Animal Shelters & Rescues in Los Angeles

Los Angeles's own animal shelter takes in stray and lost pets, but it is not the only place pets are rehomed. Private humane societies and volunteer rescues, many of them foster-based with no building to visit, find homes for pets too. This guide covers the public side: who to call about a stray, what the rules say, and what to expect when you adopt or rehome a pet.

The city animal shelter

In the City of Los Angeles, LA Animal Services runs the city's animal shelters, which it calls Centers, and handles dog licensing and adoptions. Start by checking that your address is inside the city: the licensing page lists the zip codes the city covers, and some are only partly covered. It also licenses dogs for residents of Beverly Hills.

Found a stray or lost your pet

LA Animal Services says a found pet does not have to go straight to a shelter: you can register it on a national lost-and-found database and post it in neighborhood groups, or care for it at home through its Shelter-at-Home program, which requires you to notify the closest Center and have the animal scanned for a microchip within four hours. If you have lost a pet, check the Lost Pet Search and visit the Centers in person, and bring proof of ownership such as photos or vaccination records plus photo ID when you reclaim.

Licenses and microchips

Dogs over four months old kept in the City of Los Angeles must be licensed, and the license is valid only with a current rabies vaccination certificate. The city's page also says no one may keep more than three dogs over four months old at one address. The city also requires dogs and cats over four months old to be spayed or neutered unless exempted, and an owner who keeps a dog intact needs an intact license, and the animal must also be microchipped. Every animal admitted to a city shelter is scanned for a microchip, so keep your chip registration up to date.

Surrendering or rehoming a pet

Before surrendering, LA Animal Services suggests alternatives such as its Home to Home rehoming platform and its pet food pantry. If surrender is your only option, the city asks you to make an appointment rather than just arriving, and warns that abandoning a pet is a violation of California Penal Code 597s.

Adopting a pet

Pets adopted from LA Animal Services go home spayed or neutered, vaccinated and microchipped, and adopters need government-issued photo ID. Meet the pet more than once if you can, ask what the staff know about its history and behavior, and have your landlord's pet policy ready before you apply.

About these listings

Many listings here were added from public business data and have not been claimed yet. Ask the shelter or rescue directly about opening hours, adoptable pets and whether it takes surrenders. If you run one of these shelters or rescues, you can claim or correct its listing from its page.