PetSpace: a fancy treat for would-be pet owners

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Have you thought about adopting a cat, dog or bunny but can't quite take the leap?

Perhaps a spin on a giant, humanscale hamster wheel under the watchful eye of a giant animatronic cat might tickle your fancy. Or time spent watching doggies get a spa treatment in the Groom Room? Or watching kitties or bunnies play in custom designed adventure playgrounds?


Wallis Annenberg PetSpace uses design and technology to woo
prospective pet owners to bring home a four-legged friend
Photo by Frances Anderton

The Wallis Annenberg PetSpace is a high-tech, high-design adoption, education and research center focusing on the human-animal relationship. It's in Playa Vista in the heart of Silicon Beach, and it's the pet project of longtime LA philanthropist and ardent dog owner Wallis Annenberg. PetSpace, which opens June 24, draws on tech and many of the cool tricks of contemporary exhibition design to seduce you into going home with a pet.


So is this an over the top temple to our furry friends? Or an accessible, fun destination to learn more about the growing expertise on animal-human connections -- and maybe leave with a new member of the household? DnA went on a preview tour to find out.