Susan Parker is recruiting Beast-ro (not bistro) volunteers.

At the grand opening of the Dirty Paws Beast-Ro & Lounge in Conimicut, Parker introduced her beast-ro program to pamper shelter dogs in hopes of helping them become better socialized and more adoptable. She needs volunteers to transport the dogs to and from the shelters so the dog can enjoy a quiet dinner far away from the hectic and loud shelter environment.

Meredith, a pit-pull mix from Providence Animal Control, made a cameo appearance, bestowing kisses on a crowd of admirers. She enjoyed her beast-ro meal, slurping up doggie beer and devouring a gourmet dinner heated to just the right temperature. Topping it off, NBCs Channel 10 reporter Mario Hilario emceed the opening while the camera rolled.

For the past 14 years, Parker has provided free training to dogs waiting to be adopted, aided by a group of volunteers at her business at 859 West Shore Rd. in Conimicut, as well as at Conimicut Point.

When additional space next to the training center opened up, Parker took her efforts to get dogs adopted in a new direction, hoping to give dogs an experience they wouldn’t otherwise get at a shelter. The beast-ro is a place where dogs can enjoy being pampered in homey, comfortable and warmly lit surroundings.

This experience is not just for shelter dogs. For a cost of $20, a dog owner can spend an hour with their dog as it enjoys a gourmet meal served in a silver dish on a placemat, dessert and a doggie beer. Parker is not only the canine chef but also the brew master. The beer is nonalcoholic and features a mix of pumpkin and spices.

Parker hopes paying customers will subsidize the cost of offering the same level of goodies and attention to dogs like Meredith, who has been up for adoption since July. For dogs that have a family, Parker said the beast-ro is a place for it to have fun with its owner. For shelter dogs, she said, the beast-ro is time away from other dogs and an opportunity to enjoy some relaxed one-on-one time with a volunteer.

“It’s cut loose time,” Parker said of the. The dogs “can do whatever they want. This is all about them.”

“I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time,” said Parker.

She knows of no other program like it, and she is anxious to test her hypothesis that shelter dogs will become more trusting, and in the end more adoptable, if pampered and given a chance to spend some time in a less hectic environment.

As for volunteers, Parker is looking for people who have the time to pick up a dog from a shelter, bring it to the beast-ro for an hour and then return it to the shelter. Naturally, the volunteer gets to share in the fun, although sampling Parker’s cooking and the beer are purely optional.