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Community Corner

West L.A. Animal Shelter Finds Homes for Countless Pets

The facility near Brentwood is one of the busiest in a city that is faced with rising rates of euthanasia.

Four years after the West Los Angeles Animal Shelter moved from its building on Missouri Street to its current residence on West Pico, the change of locale is proving to be a wise move.

One of the busiest shelters in the city, the West LA Animal Shelter is the temporary home for countless stray cats and dogs.

“I rescued three kittens last week and came by to see how they were doing, and was delighted to find out they have all been adopted,” said frequent shelter visitor Millie Zucker.

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In spite of positive reactions to the West LA Shelter, citywide animal services continue to see a rise in euthanasia and a decrease in adoption rates. LAAS department statistics show there were 19,443 pet adoptions from city shelters in the 2010-11 fiscal year, a drop from the 20,793 cats and dogs adopted between 2009 and 2010.

"This is a huge system. It's like a big boat in the water, difficult to turn against the current. It's slow at first," Brenda Barnette, director of Los Angeles Animal Services, told the Los Angeles Daily News regarding the rise in euthanasia at LA’s six city-run animal shelters.

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The West LA animal shelter doesn't require potential pet owners to undergo any kind of screening. This helps speed up the process of getting stray dogs and cats out of cages and into homes.

Although some argue that the lack of a screening process might place pets in neglectful homes, in a city that is faced with rising rates of euthanasia, the lack of restrictions helps shelters like the one in West LA continue to find new homes for many of LA’s forgotten pets.

“Last year when they were trying to put out the fires everywhere, a lot of the animals that ran from home or couldn't get to their owners were brought here. I think they have done an amazing job and I've been coming here since they were in the old building,” said marketer and local Arianne Schrodel.

For more information about pet adoption or volunteering at the West LA Animal Shelter, visit its website by clicking here

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