San Francisco SPCA rescues animals from overcrowded LA shelters impacted by wildfires

ByLena Howland KGO logo
Thursday, January 16, 2025
SF SPCA rescues animals from LA shelters impacted by wildfires
San Francisco SPCA needs help adopting out animals that have just arrived from overcrowded Los Angeles shelters impacted by the devastating wildfires.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco SPCA needs your help adopting out animals that have just arrived from Los Angeles.

These were animals already in the shelters before the devastating wildfires started.

As fires in Los Angeles continue to burn, a glimmer of hope arrived at Moffat Field in Mountain View on Wednesday.

Crate by crate, 22 animals were unloaded from a flight paid for by a nonprofit. Eight more arrived by van, driven up by San Francisco SPCA crews.

RELATED: LA animal shelters sending pets to Bay Area that you can adopt

"It was so heartwarming, such a cool thing to watch that collaborative effort in the world of animal welfare," said Robert Lightner, the senior manager of adoptions for the San Francisco SPCA.

These dogs and cats were moved from overwhelmed shelters in the crisis zone.

The goal is to make room for animals directly impacted by the wildfires which started more than a week ago.

"One of the most important things that we can do, being removed from them geographically, is help those animals that were already in those shelter pipelines. So, they had animals that were either at the adoptable phase or were on the pathway to be adoptable," Lightner said.

About a third of the animals taken in were cats. The rest were dogs.

LA FIRES: Ways to help those affected by multiple, growing wildfires

And now, they're available to meet potential new owners at the SF SPCA and three other Bay Area shelters, including Muttville Senior Dog Rescue and Friends of Alameda Animal Shelter.

"If we have animals that are already spayed or neutered coming up with us, and our behavior team will make sure that they're doing well. And then ultimately they can be adopted out pretty quickly, anywhere from 24 to 48 hours from coming into the shelter space," he said.

Some of these rescues will be available for adoption as early as Friday, Jan. 17.

And to make sure as many of these animals find their forever homes faster, SF SPCA says all adoption fees are being waived for this group of animals.

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