California Stories

Light brown dog with upright ears and one brown and one blue eye

Small acts bring big impact for animals

From coast to coast, Best Friends Network Partners are showing up with love, humor...
Network partners create moments of hope and healing
Best Friends Magazine
Person hugging a black and brown dog beside a shade canopy at the dog spay/neuter event

Free spay/neuter for L.A. dogs

Group effort to serve 400 dogs in need of surgeries.
A successful event
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A couple adventure buddy program participants with a pug wearing a bandanna

Adventures abound for adoptable dogs

Dogs from the Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in L.A. share fun-filled outings to...
Adventuring with purpose
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Students at Crestview Preparatory School beside a slide noting Best Friends as receiving donations

California fourth graders champion a cause for pets

Students at Crestview Preparatory School used their school’s annual fundraiser to ...
The market was a resounding success
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Baby and Celine the French bulldogs sleeping next to each other

Faces of No-Kill: From puppy surgery to sister snuggles

A French bulldog named Baby came to Best Friends in crisis. Now, she has a clean b...
A family that’s meant to be
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Pug in a home environment

Kindness in action for the animals

When animals needed help, these everyday heroes stepped in with compassion and cre...
Compassion can show up anywhere, anytime, and in any form
Best Friends Magazine
Sugar the cat lying on a towel on a wooden bench

Adopter sees the sweetness in shy senior cat

Like sugar and spice, Sugar the cat and Ginger the person were just the right matc...
Now receiving her second chance
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Rainbow the dog, smiling with mouth open

Faces of No-Kill: Solutions for dog with special needs

From a neurological condition and seizures to a penchant for pebbles, Rainbow has ...
Her personality now shines
Best Friends Magazine
Person holding a calico cat

How animal groups teamed up to save L.A. pets

Best Friends Network Partners answered the call for help to move pets out of harm’...
Stories of awe-inspiring teamwork
Best Friends Magazine
Smiling dog in a home setting

Acts of kindness transform animals’ lives

From a heroic dog to a stowaway kitten, these stories highlight heartwarming rescu...
People living a better world through kindness to animals
Best Friends Magazine
Dog in create for a flight transport following the Los Angeles fires

An unexpected reprieve in shelters after the L.A. wildfires

Thank you for supporting our second home.
A look back at the Los Angeles wildfires
Julie Castle Blog
Tara Pope on a rock cliff with arms outstretched

L.A. fire evacuee finds hope at Best Friends

When Tara Pope fled her home to escape the L.A. fires, she found an unexpected hav...
Best Friends offers hope
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Smiling person wearing a protective gown holding Wally the Girl the dog

Tiny dog with broken leg helps heal broken hearts

For Wally the Girl, a 5-pound pup with an unstoppable spirit, a chance meeting led...
It was meant to be
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Actor Gilles Marini with Z the African grey parrot

Unexpected help for a parrot amid L.A. wildfires

When fire threatened Michelle Bertonneau’s home, she feared for her pets, includin...
Actor opens his home
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Alex Mestres volunteering by bringing meals to pets at Best Friends in Los Angeles

Volunteers power efforts to help pets amid L.A. fires

Best Friends volunteers from coast to coast are using their time and talents in so...
People help in California and from afar
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