Join us for a Yappy Hour Foster Event

on Saturday, June 25

Los Angeles, June 23, 2022 – It’s National Foster a Pet Month, and LA Animal Services is teaming up with national nonprofit Petco Love and Skechers with its BOBS from Skechers philanthropic footwear collection, to put the focus on the fun in fostering pets. Pet fostering is lifesaving and critical for animal shelters particularly during the busy summer season. To encourage fostering, LA Animal Services will be hosting a special Yappy Hour Foster Event so the community can meet some of our incredible dogs who are available to be fostered.

“Ending preventable euthanasia of shelter pets is possible today,” said Susanne Kogut, president of Petco Love and Skechers with its BOBS from Skechers philanthropic footwear collection, to put the focus on the fun in fostering pets. Pet fostering is lifesaving and critical for animal shelters particularly during the busy summer season. “Data tells us that if we could encourage 2% more of the 85-million pet-owning households to foster just one pet a year, we can eliminate preventable euthanasia and save the lives of the 800,000 shelter animals at risk of euthanization in the U.S. annually.” 

But fostering can be serious fun, too.

Throughout June, Petco Love will work with its network of partners nationwide to share the fun aspects of fostering while helping pet parents groove through their foster pet goodbyes. In fact, saying goodbye to foster pets – and the fear they’ll struggle giving the pet to a new family – is among the most-cited reasons why pet parents don’t foster.

Petco Love is taking a humorous approach to saying goodbye to foster pets by holding a #MyFosterBreakUp story contest featuring Foster Breakup Kits giveaways and a curated playlist to help foster pet parents through their goodbyes. 

Kits include breakup essentials: cozy, festive socks from BOBS from Skechers, a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Kleenex, the official Petco Love Foster Breakup Spotify Playlist, and a foster tee that reminds you that “Foster Pets are Here for A Fun Time, Not a Long Time.” Foster parents can enter to win by sharing their breakup letter from their foster pet on Instagram using the hashtag #MyFosterBreakUp from June 1 –30 and even win $10,000 in lifesaving funds for the organization they foster from.

LA Animal Services will also join shelters nationwide as we invite the community to give a dog a break and join us for a Yappy Hour foster event happening at the East Valley Animal Services Center located 14409 Vanowen Street, Van Nuys, CA 91405 on Saturday, June 25, from 5 to 7pm, where you can meet canine companions who are ready to be fostered and available for an overnight stay or longer. Get pre-approved to be a foster by completing the application and sending it to ani.foster@lacity.org. LA Animal Services will provide you with the items you need, from a bed, crate, and toys, to ensure a happy and comfy sleepover for your canine foster companion.

“Fostering is a vital part of our life saving mission because it gives pets a much-needed break from kennel life while creating life saving space for animals who have nowhere else to go,” said Annette Ramirez, Interim General Manager for LA Animal Services, “We are excited to take part in National Foster a Pet Month and build on this event’s positive momentum to help save more lives year-round.”

Establishing June as National Foster a Pet Month to increase participation in fostering is just one of the lifesaving actions led by Petco Love in their 23-year history of helping pets, with $330 million invested in lifesaving efforts and 6.5 million pets adopted – and counting. Skechers has contributed more than $8 million to help over 1.5 million shelter pets, including saving 1.1 million rescued pets in the United States and Canada.

The nonprofit also recently launched a new national database, Petco Love Lost, which uses pet facial recognition technology to help reunite missing pets with their families. 

To learn about Petco Love and to view foster resources, visit petcolove.org/foster and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using #PetcoLoveFoster. 

For more on BOBS from Skechers, visit BOBSfromSkechers.com.

Opt to Adopt? Meet Your New Best Friend at LA Animal Services!

There are many fantastic pets who are ready to be a part of your family. Our six Centers are full of adoptable furry friends who are ready to be a part of your family. To encourage pet adoptions, LA Animal Services will be offering reduced adoption fees on Friday, June 24 through Sunday, June 26, 2022 for dogs and puppies, while cat and kitten adoption fees will be waived thanks to a grant from the ASPCA. View pets available for adoption at laanimalservices.com/adopt.

To encourage more dogs to be adopted ahead of the 4th of July holiday – one of the busiest times for LA Animal Services Centers – VCA Charities will be waiving adoption fees for the first 250 dogs adopted Monday, June 27 through Friday, July 8.  

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.

Can’t Adopt or Foster - You Can Still Help 

• Adopt a pet from one of our Centers and create life saving space for an animal in need 
• Foster a pet and give a canine companion or feline friend a break from kennel life
• 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, 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

Center Operating Hours

Our six LA Animal Services locations are operating without appointments every Saturday and Sunday, from 11am to 5pm. We will continue to operate by appointment during the week, Tuesday through Friday, from 8am to 5pm for pet adoptions, fostering, and owner surrender, with 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. 

To follow the City’s COVID-19 safety protocols, social distancing will be observed and face coverings will be required when in our Centers. 

Per City Ordinance 187219, you will need to show proof of your COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of entry into the shelter. You can request a digital COVID-19 Vaccination Record if you were vaccinated in California (unless you were vaccinated at a federal facility) by visiting MyVaccineRecord.cdph.ca.gov. For any questions regarding vaccination records, visit the LA County Vaccine Records website.

For more information about LA Animal Services, visitlaanimalservices.com.

# # #

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.

About Petco Love Petco Love is a life-changing nonprofit organization that makes communities and pet families closer, stronger, and healthier. Since our founding in 1999 as the Petco Foundation, we’ve empowered animal welfare organizations by investing $330 million in adoption and other lifesaving efforts. We’ve helped find loving homes for more than 6.5 million pets in partnership with Petco and organizations nationwide. 

Our love for pets drives us to lead with innovation, creating tools animal lovers need to reunite lost pets, and lead with passion, inspiring and mobilizing communities and our more than 4,000 animal welfare partners to drive lifesaving change alongside us. Join us. Visit petcolove.org or follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn to be part of the lifesaving work we lead every day.