FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LA Animal Services Media Contacts:
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Petco Love Lost, LA Animal Services, and 20 Animal Shelters in LA Area Team Up for First of Its Kind Partnership to Reunite Lost and Found Pets
The LA Lost Pet Coalition Launches Ahead of Busy 4th of July Holiday
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Los Angeles, June 28, 2023 – Just in time for the July 4th holiday, Petco Love Lost, LA Animal Services, and 20 Los Angeles animal shelters are teaming up to reunite lost pets with their families and free up space in the region’s overcrowded shelters by preventing lost pets from entering shelters and sending them home more quickly if they do.
“Imagine losing your pet scared from the July 4th fireworks. Panic sets in as you begin your search, only to find out that the process to find them can be complicated. You’re told you should visit all area animal shelters, post on a multitude of social media sites and lost and found pages, update microchip information, and post flyers around town. It is overwhelming for a pet parent desperate to find their lost pet,” explains Petco Love COO Abbie Moore. “It is simply time for a better system to reunite lost pets.”
The LA Lost Pet Coalition is rallying for change by uniting 20 shelters to focus on one main search tool, Petco Love Lost. Petco Love Lost, the nation’s largest nonprofit lost and found pet database, utilizes patented image-recognition technology, and includes pets from nearly every animal shelter in the Los Angeles area, privately reported lost and found pets, and even pets posted on social media. This partnership launches during a crucial time as more pets go missing on the Fourth of July than any other day of the year.
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"LA Animal Services is pleased to be a part of the LA Lost Pet Coalition,” said Annette Ramirez, Interim General Manager for LA Animal Services. “By providing Petco Love Lost as a main search tool for Angelenos to use to find both lost and found pets, regardless of where they live in the City or whether they live in the surrounding LA-area, we know this will help simplify the search so lost pets and their families can be reunited.” | |
The LA Lost Pet Coalition is a joint effort between Petco Love, LA Animal Services, Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care & Control, Pasadena Humane, Riverside County Department of Animal Services, Southeast Area Animal Control Authority (SEAACA), Burbank Animal Control, and Long Beach Animal Care Services. Coalition members urge pet parents to report and search for lost and found pets on Petco Love Lost. Pet parents can also take proactive measures and register their pets on PetcoLoveLost.org in case their pet goes missing.
“By using one central database for lost and found pet reports on PetcoLoveLost.org, instead of a mile-long checklist of actions, we'll reunite the maximum number of pets. I like to say, ‘If they all go in, they all go home!’” said Moore.
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To celebrate the partnership, Petco Love Lost will also give all Los Angeles-area pet parents who file a lost or found pet report between July 1st and 5th a free targeted Facebook ad.
Estimates suggest one in three pets goes missing in their lifetime, 10 million every year, and many never return home. You can make sure your pet’s profile is up to date on Petco Love Lost to help find your pet as soon as possible if they go missing. Community members can also help other families reunite with their pets by checking lost pets in their area here, lost.petcolove.org.
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LA Animal Services promotes and protects the health, safety, and welfare of animals and the people who love them, and is one of the largest municipal shelter systems in the United States. With six Centers across the City, LA Animal Services serves approximately 60,000 animals annually and responds to 20,000 emergency calls involving animals or people in danger. LA Animal Services is part of the Human Animal Support Services (HASS) international coalition, joining 38 municipal shelters and animal welfare organizations across the country to reimagine and transform the way shelters care for animals and their families, by offering access to resources to help keep families together; getting lost pets home quickly without having to enter the shelter system; providing food and medical assistance; and continuing to build on a strong adoption and foster program so pets find their permanent homes or are placed in foster care. Visit our link.tree for helpful links to the services and resources available to you and your companion animals. Connect with LA Animal Services and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.
About Petco Love
Petco Love is a life-changing nonprofit organization that makes communities and pet families closer, stronger, and healthier. Since our founding in 1999 as the Petco Foundation, we’ve empowered animal welfare organizations by investing $350 million in adoption and other lifesaving efforts. We’ve helped find loving homes for more than 6.7 million pets in partnership with Petco and organizations nationwide.
Our love for pets drives us to lead with innovation, creating tools animal lovers need to reunite lost pets, and lead with passion, inspiring and mobilizing communities and our more than 4,000 animal welfare partners to drive lifesaving change alongside us. Join us. Visit petcolove.org or follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn to be part of the lifesaving work we lead every day.
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