Getting by with a little help from Best Friends!

Greetings dog friends, friends of dogs and cats!

Things are really moving and shaking around here! Seems the Barkery gets busier every week. But in all the hub bub, we want to keep you in touch with what's going on with the animal community and the humans that are fighting the good fight. 

And so, with no further ado, here is yet another installment of: Meet and Greet an Animal Do-Gooder!! This month we're featuring Best Friends Animal Society! Here's the scoop:

How long has your organization been in existence and how did it get started?

Best Friends Animal Society was founded in 1981, guided by a simple philosophy: kindness to animals builds a better world for all of us. Best Friends had its origin with a group of animal lovers who were unwilling to accept that humane societies and shelters "had no choice" but to kill their unadoptable animals.  In a pilot program, they rescued animals from shelters, rehabilitated them, and found homes for hundreds of these cast-off cats and dogs. Those who were still unadoptable formed an eccentric assortment of wonderful and lovable creatures whose numbers grew until Best Friends was established as a large and unique sanctuary at Angel Canyon in Utah.

Describe the kind of work being done by your organization?

In Los Angeles, Best Friends works collaboratively with animal rescue groups, LA city shelters and passionate individuals to make No-Kill Los Angeles a reality. For many years, Best Friends’ presence in Los Angeles was carried out through its many adoption events, spay-neuter campaigns and partnerships with city and county government. Early this year, Best Friends Pet Adoption & Spay/Neuter Center opened to the public as a flagship for these pursuits.

These are tough times for animal friends and human friends, what are some of the challenges facing your organization today?

Trying to transform Los Angeles into a no-kill city is no easy feat. There are countless players who need to work in concert toward this common goal, from our NKLA Coalition Partners to Los Angeles Animal Services to individuals and organizations that support the cause. Although it’s not always smooth sailing, we are keeping our focus on what we can impact, and that's inspiring others and giving them the tools needed to adopt, foster, donate and volunteer. The animals deserve it, and the City of Los Angeles deserves it.

Tell us about the new facility Best Friends opened up recently in Los Angeles.

The Northeast Valley Animal Care Center is a 44,000 square foot facility built in 2007 as part of the LA Animal Services shelter system.  Because of budgetary reasons, the facility never opened to the public. In early 2012, Best Friends Animal Society and the city of Los Angeles entered in to private-public partnership allowing Best Friends to conduct adoptions and spay/neuter services to the community.  On any given day there are approximately 200 dogs and cats on site. The Center is located 20 minutes north of LA and off three main freeways: the 405, 118, and the 5. 

Being a pit bull, people sometimes think that I cannot be friends with too many people or other dogs, however I consider myself quite social. If it’s ok, I would like to apply to become a best friend. Does Best Friends Animal Society have a form I need to fill out in order to become best friends with you or what is the process? I have references if you need them.

While we consider all animals best friends of ours, the agreement we have with LA Animal Services requires that all of our adoptables come from one of the other LA City shelters.  If you or one of your best friends is looking for a new home, we offer Community Animal Assistance to help our friends that are not part of the LA City shelter system. They can be reached at AnimalHelpLA@bestfriends.org.

I like happy tails, do you have a favorite success story?

We are lucky to be part of so many success stories, however Bugsy’s holds a special place in our hearts.  Bugsy, a soulful and calm Rhodesian ridgeback, spent several months with us struggling to put on weight, in part due to a tenacious bout of pneumonia.  At last, Bugsy caught the eye of a patient, loyal lady.  Determined to make Bugsy a part of her family, she spent weeks diligently visiting Bugsy at our Center to bond with him and allow him time to recover.  After a couple months of slow, yet steady improvement, Bugsy and his new family forged their new life together.  Many hugs and happy tears followed them home.

I have seen posters around Los Angeles with lovely portraits of dogs that say NKLA, at first I thought it was a new dog band, but then I heard that NKLA is an initiative started by Best Friends, can you tell us more about it?

NKLA, or No-Kill Los Angeles, is a coalition of animal welfare organizations, city shelters and passionate individuals, led by Best Friends Animal Society, dedicated to ending the killing of healthy and treatable pets in L.A. shelters. The plan is straightforward. Provide spay/neuter services where they are needed most so fewer animals go into shelters, and increase adoptions through the combined efforts of the NKLA coalition so more animals come out of the shelters and go into new homes.

Best Friends is providing grants to coalition partners for every pet they adopt to a new home over the number they adopted last year, as well as finding spay/neuter projects for pet owners who can't afford to have their pets fixed.

Do you serve treats at your dogs and if so, what flavors? I happen to like peanut butter flavor, but I know there are other flavors out there.

Our dogs receive a bountiful amount of treats in a variety of flavors.  While peanut butter remains a favorite, other favored selections include chicken and sweet potato recipes.

Do you have any fun events coming up for party animals out there?

We host weekly adoption events that can always be found on our website, www.bestfriends.org/LA, or our Facebook page, Facebook.com/BestFriendsAnimalSocietyLA. 

We also have a really fun event coming up called “Strutt Your Mutt.” We invite all animal lovers in the Los Angeles area who want to raise money for homeless pets to come and have a great time with their dogs. The event consists of a leisurely 1-mile group dog walk followed by a festival that includes doggie yoga and massage, photo opp's, free consultations with trainers and pet specialists, complimentary treats for your dogs, fun activities and contests, refreshments and more. For more information and to register, you can visit StruttYourMutt.org.

How can human friends contact you if they want to volunteer, donate or adopt an amazing animal friend that will change their lives with an increase in love?

If interested in volunteering, donating, or adopting , your human friends can reach us at 818-643-3989, visit us online at www.bestfriends.org/la, or stop by the Best Friends Pet Adoption & Spay/Neuter Center.  Our address is 15321 Brand Blvd in Mission Hills, and is open to the public Wednesday through Friday from 12pm-8pm and Saturday and Sunday from 10am-6pm.