Unconditional Inc., a new Laguna Beach nonprofit dog shelter focused on saving vulnerable and overlooked dogs, was the recipient of this year’s Chef Masters, held on Oct. 16 at the Festival of the Arts in Laguna Beach. The outdoor food and wine tasting event brought together over 300 attendees interested in Unconditional’s journey. The event showcased approximately 40 well-renown chefs and a dozen wineries. This was the organization’s launch event and their signature fundraiser for the year, and raised roughly $450,000.
“For us, this was a magical night to have been selected the charity of choice for Chef Masters 2022,” Unconditional Executive Director Peter Chang said. “We were blown away not only with the donations that were generated from this event, but also, the energy and the reception from the community were amazing. That speaks to the love of our beloved companion dogs that most of us call ‘family.’”
Designed to look more like a home than a rescue facility, the two-story, 8,000 sq. foot shelter will house up to 40 dogs as the organization works to find them homes. Unconditional anticipates that, at scale, it will rescue and adopt out more than 1,000 senior and special needs dogs each year.
The nonprofit said the shelter’s mission is to “build a world where people see the value in senior and special dogs and to ensure each has a chance to find a loving home.”
