Joybound People & Pets Receives Approval to Move Forward with The Liberty Center

Walnut Creek Planning Commission’s unanimous approval advances new community-centered facility offering crisis boarding, disaster readiness, veterinary behavioral services, pet boarding, and daycare.

WALNUT CREEK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Joybound People & Pets has received unanimous approval from the Walnut Creek Planning Commission to move forward with construction of The Liberty Center: Pet Boarding, Daycare & Veterinary Behavioral Services, a new community resource designed to provide exceptional everyday care while expanding critical support such as crisis boarding and disaster response for pets and families experiencing hardship.

The project was unanimously approved at the Walnut Creek Planning Commission’s Sept. 10 meeting, clearing the way for Joybound to advance plans for building the facility. The State-of-the-art pet care center will offer high-quality boarding, daycare, veterinary behavioral medicine, crisis boarding, and disaster-response capabilities in one purpose-built space. The mission-aligned model is designed around a central goal: helping pets, people, and communities remain healthy, supported, and together through everyday needs and some of life’s most difficult circumstances.

“Unanimous approval from the Walnut Creek Planning Commission is an exciting milestone for The Liberty Center and the community it will serve,” said Susan Lee Vick, President & CEO of Joybound People & Pets. “'The Liberty Center'—which aptly abbreviates to 'TLC'—is much more than boarding and daycare. The Liberty Center will be a resource for pet families both in everyday life and their most difficult moments, whether they need expert behavioral support, a safe place for their pet during a personal crisis or help during a community-wide disaster. At the heart of this project is a simple but powerful goal: giving people, pets, and communities important new support to help them stay happy, healthy, safe, and connected.”

The Liberty Center will also strengthen Joybound’s disaster response capacity, providing temporary care for pets impacted by wildfires, floods, and other emergencies. Additionally, The Liberty Center will also house a Veterinary Behavioral Clinic led by Joybound’s Senior Director of Animal Admissions and Wellbeing, Dr. Wailani Sung, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist with a PhD in psychology (with a focus on animal behavior). The clinic will provide specialized diagnostics treatment, and behavioral support for pets with behavioral challenges.

Behavioral challenges are a leading cause of pet surrender. Expanded access to specialized behavioral care will allow Joybound to address underlying issues, strengthen adoption outcomes, and support families in keeping their pets. Dedicated behavioral boarding areas will also serve dogs whose behavioral needs cannot be met in traditional boarding environments. Alongside these mission-driven services, The Liberty Center will meet growing demand for trusted boarding and daycare. Plans include modern dog and cat boarding suites, enriched daycare play yards, training and consultation spaces, and care grounded in animal wellbeing best practices.

Revenue from boarding, daycare, and related services will help strengthen Joybound’s community programs, including crisis support for pet families facing challenges. The result is a destination where families can feel confident about their own pets’ care while helping expand resources for other pets and people throughout the community.

With approval secured, Joybound is partnering with Overaa Construction as the general contractor to bring The Liberty Center from vision to reality.

“All of us at Overaa are thrilled to partner with Joybound People & Pets to bring this new facility to life,” said Kara Gragg, Vice President of Overaa Construction. “It’s especially rewarding to build a place that will serve the community, support Joybound’s mission, and have a lasting impact on both people and pets.”

This project represents Joybound’s continued investment in services that recognize the interconnected wellbeing of people and animals.

Learn more about The Liberty Center at: The Liberty Center - Joybound People & Pets

For media inquiries, interview opportunities with Joybound Leadership, images, or additional information about The Liberty Center, please contact Chelsea Blackburn.

About Joybound People & Pets:

Joybound People & Pets is a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening the human-animal bond through rescue and adoption programs, pet-focused vocational training and community services that benefit animals and the people who care for them. Since 1991, Joybound has facilitated more than 55,000 pet adoptions and offers accessible veterinary services, animal training, education, and workforce development. Over the past three years, Joybound’s community impact efforts to serve and keep pet families together have grown to more than 441,212 impacts.