Stars align to send 400 pets home at L.A. super adoption

Lauren Ash, of Superstore fame, was holding forth about bringing the country to no-kill in 2025 from the Best Friends Super Adoption stage alongside Brittany Thorn, Best Friends’ L.A. executive director, and then she pivoted: “OK, let’s get to work! You know what’s so great about doing events in L.A.? The coolest people turn up.” She welcomed Oscar and seven-time Emmy winner Allison Janney and The Book of Mormon’s Andrew Rannells to kick off the first round of adoptable dog introductions on the stage.

It was that kind of super adoption weekend at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, where Best Friends welcomed more than 5,000 people looking to bring love home in the form of a beautiful dog or cat — maybe both — from among hundreds of pets representing 15 public shelters and private rescue organizations from Southern California.

[Super adoption success: More than 200 pets head home]

One of the most exciting parts of the whole thing is when shelter staff bring dogs up onto the stage to promote them to the crowd. “Everyone participating keeps a close eye on the pets from shelters that are not yet no-kill, and a concerted effort is made to ensure that they’re safe, even if they aren’t adopted at the event,” says Brittany. Instead, organizations that have space (thanks to pets going home from the event) step up to take in pets who may be at risk of being killed if they go back to the shelter.

There’s nothing quite like watching everyone pull together for the love of the animals.

Super adoptions are signature events that have been sending pets home and supporting shelters for more than 25 years. Best Friends handles the setup, advertising, and promotion and then invites all shelters and rescue organizations in the area to come and adopt out their animals. There are pets from Best Friends there as well, and the goal is the same for everyone: save lives together by matching pets with homes. It’s just one part of how Best Friends supports shelters in the goal to reach no-kill nationwide in 2025.

[NYC pets go from shelter to homes]

The rest of the weekend proceeded as it began with more celebrity emcees and guests, including Ron Perlman, Maggie Lawson, Tim Omundson, Clea DuVall, Erin Moriarty, Sarah Burns, Eric Edelstein, Jess Rona, Wingtip, Kaliko Kauahi, Allison Dunbar, Garrett Nash, Chrishell Stause, Harley Quinn Smith, and more.

Actors Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson presented Best Friends with a $25,000 check as part of a recent adoption promotion in honor of Ryan Reynolds' birthday.

By the event’s end, more than 400 dogs and cats went home with their new families or to foster homes. Brittany says, “Thanks to incredible adoptions and some amazing rescue groups, all the shelter trucks went back empty.”

Lexi was one of the lucky dogs to go home. After spending several months in a shelter, her big day finally came. Angel City Pit Bulls, a Best Friends Network Partner, swept her up and brought her to the event, where she charmed her way right into a new family. In that moment, a long time of waiting was transformed into a lifetime of love.

The event was life-changing for one adopter named Heather. She arrived with friends and left with Trixie, a gangly, brown puppy from Riverside County Animal Services, another Best Friends Network Partner. This sweet pup has already made a seamless transition, joining the neighborhood pack hikes and bonding with her new dog friends, tail wagging every step of the way.

Things were hopping in the cat tent, too. Alice came to the super adoption hoping to find a new friend for her senior cat, who had recently lost his lifelong companion. She went home with not just one but two adorable kittens — Laverne and Shirley — with high hopes for a new friendship. Sure enough, the trio is already getting along wonderfully, bringing comfort and new life into Alice’s home.

Another cat, Gary, became the heart and soul of the area featuring Best Friends pets. This confident, charismatic boy took all the excitement and crowds in stride, winning over everyone who met him. Though many families were drawn to Gary, it was a volunteer named Matthew who truly fell in love. After his shift ended, Matthew couldn’t resist — he took Gary home.

Along with meeting adoptable dogs and cats, attendees also got the chance to watch something truly heartwarming: bottle-feeding tiny baby kittens. There were demos scheduled throughout the day with the goal to encourage people to sign up to foster orphaned kittens who need bottle-feeding. These fragile kittens need so much love and care, and sadly, without that, many don’t make it out of shelters. By the event’s end, 24 big-hearted attendees signed up to volunteer and become part of the kittens' journeys to happy, healthy lives.

Participating shelters and rescue groups were all on a lifesaving mission. Paws 4 Life K9 Rescue found loving homes for 28 incredible dogs. Its team shared their joy on Instagram, writing, “A HUGE thank you to Best Friends, all of our staff, volunteers, and most importantly, YOU, the adopters who help us make space to save MORE lives!”

Blue Buffalo, Best Friends' official pet food partner, was there to provide food and treats to adopters and fun for folks who visited its booth. Cat litter partner Fresh Step provided litter for the event, and pet insurance partner Fetch was there to help adopters and attendees with information about protecting their pets.

It was a beautiful, star-studded whirlwind of a weekend. In the end, the real stars were the people who came out, stepped up, and saved a life.

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill in 2025. No-kill means saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved, accounting for community safety and good quality of life for pets. 

Shelter staff can’t do it alone. Saving animals in shelters is everyone’s responsibility, and it takes support and participation from the community. No-kill is possible when we work together thoughtfully, honestly, and collaboratively.