![Smiling person sitting on a comfortable chair with a dog](/sites/default/files/styles/hero_card_1920x520/public/hero-card-images/Kelly_Canelo__LF_794A0814.jpg?h=78fde091&itok=W10ok3nF)
Saving homeless pets in Greater Los Angeles
Some homeless pets entering shelters in Greater Los Angeles will never get to enjoy the comfort and safety of a home or the love of someone like you. You can help change that.
Every day, dogs and cats in Greater Los Angeles and around the country are killed just because they don't have safe places to stay. Together, we can change that.
Many shelters in the Greater Los Angeles area are working to achieve no-kill status. To support their efforts, Best Friends is focusing on shelters that take in the highest number of animals each year. These shelters include the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control (LAC DACC), Los Angeles Animal Services (LAAS), and Southeast Area Animal Control Authority (SEAACA).
To save more lives, we’re helping these shelters expand their foster programs and volunteer support, waive adoption fees, and implement public-friendly hours to increase adoptions.
We’re also offering grants and mentorships, and we’re working to keep cats who prefer to live outdoors (also called community cats) safe and out of shelters where they’re most at risk. We’re building relationships with city and county elected officials and policymakers, urging them to acknowledge what’s happening in shelters and act.
Working together, we can make sure that homeless dogs and cats find their way out of shelters and into safe and loving homes.
![Person playing with a dog in a yard](/sites/default/files/styles/image_mobile_square/public/image/GidgetWhiteFence_LF_-794A2460_LF.jpg?h=9855f42d&itok=uk-7j1-y)
Do you believe every animal deserves a safe and loving home?
Here at Best Friends, we believe that every dog and cat deserves to be in a home where they are safe, happy, and loved.
Your voice is crucial to help homeless pets safely find their way out of shelters in Greater Los Angeles. When you let your elected officials know about how important it is to protect homeless pets, you help gain support for local shelters and save the lives of the most at-risk dogs and cats.
![Dog Cat](/sites/default/files/media-icon/Dog%20Cat_0.png)
No-kill: Ending the killing of pets in shelters
For a shelter to be considered “no-kill,” at least 90% of the cats and dogs coming in must make it out alive.
![mobilizing the public icon](/sites/default/files/media-icon/mobilizing%20public%20icon.png)
Join a community of lifesavers
Best Friends is working throughout Greater Los Angeles with local shelters, and they need your support.
What you can do to save the lives of pets
We can save more lives by working together, and everybody can do something: spay/neuter your own pets, provide a foster home for a pet in a shelter, volunteer, and spread the word about what needs to be done to save the lives of pets in your community.
Helping pets stay with families
From securing pet-inclusive housing to purchasing supplies for pets in need, community-supported sheltering allows pets to stay in their homes. You can help pets right here in Greater Los Angeles.
![Small dog playing with a dog toy on a soft rug in a home](/sites/default/files/styles/image_mobile/public/image/Hitchcock-794A4200_LF_0.jpg?h=9855f42d&itok=4eVwq3AD)
Recent tales from Greater Los Angeles
Looking for a little inspiration? Check out these pets and their stories of hope, love, and resilience.
Help a Greater Los Angeles shelter or animal rescue group
Best Friends Network Partners are made up of thousands of public and private animal shelters, rescue groups, spay/neuter organizations, and other animal welfare groups, all working to save the lives of dogs and cats here in Greater Los Angeles and across the country.
Each and every one of our network partners needs caring people like you to adopt, foster, donate, volunteer, and advocate to help save the lives of pets where you live.
Find an animal shelter or rescue group near you today:
Join a local team of advocates
We make the most change for animals when we work together, which is why we formed the Best Friends 2025 Action Team. Once you sign up for the 2025 Action Team, you'll receive emails with more ways you can help save homeless pets.