Busy Holiday Shelter Intake Prompts Fee-Waived 4th of July Promotion at Best Friends

Cat and a dog
By Michelle Sathe

The upcoming holiday can be a far cry from independence for the hundreds of pets that get frightened during 4th of July festivities. Driven by a fearful reaction to fireworks and other loud sights and sounds, dogs and cats that flee from their homes end up at shelters, making it the busiest time of year for Los Angeles Animal Services shelters.

“There’s nothing festive about seeing kennels and cages full of anxious pets that have been separated from their families,” says Marc Peralta, executive director of Best Friends Animal Society – Los Angeles. “Sadly, due to many unfortunate circumstances, such as lack of proper identification, many pets won’t make it home.”

The Best Friends Pet Adoption & Spay/Neuter Center in Mission Hills, which transfers dogs and cats from L.A. city shelters to its No-Kill facility, is hosting a special fee-waived adoption period in order to make space for the anticipated 4th of July overflow. All pet adoption fees are waived from Friday, June 27 to Monday, July 6.

“Our goal is to adopt out as many pets as we can to loving, forever homes in order to leave space for those who will inevitably flood the shelters around July 4th,” Peralta says. “So, if you’re in the market to adopt, there is no better time than now. Our adoption specialists are ready and excited to help you make the perfect pet match for your lifestyle.”

The center, conveniently located within minutes from the 5/405/118 freeways, is open daily from noon until 8 p.m. Every adoptable pet at the center is spayed or neutered, micro-chipped, vaccinated and ready to go to its new home immediately. Additionally, each pet comes with a collar, customized ID tag, bag of food and one month of free veterinary insurance.

To ensure all current owners and future adopters alike keep their pets safe over the holiday, Best Friends Animal Society offers the following tips:

  • Bring all pets indoors whenever neighborhood fireworks displays are likely. Secure dogs in a room and play music or turn on the television to drown out the frightening sounds.
  • Keep pets away from lit fireworks at all times, including your own backyard, as some will chase after the bright moving objects and are at risk to be burned or blinded in the process.
  • Ensure that pets are wearing current identification tags.
  • If your pet does go missing over the holiday, check immediately and often with local animal shelters. Go to the shelter in person to identify your pet, rather than calling or emailing the shelter, as staff may not be able to respond in a timely enough fashion to ensure your pet’s safety.
  • For the ultimate identification protection, all pets should be microchipped so that they can scanned at an animal shelter or veterinary office. Studies show that three percent of America’s 165 million pets, or 4.5 million dogs and cats, are lost every year; approximately one million never return home.

Best Friends Animal Society Adoption Center is located at 15321 Brand Boulevard, Mission Hills. For more information, or to view adoptable pets, visit www.bestfriends.org/la or call (818) 643-3989.

About Best Friends Animal Society

Best Friends Animal Society is the only national animal welfare organization focused exclusively on ending the killing of more than 9,000 cats and dogs per day in America’s shelters.  Last fall, Best Friends launched their new call to action campaign, Save Them All to create awareness for this issue and of the need to adopt and spay/neuter all pets.  

Best Friends Los Angeles

Best Friends is working collaboratively in Los Angeles with animal rescue groups, city shelters and passionate individuals who are all dedicated to the mission of making Los Angeles a no-kill city. As part of this mission, Best Friends hosts adoption and fundraising events such as Strut Your Mutt and NKLA Adoption Weekends, runs both the Best Friends Pet Adoption & Spay Neuter Center in Mission Hills and the NKLA Pet Adoption Center in West Los Angeles, and leads the NKLA initiative. Since the NKLA initiative began, shelter deaths in the City of Los Angeles has decreased by almost 50%.

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