Congratulations to the Highland Village Pet Adoption Center Open House for setting a new record!  Over 50 furry felines and canines were adopted just in time for the holidays!  The adoption center will remain open this week for last minute adopting opportunities. (photographed: event chairs, Tena Faust and Tama Lundquist and Buster's Friends board member Heather Fields)

The Story: What began three years ago as a four-week holiday mobile pet adoption program has turned into a year-round initiative to save thousands of Houston’s cats and dogs from being euthanized.  When Tena Faust, Tama Lundquist, and Tim Maloney approached Highland Village owner, Haidar Barbouti, about using space at Highland Village as a “Home For The Holidays” for cats and dogs on the verge of being euthanized, Barbouti, an animal lover, said absolutely. And, “Home For The Holidays” was born in the old GAP building on Westheimer.  Hundreds of volunteers and dozens of Houston-based rescue groups came together and adopted several hundred animals the first year.

When the group approached Barbouti last Christmas, he decided to give the group a permanent home at Highland Village.  During the past year, Buster’s Friends’, a rescue group dedicated to helping abandoned and homeless animals in the City of Houston was established and became the Highland Village Adoption Center non-profit organization that has been responsible for adopting hundreds of cats and dogs at Highland Village. The organization, spearheaded by Deb Gerhardt, oversees the Center, which is manned solely by volunteers. Highland Village retailers including Michael Kemper, Tootsies, Franco Valobra, Williams-Sonoma, Coldwater Creek and RA Sushi have also been instrumental in providing both in-kind and monetary support.

Over the weekend, the Highland Village Adoption Center celebrated their third anniversary at an Adoption Center Open House. The well-pawed group enjoyed bourbon cider and treats as they toasted to three years of helping abandoned and homeless animals in the City of Houston find homes. Fifty-one cats and dogs were adopted over the three-day weekend- an all time record for the center.

Highland Village Adoption Center, 4056 Westheimer, is sustained by volunteers of Buster’s Friends, Inc., a 501 (C) rescue group dedicated to helping abandoned and homeless animals in the city of Houston. The non-profit organization provides medical care in the form of vaccinations, testing and spay/neuter services prior to adoption of animals into loving forever homes.