A Love Letter to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, you are one of those places that draws one in and makes one fall in love with you. You may not realize it, but you saved my life. I spent four years living with you — two years full time, and another two part time — while undergoing extensive cancer treatment at UCLA. What was the most physically and mentally challenging era of my life was made a little easier by the vibrancy of you and all who call you home.
Seeing the communities I grew to love be completely decimated by the wildfires is breaking my heart.
Your allure has brought many into your embrace and you welcome us all as one would expect from the City of the Queen of the Angels. And all those new arrivals bring the best of their culture that becomes a seamless part of what we casually refer to simply as “LA.” Food, fashion, art, parks, cars, cool, beaches, trends, neighborhoods, music, sports, entertainment.
You’ve given so much to the world and you’ve given so much to me and to Best Friends Animal Society. You’re our second home and have been for decades. And today you are in pain, and your pain is on display for the world to see. You, who have given yourself so generously and without limit, need all of us now perhaps more than ever.
Los Angeles, your people are shining in your time of need and showing up to make a difference. We have been flooded with local volunteers who are making it possible for Best Friends to do all we can to help you. We are taking shelter pets from Los Angeles Animal Services and Pasadena Humane — about 200 since the fires broke out — to help make more space for displaced pets from the community. Volunteers helped us fill a Wings of Rescue plane with 84 of these cats and dogs that flew them to safety at our sanctuary in Kanab, Utah on their way to find their adoptive homes.
With volunteer help, we’ve opened up two emergency pet pantries for the community that provide everyday pet supplies for folks in need, we are providing emergency medical support to injured animals, and we started a home-to-home foster group to aid families who need a temporary safe haven for their pets.
Our Pet Adoption Center lobby has also been full of folks showing up to help. More than 100 cats and dogs from our center have been placed in loving foster homes in the last few days alone. While I am in awe of the support that we are receiving, I’m not surprised — this is a place where Angelenos stand shoulder to shoulder, doing all that they can to help each other in need.
You are a place of dreams for dreamers, visions for visionaries, and the optimistic belief that anything is possible. This sadness and sense of helplessness that feels so overwhelming will become the determination and commitment by all of us who love you and who will remain by your side to do our part in what is happening now, and what comes next.
-Julie
