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Best Friends’ response to the Los Angeles wildfires

Right now, Best Friends’ emergency response team is on the ground in Los Angeles, offering help and support to other local animal welfare organizations while also working to ensure the safety of our own pets and staff in our Pet Adoption Center.

Los Angeles is seeing unprecedented wildfires in residential areas that are dangerously close to Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in West Los Angeles.  At this time, Best Friends Staff and the animals in our care at our Lifesaving center in Los Angeles are safe from the nearby wildfires.

Our team is monitoring the situation closely and while we have not been given the order to evacuate, we are ready to do so if needed.  Our priority is the safety and well-being of our animals and team members. To that end, our Center is operating with a skeletal staff and is temporarily closed to the public for adoptions.

For the first time in recent memory, Best Friends is in the unique situation to be offering help and support to other local animal welfare organizations while also working to ensure the safety of our own pets and staff in our Pet Adoption Center.

We are in communication with our partners in Los Angeles and are assessing where we can help. 

We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support and kind messages from those concerned about the well-being of our pets and staff. Follow our social channels for updates not only about what Best Friends is doing, but how we’re helping our partners navigate this situation.

The latest

Here's what we're doing to help the pets and people impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires.

Thursday, January 9, 2025: Responding to a plea from the city of Pasadena, Best Friends took in 12 cats and five dogs to help them free up space for more animals needing care in their city. In addition to the animals from Pasadena, another 16 from the Los Angeles Adoption Center were transported to Best Friends' Sanctuary in Utah to find refuge from the fires.

To encourage further lifesaving collaboration, Best Friends is incentivizing animal organizations to help as many dogs and cats in impacted shelters as possible. For every dog or cat pulled from an impacted shelter, Best Friends will grant $250 to defray the cost of the animal’s care.

In the face of managing their own personal crisis, Angelinos really showed up for pets in need. Yesterday alone, 40 dogs and cats were fostered and another 11 were adopted into permanent homes from our Pet Adoption Center.

To ensure the safety of our staff and pets in our care, the Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in Los Angeles remains closed to the public until further notice.

 

Wednesday, January 8, 2025: The devastating wildfires currently impacting California have forced hundreds of thousands of individuals to evacuate, and many are without power.

Our team in Los Angeles remains on-site and has not yet received evacuation orders. They are diligently caring for our adoptable pets while closely monitoring the evolving situation. The safety of our animals and staff is our utmost priority, and the team is prepared to act swiftly should circumstances require.

We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support and kind messages from those concerned about the well-being of our pets and staff.

Visit Best Friends’ Facebook page for updates and to follow our work on the ground. Working with our local partners, we are committed to providing support and safety to the animals in the Los Angeles wildfires.  

 What to do if you’ve been impacted

If you’ve been impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires, you should follow your city or state guidelines to remain safe. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.

If you’re evacuating with your pets and you’re not sure what to bring, or if you’re preparing at home and aren’t sure what to do to keep your pets safe, we can help.  

Help your pets in an emergency

Want to help the shelters impacted by the fires? Here are some ways you can help.

Donate to emergency response efforts 

Make a gift to Best Friends’ emergency response fund to save lives today and in the future.

Your gift brings emergency assistance to animals in the wake of disasters like this one. Donations are used exclusively to support lifesaving work whenever and wherever a catastrophe occurs.

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Get updates on the Best Friends Facebook page

Find us on Facebook for breaking news and to follow our work on the ground.
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Who we are

Best Friends Animal Society works alongside thousands of animal shelters, rescue groups and other animal welfare organizations to save the lives of cats and dogs across the country and to make the entire country no-kill in 2025. 

As part of our commitment to keep pets safe, Best Friends’ emergency response team works to save lives during natural disasters and emergencies. 

We rescue stranded animals, deliver supplies to hard-hit shelters and rescue groups, transport displaced pets to areas where they’ll be safe, support emergency sheltering efforts and reunite misplaced pets with their families.