What to Know
- May 20 is National Rescue Dog Day
- All six LA Animal Services centers are open (by appointment only)
- Southern California is home to numerous rescue groups, including those that focus on specific breeds
Love songs that details how humans meet, grow attached, and look to the future together?
They number in the thousands, if not the millions, but far fewer ballads are written about the magical and heart-true moment when you lock eyes with an animal in need.
If you were to pen such a poochful paean, you might somehow work "May 20" into the lyrics, for that's the day when we paws, er, pause to think about rescue dogs, the pups in shelters and other places that can't be defined as their permanent homes.
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How rescue groups approach highlighting National Rescue Dog Day is up to each organization, of course, but you can often find adoption fairs on and around May 20, as well as those shelters waiting for you to stop by and meet some pooches.
The last year didn't stop the efforts of those locals who've given their time, love, and lives to making the lives of dogs better. Volunteers continued to work tirelessly throughout the pandemic to both remove dogs from heart-wrenching situations and place those dogs in the good care of loving homes.
Wagmor Pets of Studio City, "a non-profit international dog rescue that is devoted to helping solve the issue of dogs experiencing homelessness and placing these animals in safe, healthy and permanent, loving homes," is one of Southern California's hard-working rescue outfits.
Over the last several months, the group saved some 2,600 dogs. Several of those sweethearts are on the group's Instagram page, with photos and more about each animal's back story.
Other local rescue groups around town include Pug Nation, which frequently hosts adorable livestreams featuring its adoptable pugs and pug mixes, and Dogs Without Borders, which recently resumed in-person adoption events.
And if you're looking to adopt a pair of pups together? Best Friends Animal Society of Los Angeles has an ongoing "Adopt-One-Get-One" special (the dogs should be six months old or older).
Ready to sing a song of sweetness, connection, love, and friendship about a Fido that needs a second chance? Spend a few minutes on National Rescue Dog Day, or any day, visiting the sites of some of our dedicated, dog-loving local rescues.
