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When LA Animal Services General Manager Staycee Dains was appointed by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in July, she joined the Department with decades of experience in animal welfare and a proven record of leadership to transform LA into the most humane city in the country. 

During July and August, Staycee made it her priority to spend time in all six shelters, meet with staff, volunteers, community members and key stakeholders. She had candid conversations about problems and corresponding solutions. During September and early October, ideas and solutions began to show real results, with enhancements to care and life-saving opportunities for the animals, including: 

New Hires and Volunteering

• Hiring 16 new Animal Care Assistants through the City’s Targeted Local Hiring program, with plans to fill all 45 vacancies by the end of November.
• Significantly simplifying the volunteer application process, reducing the time it takes to sign-up from hours to minutes.
• Reducing the time to process volunteer applications from months, to one to two weeks.  (From July 3 to October 12, the Department received 1,138 volunteer applications, and 1,136 have been invited to begin their volunteer service.) 
• Increasing volunteer hours helping shelter animals by more than 2000 hours over the same period in 2022.  (31,513, hours from July 3 to October 12, 2023 versus 29,424 hours from July 3 to October 12,  2022)
• Engaging over 200 volunteers in a highly effective Clean Up Day at South LA shelter on Oct. 1, which resulted in 250 kennels being power-washed, more than 400 dogs walked, and a record 146 dogs engaged in playgroups

Pet Adoptions and Fostering (July 3 to October 12 Year Over Year Comparison)

• Increased adoptions: 2,365 in 2023 vs. 2,165 in 2022  
• Increased rescue organization pulls: 5,812 in 2023 vs. 5,419 in 2022 
• Increased pets in foster homes: 1,130 in 2023 vs. 880 in 2022  

Programs and Resources

• Issued more Spay & Neuter free certificates* (July - September Year Over Year Comparison): 13,471 (2023) vs. 10,481 (2022), while the number of discounted coupons issued went slightly down in comparison: 2,518 (2023) vs 2,562 (2022)
• Established transport relationship with an out-of-state Humane Society that will take 50+ dogs one to two times a month, to shelters seeking pets for placement

Fundraising and Outreach

• Raised more than $17,733 for the STAR (Special Treatment and Recovery) program to support extraordinary medical expenses for animals in our shelters, including through the Win for Cyrus campaign. 
• Gained additional social media followers to help get the word out about animals in need of homes. (Reach of Instagram photo posts in September increased by 16,000, while Instagram Reel reach increased by over 17,000, double from last year)

Angelenos can help relieve the overcrowding in City shelters by adopting or fostering a furry friend; spaying or neutering their pet; volunteering at a shelter, or making a donation. For more information, visit LAAnimalServices.com. 

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*Since the pandemic, the number of free certificates issued have increased significantly in comparison to the discount coupons.