South L.A. continues to see uptick in pet adoption

Has the pandemic adoption boom faded? Not in South Los Angeles, where residents seem to be more willing to adopt from their local shelters. The South L.A. Animal Services Center opened to the public on weekends in August, and adoption numbers are up as compared to this time last year.

Last August, the shelter had 70 cat adoptions. This past August they had 111, a rise of about 59%. Dog adoptions are thriving as well, with 115 dog adoptions this August as compared to 81 in August 2020.

“One of the things that we’ve noticed, especially now that we’re open to the public on the weekends, is we’re getting more foot traffic and we’re getting more adoptions across the board. " said Justin Khosrowabadi, a Public Relations Specialist for the South L.A. Animal Services Center.

They were operating on an appointment-only basis for most of the pandemic, and still aren’t accepting walk-in visitors Monday through Friday. But on Saturdays and Sundays, the center doors are open to the public so residents can just walk in without an appointment to adopt from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Prospective pet owners can fill out an online application to shorten wait times on the phone when making appointments. L.A. City residents can also call 311 to get connected with L.A. Animal Services to schedule an appointment.

Lai Xu is a Ph.D. student majoring in Quantitative Psychology at USC. She adopted her dog Smoky from South L.A. Animal Services on her birthday, after spending lots of time looking at animal videos on her phone and being inspired to become a pet parent.

“I think that it really gave me time to think if I can take care of one and I realize that they can be a good company during this time,” said Xu.

South L.A. Animal Service Center is one of the biggest animal adoption centers in L.A. During the pandemic adoption boom, they’ve seen their shelter population decline.

“An interesting thing that we’ve noticed compared to last year in August, the amount of dogs, cats, and kittens that came in through the doors, whether they were stray or lost pets, just the total amount has gone down a little bit,” said Khosrowabadi.

Rebecca Tang, a full-time customer experience manager living in San Bernardino County, adopted her fifth pet, Nuggy, from South L.A. Animal Services Center.

“I think it’s very plausible for someone to find just one that fits their lifestyle at the shelter if they’re looking to own another animal. So that’s something I have to say is just it’s not just dogs and cats, it’s a lot of other pets too. People should be encouraged to look through these before they seek out a breeder or a pet shop,” said Tang.