Best Friends Animal Society — Los Angeles

Best Friends Animal Society is the largest no-kill animal welfare organization in the United States, founded in 1984 with a flagship sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. The Los Angeles operations opened in 2012 as part of the organization's broader push into major metro markets, and have since become one of the busiest no-kill adoption pipelines in the country.

Best Friends LA operates out of two main locations: the Mission Hills Pet Adoption Center in the San Fernando Valley, and the West LA Pet Adoption Center off Sepulveda Boulevard. Between them they place roughly 5,000 animals into homes each year, with a particular focus on animals transferred out of LA city and county shelters who would otherwise face euthanasia for space or behavioral issues.

How they work

Best Friends adoptions are open-hearted in the way that defines the organization's broader philosophy. The application is relatively lightweight, the visit is welcoming rather than interrogative, and the focus is on getting the right animal into the right home rather than on filtering applicants. The organization has been instrumental in shifting the broader American shelter community toward this approach.

Adoptions begin online, though walk-in visits are also welcome. The application is short and the questions are conversational. Adoption fees vary by animal and time of year; current fees are listed on the Best Friends LA website. Promotional events ("clear the shelter" weekends, holiday adoption events) regularly reduce or waive fees entirely for certain animals.

Both LA locations are no-kill in the strictest sense. Animals are not euthanized for space, time, or for treatable medical or behavioral conditions.

Beyond adoptions, the organization runs:

• NKLA (No-Kill Los Angeles) — a coalition Best Friends helped found in 2012 with the goal of making LA the largest no-kill city in the United States. The city has gotten dramatically closer to that goal since.
• Transfer programs that move animals from over-capacity municipal shelters into the Best Friends adoption pipeline.
• Volunteer and foster networks — Best Friends LA runs one of the largest foster networks in the country, with dogs and cats in homes across the greater LA area.
• Community-cat programs and TNR (trap-neuter-return) initiatives across Los Angeles County.

The flagship sanctuary in Kanab, Utah remains the heart of the organization. Animals from the LA centers who have particular medical or behavioral needs are sometimes transferred to Kanab for long-term care; in some cases, animals from Kanab are transferred into LA for the higher-traffic adoption pipeline.

The broader reach

Best Friends Animal Society has, more than possibly any single organization, shifted the language and practice of American animal sheltering over the last four decades. The phrase "no-kill" itself, while not original to Best Friends, was popularized in large part by their work. The 90% live-release-rate threshold that defines a no-kill community in current shelter-policy discussion is the benchmark Best Friends set.

For Los Angeles specifically, the impact has been measurable. The LA Animal Services system's live release rate has climbed from roughly 53% in 2012 to over 90% in recent years, in large part due to the transfer-and-adoption pipeline Best Friends built. That's tens of thousands of animals annually who would have been euthanized in 2012 but now are not.

You can support Best Friends LA in the standard ways:

• Adopt from either the Mission Hills or West LA centers — both are open most days.
• Foster — the foster network is constantly recruiting, with particular need for puppies, medical-recovery dogs, and senior animals.
• Volunteer at either center; training is provided.
• Donate — Best Friends operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and publishes detailed financials annually.

Field & Era at Best Friends LA

A number of Field & Era customers have already ordered a Companion Edition of a Best Friends LA adoption — the Mission Hills coordinates show up in our customer order book more than any other West Coast shelter except the East Bay SPCA. If you adopted from either Best Friends LA center and want the place set on archival paper, see the Companion Edition. 10% of every Companion order supports a rescue partner.

Field & Era's current quarterly disbursement is directed to the East Bay SPCA. Best Friends LA may join the partner rotation in a future quarter.

Last verified May 29, 2026. Facts about hours, intake policies, and adoption fees can change. Confirm with Best Friends Animal Society — Los Angeles directly before visiting.