The former dilapidated 20-year-old Doggy World at 858 N. Third Street is now the bright non-profit charity Operation Ava and soon-to-be for-profit Pet Mechanic. Nine-year-old Ava Guitierrez, daughter of Claudia (CEO of Operatrion Ava and COO and senior vice president of Doggie Style) began the business to provide rescue and adoption services to the neighborhood as well as medical care or funding for medical procedures. Last night attorney Adam Lavar proposed Op Ava’s vet hospital and overnight boarding to the Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association (NLNA), to some resistance. Lavar proposed the transformation of the day care at 860-862 N. Third Street, the retail and rescue non-profit Operation Ava, as well as the Pet Mechanic at 858 N. Third Street, a for-profit veterinarian space for at-cost high-quality services for Operation Ava that that will be overseen by University of Pennsylvania vets. (The same “boutique veterinarian” that Doggie Style was talking about coming to 21st and South.)

Neighbors in the area were worried about the competition this will add for the Liberties Walk neighborhood pet store and rescue, Chic Petique. Claudia spoke highly of the neighborhood, choosing the location because she thought it was a neighborhood that would embrace this type of business the most. The location, with backyard, was also perfect for what the Operation Ava adoption center wanted to do: house up to 120 rescue animals and prepare them for adoption, offer a cage-less adoption space for cats and dogs, have a vet wellness center for public and rescue pets complete with same-day surgical procedures, include a retail store and full-service grooming salon, incorporate an education and outreach center to teach children and adults about being responsible pet parents, and build a 8000-square-foot outdoor play area with six different lawn areas for the rescues for training classes (which will start in May) and play space. Claudia assured the community all rescue pets can be returned to Op Ava so as not to burden the community, and that this proposed adoption center and vet will reduce the number of pets per square foot from what Doggy World had provided. The price to adopt a rescue from Operation Ava is $350 for a puppy, $100 for senior dogs, $200 for adult dogs and $75 for a cat (all come spayed or neutered with a micro chip).

The zoning decision for this proposal must be reviewed and ratified by the NLNA board of directors before the project becomes official. Larry Freedman of the NLNA let us know that the board needs more information to make their decision. We will keep you updated on any ratification.