New animal adoption center opens in Dearborn with 100+ pets ready for homes

More than 100 animals, some mixed breed dogs and a majority of long-haired and short-haired cats, will be ready for adoption Saturday, July 19, at the grand opening of the MaryAnn Wright Animal Adoption and Education Center in Dearborn.

The celebration marks the completion of the second and final phase of the building that Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit says makes it more than a place to adopt a new pet, but a community resource for pet owners and animal lovers.

The nonprofit spent more than a decade raising the $12.5 million needed to build the nearly 20,000-square-foot center after previously being housed in a building on Greenfield Road that was owned and given to them by the city of Dearborn 29 years ago.

A need for a larger space, leaky ceilings, crumbling floors,and other issues eventually led the organization to build a new home. The new center has given the organization the ability to double in size. It can now house 206 animals, foster 73 animals and have space for 36 staff members. The new building sits on land that once held an Amtrack station and the city gave to the nonprofit.

“I think what I'm most excited for is to truly show our community that we serve what a wonderful organization and facility we now have," said Cory Keller, president and chief executive officer of Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit. "This facility expansion completion has been a long time coming, and the fact that we now have an amazing state-of-the-art facility that will be able to not only grow our current programs but be able to expand our programs to support the community and its needs."

Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit handles animal control services for the city of Dearborn and last year reached a 4-year contract to renew those services after a contentious negotiation with the city in which the nonprofit sought higher rates from the city to keep up with rising costs.

The organization hosts no-cost vaccine clinics four times a year. Clinics are scheduled for Aug. 10 and Sept. 7 at the Dearborn location. A third clinic is scheduled for Oct. 5 in North Rosedale Park in Detroit.

Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit also offer programs like Dog Day Out, which allows participants to take a dog out of the center for a couple hours for a visit around the community or to their house. Another program is called Read to Rover where children can read to a dog or cat. The center also has a pet food pantry for pet owners who might need help affording food for an animal.

The MaryAnn Wright Animal Adoption and Education Center also features an in-house community center that will host dog obedience classes, as well as summer and winter camps for children that teach animal care after adoption. The community center will also be available to the community to host their own events like birthday parties or fundraisers.

The center is named after MaryAnn Wright, chair of the Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit Board of Directors and an avid supporter and significant donor to the organization.

Exterior of the main entrance pictured at the newly renovated MaryAnn Wright Animal Adoption and Education Center in Dearborn on Wednesday, July 16, 2025

In addition to the board and staff, the Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit relies heavily on its volunteers. It takes thousands of hours of combined volunteer work to run the shelter, said Julie Ader, a 56-year-old volunteer who lives in Wayne County. The organization has sheltered as many as 300 animals at once, including cats, dogs, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs and injured wildlife, as well as livestock like goats and chickens, Ader said. It takes in strays, rescues, owner surrenders and animals from other shelters like Detroit Animal Care and Control.

A 1979 photo of what was known in Deaborn as the "dog pound," when during a ribbon cutting by then-mayor John O'Reilly Sr. Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit, which operates animal control services in Dearborn, moved entirely out of the building in the spring into a new facility.

Ader, who began volunteering nine years ago, started by donating items and later decided to become more hands-on. She started as a dog walker and now helps with fundraising events, animal maintenance and fosters. She said she hopes the brighter, more spacious conditions promote more adoptions.

Elaine Greene, chief operating officer of Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit, said she hopes the news space will encourage volunteers and others to visit and learn more about the nonprofit.

“We can easily provide better spaces for the animals in our care. The cats and dogs are separated. We have double compartment housing for all the animals, which reduces the stress of the animals but will also reduce any illness, sickness that they get," Greene said.

The center also features an animal surgical suite that will enable them to perform their own spay/neuter procedures. Fundraising is still in progress for surgical equipment and a staff veterinarian.

Ava Nightingale, a recent graduate of Eisenhower High School and rising freshman at The College of Charleston, and Ari Saperstein, a recent graduate of West Bloomfield High School and a rising freshman at the Michigan State University, are 2025 Detroit Free Press summer apprentices.

Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit's MaryAnn Wright Animal Adoption and Education Center

When: Noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 19

Where: 16121 Reckinger Road, Dearborn

What: After a noon ribbon-cutting, visitors will be able to take guided tours and participate in adoption specials, raffles and dine at a variety of food trucks.