LA Animal Services Offers Foster Programs To Engage Animal-Loving Angelinos in Our Life-Saving Work
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LA Animal Services Media Contacts:
Agnes Sibal-von Debschitz, (213) 482-9512 or agnes.sibal@lacity.org
Justin Khosrowabadi, (213) 482-9551 or justin.khosrowabadi@lacity.org
LA Animal Services Offers Foster Programs to Engage Animal-Loving Angelinos in Our Life-Saving Work
Los Angeles, January 6, 2020 – LA Animal Services is always looking for new opportunities to engage animal-loving Angelinos in our life-saving work. With the launch of recent programs like Furry Field Trip and Shelter-at-Home, community members can give shelter guests a break from the shelter for an exciting adventure with you or, if you find a lost pet, you can register that pet with LA Animal Services and give the pet a safe place to stay with you for up to 30 days while looking for the owner.
Furry Field Trip
Furry Field Trip is LA Animal Services’ short term foster program. It’s designed to provide our adoptable dogs and cats in our six Animal Services Centers additional socialization as well as a different temporary setting away from kennel life.
- For dogs, our short term foster program can range from off-site field trips that last two hours to short term foster care up to two weeks or less.
- For cats, the short term foster consists a minimum of one week to up to two weeks.
According to General Manager Brenda Barnette, “Furry Field Trip also offers additional opportunities for dogs and cats ready for adoption to meet potential adopters during outings in and around their neighborhoods.”
“Mimsy is an energetic yet super sweet girl who loved being on my lap, she enjoyed our many walks and was so well behaved! She buried a bone in my yard so I hope to have her back soon. I look forward to fostering again. Mimsy kept me on my toes and our day together was wonderful.” [LL]
“Poe enjoys his car rides 
and actually slept for part of the ride. He loves attention from people, and would lean on or go in for snuggles whenever possible. He believes in hugs and thinks he’s a lapdog. He enjoys it when people come up to pet him. Poe is treat motivated. I was also able to rinse his paws, chest and mouth in a bath and also had no issues drying his paws, chest, and chin with a towel.” [CK]
Shelter-at-Home
If your furry animal companion gets lost, the experience is often traumatic for you and your pet. The moments that follow typically involve a frantic search by family and friends around their respective neighborhoods or area where their four-legged friend was last seen.
Statistics have shown that pets are often easier found when they are closer to home. LA Animal Services launched the Shelter-at-Home program in October 2019 to enable community members who find a lost dog or cat to take the pet in and provide temporary home care until the owner can be found. Within four hours of finding the animal, finders will contact their closest LA Animal Services Center, provide or upload two or more photos of the animal, and bring the pet into the shelter or your veterinarian to get it scanned for a microchip.
“The Shelter-at-Home program allows communities to work together to reunite lost pets with their owners using social media and posting flyers in their neighborhood,” said Brenda Barnette, General Manager, LA Animal Services.
Since Shelter-at-Home was introduced, animals have been reunited with their owners without having a stay in one of our LA Animal Services Centers, or have been adopted, including:
- Budha, an 11-year-old dog who was found wandering around Vanowen and Topanga Canyon Blvd. at around 2pm on November 17. The Good Samaritan who found Budha utilized the Shelter-at-Home program to report that a dog was found, and within 30 minutes, was contacted by the owner. The Good Samaritan brought the dog to the East Valley Animal Services Center, and Budha and his owner were reunited by 4pm the same day.
- Tully, a young, frightened cat who stopped traffic by jumping into the engine bay of a stopped car at a red light on Sunset Blvd. on December 11. While LAPD directed traffic, a tow truck was called to raise the vehicle so LA City firefighters could remove the cat safely from the engine bay. The lost cat received a ride back to the fire station and was later turned over to LA Animal Services who placed him in a Shelter-at-Home program with a local partner so he could get the socialization he may need after his “adventure”.
To find out more about LA Animal Services’ foster programs, like Shelter-at-Home and Furry Field Trip, visit laanimalservices.com
Los Angeles Department of Animal Services is one of the largest municipal shelter systems in the United States with six services centers serving approximately 60,000 animals annually and responding to 20,000 emergency calls involving an animal or person in danger. LA Animal Services promotes and protects the health, safety, and welfare of animals and people. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
###
