Best Friends Animal Society and Los Angeles Animal Services Team-Up to Enrich Dogs Lives

LOS ANGELES (August 14, 2025) — Embrace the final weekends of the dog days of summer by taking an adorable, adoptable shelter dog out on an adventure. Best Friends Animal Society and Los Angeles Animal Services (LAAS) have teamed up to help dogs spend quality time with a human outside of shelter for a day.

On Saturday, August 23, the organizations invite Angelenos to participate in Adventure Buddy Day - a day for eligible dogs to get out of the shelter and spend time with a human companion. On Adventure Buddy Day, Best Friends and LAAS are trying to get every eligible dog at the participating shelters out on an outing or sleepover. 

Best Friends and LAAS hope to get 100+ eligible dogs out on adventures.

“Providing adoptable dogs with the opportunity to get a break from the shelter and spend a day with a human companion can make the world of difference for them,” said Brittany Thorn, Executive Director, Best Friends Animal Society. “Not only do programs like Adventure Buddy Day benefit the dogs, but they allow shelter staff to obtain vital notes on each dog’s personality. These are key elements in helping dogs find loving homes as the insights help paint a picture of what their ideal family looks like.”

Adventure Buddy Day is the perfect opportunity for those who love dogs but aren’t ready to bring one home just yet, providing the opportunity to spend some time with an adoptable dog and making their day a little brighter. Simply stop by the Chesterfield Square/South LA (1850 W 60th St., Los Angeles) or East Valley (14409 Vanowen St, Van Nuys) Animal Services Center between 9 to 11am to meet your canine buddy. Dogs will be available on a first-come first-served basis.

“We’re thrilled for this opportunity to partner with Best Friends to help provide dogs at the Chesterfield Square/South LA and East Valley shelters with these meaningful and memorable experiences,” said Annette Ramirez, Interim General Manager, Los Angeles Animal Services. “If you have the time, we strongly encourage you to come out and make a difference in the lives of these dogs. They have so much love to give and who knows, you may meet your new canine companion.”

Examples of outings range from a trip to the park, going on a hike, to the beach, or just snuggling on the couch at home. If an outing goes well, adventure buddies can continue the fun with an overnight sleepover and are encouraged to speak with LAAS regarding longer-term foster opportunities as well as adoption should that be of interest. 

Those interested in participating can register in advance by printing and filling out LAAS’s foster form. After filling out the form, please email ani.foster@lacity.org with the subject line “Adventure Buddy Application.”

About Best Friends Animal Society
Best Friends Animal Society is a leading animal welfare organization dedicated to saving the lives of dogs and cats in America's shelters and making the entire country no-kill. Founded in 1984, Best Friends runs lifesaving facilities and programs nationwide in partnership with more than 5,500 shelters and rescue organizations. From our headquarters in Kanab, Utah, we also operate the nation's largest no-kill animal sanctuary — a destination that brings our mission to life for thousands of visitors each year. We maintain the most comprehensive animal sheltering data in the country and make it accessible to the public — empowering communities with critical insights into the needs of their local shelters and how they can help. We believe every dog and cat deserves a home. And we believe that, by working together, we can Save Them All®.

About Los Angeles Animal Services
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. For LA Animal Services, there’s no place like home so the Department provides resources to keep pets and families together; helps lost pets get home quickly without having to enter the shelter system; provides pet food assistance; and continues to build on a strong adoption and foster program so pets find loving 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, Instagram, and X.