A cheer went up in the crowd at the end of NKLA Adoption Weekend when it was announced that all Los Angeles City and County shelter trucks were returning empty, as every available shelter pet had either been adopted or rescued.
The lives of close to 400 pets from Los Angeles shelters and rescues were saved during the NKLA Adoption Weekend held at La Brea Tar Pits this past Saturday and Sunday.
Cherry, a one-year-old terrier mix from Baldwin Park Shelter, was one of the first pets adopted over the weekend.
“I wanted a small dog this age and literally 20 feet into the event, there she was,” said John Sherburn of Carson. “With hundreds of dogs at shelters, there’s no reason to buy a dog. It just doesn’t make sense. These are all good dogs.”
The popular event was hosted by Best Friends Animal Society and featured more than 40 rescue groups and shelters supporting NKLA (No-Kill Los Angeles), an initiative led by Best Friends Animal Society with a mission of turning L.A. into a No-Kill City by 2017.
The NKLA Adoption Weekend is one of several Best Friends “Super Adoption” events held nationally throughout the year, with dozens of animal welfare organizations and thousands of adoptable dogs and cats participating in a festival-type atmosphere.
“Watching shelter pets find a fantastic home is the best part of doing this work. It happens by the hundreds during the NKLA adoption weekend, so we all leave here exhausted but ecstatic,” said Marc Peralta, executive director of Best Friends Animal Society – Los Angeles and NKLA. “Adoption is a key component to ending the killing of shelter pets and it’s inspiring to see so many groups working together to turn LA into NKLA.”
Pets from both city and county shelters were available with adoption fees starting at $25 and all were spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and micro-chipped.
