’t thinking about adopting wouldn’t visit the shelter normally. They’re out here in Union Square and walk by the window. They see some kitten or some puppy, and they just fall in love.”
In 2016, the holiday windows resulted in 257 animal adoptions and raised nearly $100,000 for operations throughout the rest of the year. In total, over the last 31 years, the SF SPCA reports that this event alone has helped more than 9,000 animals get adopted.
But you can’t just walk out with a puppy. Anyone interested in adopting one of the animals from the window must first go through the regular adoption process that the SF SPCA requires.
“If everything checks out, you can take an animal home on the same day,” says Maloney. “But it’s the same as in our shelter. You’ll sit down [and] meet with an adoption counselor. You’ll have to provide proof of home ownership or if your landlord has OK’d it.” Additionally, potential adopters will have a conversation about their lifestyle and potential fit for the animal, and the entire household will be required to meet the pet before welcoming it home.
Despite the “get your kids a puppy for Christmas” trope that plagues national media this time of year, the SF SPCA makes an effort to manage any increase in abandonment that may happen after the holiday season.
The adoption counselors are on the sixth floor of Macy’s, manning several computer stations next to the Cuddle Cube — an enclosed space where for a $10 donation, you can play with the puppies and kittens featured for the day. Behind the adoption counselors is a section dedicated to “quiet time,” where animals in the windows can take a break or where potential families can have a meet-and-greet with their new furry friend.
Despite the “get your kids a puppy for Christmas” trope that plagues national media this time of year, the SF SPCA makes an effort to manage any increase in abandonment that may happen after the holiday season. The detailed adoption process required is a first step in this.
“We’ve looked at [the] return rates for animals adopted from the shelter and animals adopted from holiday windows, and it’s about the same,” continues Maloney. “So we’re really not seeing a bigger spike in returns or abandonment. Part of that is because of the adoption process that people have to go through.”
Additionally, the SF SPCA will always take back an animal if things don’t work out — and that offer never expires.
“With any animal adopted from the holiday windows or from our shelter, we say that if it doesn’t work out, please bring the animal back,” says Maloney. “Don’t abandon it or give it up, no matter how long it’s been.”
While adopting a pet is not only a very special way to start a lifelong bond with an animal, the cost of that puppy in the window is considerably cheaper than what it would cost to buy a pet. This is especially true if you decide to bring home an adult cat for Christmas — they’re free!
