LA Animal Services is Partnering with Best Friends Animal Society for a National Adoption Weekend to Find Shelter Pets Loving Homes This Holiday Season

Los Angeles, December 8, 2022 – LA Animal Services, one of the largest municipal shelters in the country with six shelters located throughout the City, and Best Friends Animal Society, a leading animal welfare organization working to save the lives of cats and dogs in America’s shelters by 2025, are teaming up for a Holiday adoption extravaganza from December 9 – 11. The collaborative weekend-long event encourages people to open up their homes to adoptable animals by choosing to adopt, not buy, their next pet. To encourage pet adoptions, LA Animal Services is waiving adoption fees for dogs, puppies, cats, and kittens throughout the month of December thanks to a generous grant from the ASPCA. 

Best Friends has partnered with over 600 shelters and rescues for the holiday campaign. The three previous Adoption Weekends resulted in over 25,000 pets finding loving families.

“We are proud to participate in Best Friend’s National Adoption Weekend to further raise awareness of wonderful, adoptable pets available in our six shelters and to encourage animal lovers to adopt, not shop, for a pet this holiday season,” said Annette Ramirez, Interim General Manager for LA Animal Services. 

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 [email protected] for more details. 

View the amazing 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.

“There’s no better way to spread holiday cheer this holiday season than to adopt or foster a shelter pet in need,” said Julie Castle, CEO of Best Friends Animal Society. “By adopting a best friend, you’re giving one lucky dog or cat a home as well as creating space for another pet to be rescued. That means you become a lifesaver to two animals in need and there’s no better gift than that.”

Data released earlier this year by Best Friends showed that U.S. shelters saw an increase in animal intakes that adoptions couldn’t keep pace with. The animal welfare community is in crisis, and many shelters across the country are over capacity and are needing to make difficult decisions surrounding lifesaving efforts.    

Anyone considering adding a new pet to their family can make a difference by choosing to adopt instead of buying their pet.

National data trends show that 2022 has been a tough year for shelters. Across the country, shelters are struggling with higher intake, while live outcomes, such as adoptions, fosters and rescues are not keeping pace. This has led to a population imbalance, with more animals in shelters staying for longer periods, and causing increased strain on shelter staff. Additionally, many shelters are facing challenges with staffing shortages, limited hours, decreased volunteers, and reduced adoption events. All this adds up to the current crisis of most U.S. shelters being at or over capacity, resulting in pets being more at risk due to lack of space.

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 or follow and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. 

# # #

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 the Best Friends Network

The Best Friends Network is comprised of thousands of public and private shelters, rescue groups, spay/neuter organizations and other animal welfare organizations in all 50 states. We are a coalition committed to saving the lives of homeless cats and dogs through collaboration, information-sharing and implementation of proven lifesaving strategies. Our partners support each other and inspire their own communities to increase lifesaving of dogs and cats across the country.