As the City of LA moves into a period of recovery after fighting out of control wildfires for almost a month, Best Friends is taking a moment to look back at the work we were able to do in the face of potential evacuation and destruction of our own homes and the Best Friends Lifesaving Center in West LA.

We should note that the LA wildfires marks the first time that Best Friends was not only helping partner organizations impacted by a natural disaster but having one of our own lifesaving centers at risk as well.

The Los Angeles Wildfires by the Numbers

Thanks to our donors, members, partners around the country and the people of the city of Los Angeles, Best Friends was able to move more than 1,700 animals out of LA area shelters by:

• Offering stipends to local partner organizations to enabling them to move 1,200 dogs and cats out of the LA area shelters and into their own programs to get them adopted or fostered into loving homes.
   
• Working with Wings of Rescue, the Philadelphia Eagles and other donors to transport over 300 dogs and cats by plane around the country including to our lifesaving centers in Salt Lake City and New York City, our sanctuary in Kanab and other partners’ programs ensuring they are able to find permanent loving homes.
   
• Working with the people of Los Angeles who stepped up in record numbers to temporarily foster or adopt 552 pets in their own homes even as the potential for them to evacuate loomed.

Best Friends pet pantry distributed more than 20,000 pet food and pet supply items to nearly 400 families in need.

Best Friends was also one of a number of animal welfare organizations that partnered with Petco Love to temporarily deploy staff to all six Los Angeles Animal Services. Our staff members worked alongside LAAS staff with a focus on saving as many dogs and cats they could by helping promote fostering, adoptions, helping facilitate lost pet reunification and removing barriers for volunteers. These are critical in a disaster to maximize the shelter’s limited resources but will also have long-term benefits if the shelter maintains the programming after our team is gone. These are the core programs that make up a no-kill strategy.

The work outlined above definitively shows that no-kill programming works – tactics like transports, aggressive adoption and fostering promotion, embedding into shelters to impart operational best practices, providing pet supplies to families in need to help keep pets in homes and using a network of organizations to move pets out of city shelters – these are tactics of no-kill that prove it works. It works on a regular Tuesday in shelters across America, and it works during natural disasters like hurricanes and wildfires. When we implement lifesaving programming in any circumstance, we can avoid killing animals- period. The proof is in the numbers – when we look back on past disasters, when these programs are used effectively, lifesaving not only didn't backslide, but improved.

Best Friends is committed to the animals of Los Angeles and is working with the city in this time of recovery to ensure they continue to implement no-kill tactics to ensure the safety and well-being of the animals in its care.

Friday, January 31: Thanks to Wings of Rescue, Angel City Pit Bulls, our team in L.A., and the Philadelphia Eagles, 51 dogs from Los Angeles are being transported by plane to the East Coast. Eight organizations, including Best Friends in New York City, will receive them to be made available for adoption.

Thursday, January 30: 

Ethan working on search and rescue to humanely catch a cat in the rubble behind the Los Angeles fire lines in the Palisades

Tuesday, January 28: 

Wally the Girl, a dog moved to safety during the L.A. wildfires, displays a sweet and loving nature despite a severe fracture, has amputation surgery, and is adopted

Monday, January 27: Between transfers to Best Friends and our partners since the Los Angeles wildfires, 1,111 animals have been impacted and 271 families with 1,466 pets have been served by through our pantry support.

Harmony is a hero who stepped up to help foster a dog following the Los Angeles wildfires started.

Thursday, January 23: We are providing temporary staffing at six Los Angeles Animal Services locations to help ease the burden at these understaffed and overcrowded shelters. We are also taking animals out of the shelter and housing them at our lifesaving center until they can get into a foster home or find their forever homes.

Best Friends' Los Angeles wildfires response includes helping at all six LAAS shelters with supplies and connecting fosters with pets

Wednesday, January 22, 2025:

Best Friends helps Los Angeles Animal Services during the L.A. wildfires with onsite support and a lot of animals are going out to foster homes

Tuesday, January 21, 2025: Spay/neuter surgeries have resumed in Los Angeles, with many cats and kittens returning to the Pet Adoption Center to be fixed and be made available for adoption. The center is now back to regular hours (11 a.m. to 7 p.m.).

We are continuing to pull pets from Los Angeles Animal Services and Pasadena Humane, as well as transport to other organizations that have also stepped up to help. So far, there have been 556 stipend-supported transfers of adoptable cats and dogs from Los Angeles organizations and 350 Best Friends intakes.

Time-lapse of the transport of 87 cats and dogs from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City to Kanab in 12 hours

Monday, January 20: 

Winter the dog and her puppies being fostered by Best Friends Chief Program Officer Marc Peralta

Saturday, January 18: Due to adoption demand, some animals are being brought back to the adoption center from foster homes.

Supplies from our pet pantries have helped 62 families with 85 pets. To consolidate efforts, the pantry in Granada Hills is closing, with all supplies being taken to the Los Angeles Animal Services (LAAS) East Valley location. Our pet pantry in West Los Angeles remains open to people in need.

We assisted LAAS with a flight transport of 12 dogs yesterday. Additionally, we’re working on another dog transport to a partner in Northern California for tomorrow and a separate cat transport is scheduled to go to a partner in Orange County, California.

Best Friends helps the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County clear kennel space for during the L.A. wildfires, taking in animals including Nala the dog who was immediately fostered

Friday, January 17: Best Friends continues to take in adoptable pets from many Los Angeles area shelters to help free up space and alleviate stress in the shelters during this crisis. To date, we’ve taken in 328 cats and dogs from L.A. shelters and rescues and an additional 406 pets have been transferred to our partners with stipends.

Exceptional community support continues, with Angelinos adopting, fostering, and volunteering at our Pet Adoption Center  – with nearly 1,000 people signing up to foster since January 7 leading to 2,111 on a foster standby list.

Bridgette wanted to help a dog in need during the Los Angeles wildfires and took in Julio, who couldn't stay because of cats, but was immediately transferred to a friend's foster home, avoiding any time kennel time

Thursday, January 16: As of today, Best Friends has taken in 316 cats and dogs from Los Angeles groups, and helped our partners transfer 391 pets through a stipend program. The Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in Los Angeles is currently housing 61 cats and dogs onsite, has another 335 in foster homes, and have had 17 cats and dogs adopted.

Community support has been extraordinary. Over 1,000 people completed the volunteer interest survey and there are an additional 1,556 people on the foster stand-by list. Anyone who also wishes to open their home to a foster pet until the wildfires are under control can email FosterLA@bestfriends.org.

In addition to pulling pets, we are sending 12 of our employees to help with staffing needs at the three Los Angeles Animal Services shelters for two weeks.

Two resources are now available for residents who have lost their pets during the Los Angeles wildfires.

• Los Angeles Animal Services has a lost pet hotline, 213-270-8155, where people can register their pet.
• The online facial recognition software tool Petco Love Lost is connected to the LAAS shelter inventory system to look for lost pets, report a missing pet, or report a found pet.

We are in an unprecedented and serious situation, but our team is ready. From securing supplies and crates to coordinating with emergency response volunteers and fosters, every detail is being managed to help with lifesaving efforts.

Tia Peterson fostered two puppies from the Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in Los Angeles, who had been pulled from the Los Angeles Animal Services East Valley shelter during the wildfires

Wednesday, January 15: In anticipation of another Wings of Rescue flight transport this afternoon from Los Angeles to Utah, our team in L.A. was able to pull 39 dogs and 30 cats who were available for adoption from local shelters yesterday.

Tuesday, January 14, 2025: We are continuing to pull adoptable dogs and cats from shelters to provide space for displaced animals to go until they are reunited with their families. So, a second Wings of Rescue transport flight is scheduled from Los Angeles to Utah tomorrow.

Best Friends CEO Julie Castle discusses helping with the Wings of Rescue flight that transported 84 pets from Los Angeles to our Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah during the wildfires

Monday, January 13, 2025: Angelinos are truly stepping up to help pets in need, despite continuing wildfires. Since January 9, Best Friends has placed 139 cats and dogs into temporary foster homes. For perspective, this is out of a total of 266 animals in our entire Los Angeles foster program.

Best Friends continues to work closely with shelters impacted by the fires in Los Angeles to determine which pets can be moved out of the immediate area. By taking those pets who are in need of permanent homes into our care, space opens in the L.A. shelters so they may focus on finding temporary homes for lost and displaced pets until they can be reunited with their families.

Executive Director for Best Friends in Los Angeles Brittany Thorn discusses what is going on in Los Angeles and what Best Friends and our partners are doing to help pull adoptable animals out of shelters and into foster homes or transports as well as providing pet supply pantries during the wildfires

Sunday, January 12, 2025: Yesterday’s transport flight was a resounding success, bringing 58 cats and 26 dogs from Los Angeles to Kanab, Utah.  Today, we’re pulling in dozens more animals from Pasadena Humane and LA Animal Services so they have room to provide a safe place to hold pets displaced by the fires.

We've also sent animals to Salt Lake City to our Lifesaving Center, where the community is stepping up in a big way to help. Yesterday the center took in 31 dogs, and 51 animals left, including 34 who were adopted.

Additionally, more than 300 people have raised their hands in the last 24 hours to volunteer, many local to California. Some have already started vital cleaning assistance at the Pet Adoption Center in Los Angeles, freeing up staff to focus on lifesaving transports.

Best Friends is taking in adoptable animals from organizations like Pasadena Humane Society and Los Angeles Animal Services so they can have room for animals displaced by the fires, providing medical care, offering supplies from two pet pantries, and are very grateful for all the support we've received from fosters, volunteers, and donors

Best Friends welcomes the next batch of cats and dogs transported from Los Angeles and our Sanctuary to Best Friends in Salt Lake City to help animals affected by the wildfires in L.A.

Saturday, January 11, 2025: The Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in Los Angeles took in 42 dogs and 113 cats from Los Angeles municipal shelters yesterday. Once again, Angelinos stepped up and there was a massive turnout to help adopt and foster those incoming animals, with a remarkable 32 dogs and 38 cats going into foster homes. Additionally, we have coordinated a flight with our partners at Wings of Rescue to transport cats and dogs to Utah this afternoon.

To  connect families willing to foster pets and families that need to temporarily relinquish their pets, Best Friends has launched a special Facebook group. A fostering community for owned pets helps reduce shelter overcrowding and allows pets to stay in a nurturing home setting rather than a kennel. This is essential so shelters can reserve space for incoming animals that need need urgent care and have nowhere else to go.

So much has been happening at the Pet Adoption Center in the last few days, assistance is needed with cleaning the facility and distributing pet supplies to shelters and evacuation sites. If you are interested in helping volunteer, please complete this form.

Peggy Kennedy from Best Friends at the Burbank airport showing vans arriving with 84 cats and dogs who were in Los Angeles shelters and rescues prior to the fires to fly to Utah to make room for displaced animals

Friday, January 10, 2025: The Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in Los Angeles is now open to the community for people who wish to adopt or short- or long-term foster a dog or cat or need to use our pet pantry for everyday supplies such as food, litter, collars, leashes, etc. to help keep families together. A second pet pantry has opened at the Best Friends Clinic at 17411 Chatsworth St, Suite #100 in Granada Hills. Both are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. with no appointment needed.

Yesterday, 33 cats and dogs from our Los Adoption Pet Adoption Center were transported our Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah.

Additionally, Best Friends is working with Wings of Rescue to conduct a pet transport flight from Burbank to Kanab tomorrow. From there the cats and dogs will go to the Sanctuary or continue on to Salt Lake City and into temporary foster homes or be adopted.

Best Friends Executive Director, L.A. Brittany Thorn discussing transport of 17 cats and 16 dogs from Los Angeles County during the wildfires to Salt Lake City where there are adopters and fosters and Best Friends Philanthropy Advisor Wendy Caplan discussing Wings of Rescue transporting a planeload of animals tomorrow from Burbank, California to Kanab, Utah

Thursday, January 9, 2025: Responding to a plea from the city of Pasadena, Best Friends took in 12 cats and five dogs to help them free up space for more animals needing care in their city. In addition to the animals from Pasadena, another 16 from the Los Angeles Adoption Center were transported to Best Friends' Sanctuary in Utah to find refuge from the fires.

To encourage further lifesaving collaboration, Best Friends is incentivizing animal organizations to help as many dogs and cats in impacted shelters as possible. For every dog or cat pulled from an impacted shelter, Best Friends will grant $250 to defray the cost of the animal’s care.

In the face of managing their own personal crisis, Angelinos really showed up for pets in need. Yesterday alone, 40 dogs and cats were fostered and another 11 were adopted into permanent homes from our Pet Adoption Center.

To ensure the safety of our staff and pets in our care, the Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in Los Angeles remains closed to the public until further notice.

Brittney Thorn Executive Director, L.A. expressed pride for the Los Angeles team and other staffers for all the support for the center and partners during the wildfires after moving 51 animals from the facility through adoptions and fosters, allowing them to pull animals

Wednesday, January 8, 2025: The devastating wildfires currently impacting California have forced hundreds of thousands of individuals to evacuate, and many are without power.

Our team in Los Angeles remains on-site and has not yet received evacuation orders. They are diligently caring for our adoptable pets while closely monitoring the evolving situation. The safety of our animals and staff is our utmost priority, and the team is prepared to act swiftly should circumstances require.

We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support and kind messages from those concerned about the well-being of our pets and staff.

Best Friends CEO Julie Castle; Executive Director, L.A. Brittany Thorn and Senior Manager Emergency Services Sharon Hawa talk about the wildfire situation in Los Angeles, expressing concern about fire proximity to the Best Friends Pet Adoption Center, preparations for potential evacuation, and gratitude to team members for stepping up to help

Los Angeles is seeing unprecedented wildfires in residential areas that are dangerously close to Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in West Los Angeles.  At this time, Best Friends Staff and the animals in our care at our Lifesaving center in Los Angeles are safe from the nearby wildfires.

Our team is monitoring the situation closely and while we have not been given the order to evacuate, we are ready to do so if needed.  Our priority is the safety and well-being of our animals and team members.

For the first time in recent memory, Best Friends is in the unique situation to be offering help and support to other local animal welfare organizations while also working to ensure the safety of our own pets and staff in our Pet Adoption Center.

We are in communication with our partners in Los Angeles and are assessing where we can help. 

We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support and kind messages from those concerned about the well-being of our pets and staff. Follow our social channels for updates not only about what Best Friends is doing, but how we’re helping our partners navigate this situation.

Visit Best Friends’ Facebook page and Instagram page for updates and to follow our work on the ground. Working with our local partners, we are committed to providing support and safety to the animals in the Los Angeles wildfires.