Los Angeles, October 19, 2022 –  LA Animal Services will be hosting a fee-waived dog adoption weekend, starting Friday, October 21 through Sunday, October 23, as Mars Petcare and VCA Charities will cover the cost of adoption fees of dogs and puppies. The special pet adoption event is part of the Mars Petcare 14th annual BETTER CITIES FOR PETS™ Adoption Weekend with LA Animal Services joining other participating shelters in Denver, CO; Nashville, TN, Newark, NJ; Vancouver, WA; and Washington D.C. in support Mars Petcare’s ambition to end pet homelessness. To encourage adoption of feline friends in our shelters, cat and kitten adoption fees will be waived thanks to a grant from the ASPCA.

“We are excited to partner with Mars Petcare and VCA Charities as one of eight shelters across the country participating in the annual Adoption Weekend to help the amazing dogs and cats in Los Angeles find loving homes,” said Annette Ramirez, Interim General Manager for LA Animal Services. 

Each adopted pet will go home with a robust starter kit including products like: PEDIGREE® dog food and treats; WISDOM PANEL™ DNA Test, coupons and swag from Camp Bow Wow®, VCA Animal Hospitals, PEDIGREE Foundation, and the BETTER CITIES FOR PETS™ program, and a WHISTLE™ health tracking device with a free 12-month subscription. WHISTLE™ smart devices use industry-leading AI to translate a dog’s behavior into in-depth health insights. 

Dogs and cats adopted from LA Animal Services join their new families already spayed or neutered, vaccinated, licensed, and microchipped, and adopters receive a VCA Healthy Start Certificate, which provides up to $250 of follow up veterinary care within the first 14 days of adoption. In addition, canine companions adopted from LA Animal Services are also eligible for free dog training classes at the Paws for Life K9 Rescue People & Pet Innovation Center in Mission Hills, CA. Contact Info@pawsforlifek9.org for more details. You can view the wonderful dogs, cats, rabbits, and pocket pets who are ready to meet you and who are available for adoption in our Centers by going to laanimalservices.com/adopt.

Share on Social

We’re encouraging pet lovers to snap a pic of their furry friends to celebrate  ‘Adopt a Shelter Dog’ month and share their pet’s photo on social media by using the hashtags #AdoptAShelterDog #LAAnimalServices #LACityPets and tagging us!

Can’t Adopt or Foster - You Can Still Help

• Shelter-at-Home (provide temporary shelter for lost pets in your neighborhood while posting flyers or posting the pet’s info on social media, e.g. Nextdoor, LA Animal Services Lost and Found Facebook page, Pawboost.
• Home-to-Home (a resource to help pet owners find a new home for their furry friend without taking them to a shelter).
• Donate and make a difference to help pets in LA.
• Share posts of pets available for adoption on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Nextdoor.
• Volunteer and make a difference in the lives of animals in our care. 

Center Operating Hours

Our six LA Animal Services locations are open on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 8am to 5pm, and Saturdays and Sundays, from 11am to 5pm. Appointments are required on Wednesdays and Fridays, for pet adoptions, fostering, and owner surrenders, with our Centers closed on Mondays. Sick or injured animals will be admitted without an appointment. Appointments may be scheduled by going online or by calling 1-888-452-7381.



For more information about LA Animal Services, visit laanimalservices.com. 

The annual BETTER CITIES FOR PETS Adoption Weekend is part of Mars Petcare’s launch of its largest shelter volunteer program, Service Humans Needed, which enlists the help of more than 60,000 Mars Associates and pet advocates across the U.S. and Canada to reciprocate the support our pets show us by volunteering acts of service to help shelters and pets in need. To learn more about how to answer the call through acts of service and volunteering, supporters can visit BetterCitiesforPets.com/ServiceHumans. For more details about Adoption Weekend, please visit BetterCitiesForPets.com/Adopt2022.

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ABOUT MARS, INCORPORATED Mars, Incorporated is driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As a global, family-owned business, Mars is transforming, innovating, and evolving to make a positive impact on the world. Across our diverse and expanding portfolio of quality confectionery, food, and pet care products and services, we employ 140,000+ dedicated Associates. With almost $45 billion in annual sales, we produce some of the world’s best-loved brands including Ben’s Original™, CESAR®, Cocoavia®, DOVE®, EXTRA®, KIND®, M&M’s®, SNICKERS®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, and WHISKAS®. We are creating a better world for pets through our global network of pet hospitals and 12 diagnostic services – including AniCura, BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, Linnaeus and VCA™ – using cutting edge technology to develop breakthrough programs in genetic health screening and DNA testing. For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

About Mars Petcare Part of Mars, Incorporated, a family-owned business with more than a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love, the 85,000 Associates across 50+ countries in Mars Petcare are dedicated to one purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS. With 85 years of experience, our portfolio of almost 50 brands serves the health and nutrition needs of the world’s pets – including brands PEDIGREE®, WHISKAS®, ROYAL CANIN®, NUTROTM, GREENIESTM, SHEBA®, CESAR®, IAMS™ and EUKANUBA™ as well as the Waltham Petcare Science Institute which has advanced research in the nutrition and health of pets for over 50 years. Mars Petcare is also a leading veterinary health provider through an international network of over 2,000 pet hospitals and diagnostic services including BANFIELDTM, BLUEPEARL™, VCATM, Linnaeus, AniCura and Antech. We’re also active in innovation and technology for pets, with WISDOM PANEL™ genetic health screening and DNA testing for dogs and cats, the WHISTLE™ GPS dog tracker, and LEAP VENTURE STUDIO accelerator and COMPANION FUND programs that drive innovation and disruption in the pet care industry. We're also dedicated to providing a safe and fun place for dogs to stay and socialize at over 200 Camp Bow Wow® doggy day care and boarding facilities. As a family business and guided by our principles, we are privileged with the flexibility to fight for what we believe in – and we choose to fight for: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS.

LA Animal Services promotes and protects the health, safety, and welfare of animals and the people who love them, and is one of the largest municipal shelter systems in the United States. With six Centers across the City, LA Animal Services serves approximately 60,000 animals annually and responds to 20,000 emergency calls involving animals or people in danger. LA Animal Services is part of the Human Animal Support Services (HASS) international coalition, joining 38 municipal shelters and animal welfare organizations across the country to reimagine and transform the way shelters care for animals and their families, by offering access to resources to help keep families together; getting lost pets home quickly without having to enter the shelter system; providing food and medical assistance; and continuing to build on a strong adoption and foster program so pets find their permanent homes or are placed in foster care. Visit our link.tree for helpful links to the services and resources available to you and your companion animals. Connect with LA Animal Services and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.