As part of the California Adopt-a-Pet Day, which will take place on Saturday, June 7, the city and county of Los Angeles will collaborate with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) to find permanent homes for animals who are currently housed in shelters by doing away with adoption fees.
It is the second year that the California Adopt-a-Pet Day is observed in more than 150 shelters around the state. In 2024, the California Animal Welfare Associate, also known as CalAnimals, and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) formed a partnership to support animals in shelters.
Considering that the inaugural annual California Adopt-a-Pet Day was a huge success, with over 2,000 animals being adopted, the organizers are trying to find permanent homes for 5,000 animals, which includes dogs, cats, bunnies, and even horses.
According to Jesse Oldham, Senior Director of the ASPCA Los Angeles Initiative, during the first year of the program, several shelters were forced to distribute adoption vouchers for later purposes since they were unable to find any animals to adopt.
Oldham stated that “we know nationally and also in Los Angeles, the trend is that animals are sitting in shelters for longer periods of time.” He went on to say that this year, more than 150 animal shelters located in over 200 different locations will be participating. If you adopt an animal from a local shelter, you are not only helping the animal that you are providing a home for, but you are also assisting the shelter in being able to provide assistance to another animal that is in need.
There are over 5.8 million dogs and cats that will be placed in shelters and rescue organizations across the country in 2024, while it is predicted that over 60,000 animals will be brought into shelters in the city and county of Los Angeles each year.
The results of polls indicate that as of right now, barely three out of ten households are opting to adopt their dogs from shelters or rescue groups. According to Oldham, if the adoption rate at the shelter is increased by just a few percentage points, it will result in thousands of animals finding families that will be their forever homes.
She stated that the slow timeframe for these animals to be adopted is causing the shelters to be at capacity, which is leading them to be overcrowded. “The objective is to free these animals as quickly as possible,” the speaker said.
People who are looking for a pet can read about participating shelters in Southern California here, or they can use the hashtag #caadoptapetday on social media to stay up to current on the most recent information.
A successful experience on Adopt-a-Pet Day in California can be achieved by following these guidelines.
- Before you travel to the shelter, you should give some thought to your way of life and the kind of animal that would be a good fit for your circumstance.
- You should have a discussion with the personnel at the shelter about the people they have available and who would be the best fit for the position.
- Come early if you have a particular animal in mind to bring with you.
“The magic of adoption is keeping an open mind to be matched with a pet who you might not even have considered but is an amazing match, so get excited,” said Oldham. “Getting excited is the key to the adoption process.”
To get the most recent information, you can use the hashtag #caadoptapetday on social media or look up local shelters that are participating here.
