The Best Los Angeles, CA Dog Rescues & Shelters in 2025

Angel City Pit Bulls

Angel City Pit Bulls is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to creating a better future for pit bulls by promoting their positive image as loving family companions through education, public advocacy, adoptions, and owner support.

LaBelle Foundation

A beacon of hope in the realm of animal welfare. Our foundation is dedicated to transforming lives through responsible pet ownership education, spaying, and neutering initiatives, vaccination advocacy, and comprehensive dog training. We confront the challenges within the rescue community head-on, driven by a resolute mission to put an end to dog homelessness. Aligned with our mission, we champion accessible veterinary care. Our support has extended to sponsoring spay and neuter clinics across California and Mexico, with ongoing plans to broaden our reach. Our unwavering commitment includes partnering with affordable specialty veterinary clinics and addressing the critical need for accessible and affordable care through advocacy and legislation. As we continue to evolve, our unwavering focus remains on the core tenets that define us. Our journey is built upon the principles of rescuing, rehabilitating, and advocating for dogs, particularly with neonatal orphans needing intensive care, medical/special needs animals, and nursing mother-and-babies. Our foundation stands upon pillars that encompass rescuing animals in need, educating the community on responsible pet care, facilitating forever homes, fostering a supportive community, and prioritizing the overall well-being of animals.

Paws For Life K9 Rescue

Paws For Life K9 Rescue saves and transforms the lives of animals and people through innovative canine-centered programs that provide purpose, support, and opportunity through the Prison/Re-Entry, People & Pet Innovation Center, First Responder and PTSD Support, Adoptions, Transports, and Vet Tech Program.

Wags & Walks

Wags and Walks is focused on advocating for wrongfully stereotyped bully breeds, medical dogs, and mamas + puppies that are often overlooked and at-risk due to overcrowding. We do not select dogs based on their size, age, or breed. We select our dogs on a case-by-case basis, factoring in our ability to help and their likelihood of thriving when placed in the right home. We know that, like amazing dogs, loving families come in all shapes and sizes. Our goal is to find every pup an adopter whose home, family, and lifestyle are a perfect fit for a lifetime of love and happiness.

Pasadena Humane

Pasadena Humane is more than an animal shelter; we are a community-supported animal resource center providing compassion and care for all animals. Since 1903, Pasadena Humane has offered lifesaving programs and services for animals and the people who love them in the Greater Los Angeles Area. At our Pasadena campus, we provide shelter, dedicated care and new beginnings for thousands of our community's most vulnerable animals every year. In addition to pet adoptions and foster, we focus on programs and services aimed at helping people care for and keep their pets, such as free and low-cost spay/neuter and vaccines, a pet food pantry, and an animal support call center. In 2022, Pasadena Humane helped nearly 40,000 animals through adoptions, wildlife rehabilitation, lost & found, veterinary services, and surrender prevention assistance.

German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County

German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County (GSROC) is a non-profit 501(c)3 charity organization dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating and re-homing purebred German Shepherd Dogs that have no where else to turn.

Akita Angels

Akita Angels is dedicated to helping and saving the lives of Akitas and other large-breed, dominant and/or high-risk dogs by providing unlimited, no-cost support in the areas of Education, Intervention, Advocacy, and Rescue Akita Angels is a Non-Profit Public Charity under IRC (Internal Revenue Code) Section 501(c)(3) and relies on voluntary donations to help fulfill our mission. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed under law.

Tails To the Wind

Tails To The Wind (All Animal Rescue) rescues animals from the streets, situations of abuse and neglect, owner surrenders and from high-kill shelters. All of our animals live in foster homes where we provide medical attention, training and rehabilitation. All the animals in our care stay in a foster home until their "furever home" is found

SoCal Animal Rescue Squad (SCARS)

We are the SoCal Animal Rescue Squad (S.C.A.R.S.). We are a united group of dedicated volunteers committed to saving dogs and other pets from unfortunate circumstances. We are a Nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization functioning solely on donations, fundraising campaigns, and sponsors. Our desire is to be a beacon of hope and light for Animals in need. Their inability to call out for a hero is the fuel that drives us to bind together as a squad of individuals that will rise to their call for help. Though we don’t have superhuman powers, we possess the ability to love, nurture, educate and serve. Animals gift us unconditional love, companionship, healing, and happiness. Our hope is to advocate for their welfare through rescue efforts, education, art, support groups, community outreach programs, and fostering placements. Most of our squad calls focus on dogs; however, we have been able to help other pets including turtles, rabbits, birds, and even reptiles. We help rescue many dogs from hi-kill shelters and owner surrenders; helping them with needed medical services, ensure they are vaccinated, spayed, or neutered, and secure them in a safe loving foster home where they will transition and sometimes heal until they are adopted into their new fur-ever family. Each of us at SCARS has been touched and transformed by rescue animals. The irony is that in most cases we thought we were the heroes saving them from death and harm, and yet they rescued or alleviated us from sadness, loneliness, depression and other challenges that only their pure love and magic can heal. They ARE heroes too! Like superheroes, they each possess a special Superpaw-er. Some mend broken hearts with their affection and cuddles, others will challenge the athlete in you and help train you to become a better hiker or runner, and then there’s those that with their eyes can turn any frown into a smile. The definition of a Hero is someone who does good and courageous things for other people without being asked to do them; someone who has a strong sense of justice and goodness and acts upon that sense. We the SCARS are committed to speaking for them, helping them, and will passionately take a stand to ensure their welfare. Be their hero! Adopt a Hero! What’s your Superpaw-er? Join the SCARS!

Dachshunds and Friends Rescue

Dachshunds and Friends Rescue is committed to finding forever and foster homes for dogs in the Southern California region, with a primary focus on Dachshunds while welcoming other small breeds with open arms. In 2017, Cheryl founded Dachshunds and Friends Rescue, driven by her journey from losing her beloved Dachshund, Sophie, to discovering Mia, igniting her passion for helping dogs in need. Cheryl's unwavering dedication and experience then led to the establishment of her own rescue, Dachshunds and Friends.

Buddy's Angels Rescue

Buddy's Angels Rescue, a non-profit animal rescue, founded in 2016 after our beloved Jack Russel Terrier, Buddy, passed away. He was loving, smart, intelligent, and had so much life in him! After he passed, we realized the desperate need for these amazing dogs who need loving homes.

Santa Monica Animal Shelter Foundation

We are a Nonprofit Organization formed by the City of Santa Monica in association with the Santa Monica Police Department. Our mission is to promote adoptions, raise funds and support the Santa Monica Animal Shelter.

Outlaw Dogs Rescue

Outlaw dog is a small, family run, non-profit rescue in southern Califoria. We primarily do small dog adoptions. The rescue does not have a facility and can only accomodate as may dogs as we have fosters for. Outlaw dogs was founded in 2012 and have rescued 400 dogs mainly from shelters and owners who were unable to keep their dogs. Some of our dogs were abandoned on the streets and saved by us or good samaritans. The rescue runs off of donations and we are always looking for fosters.

Ruff Patches

Helping Out Pets Everyday

Seal Beach Animal Care Center

While the SBACC primarily serves the City of Seal Beach, we attract adopters from Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Diego Counties, in addition to networking with other shelters, rescue groups, and animal sanctuaries across the country. We believe that through adoption counseling and education, we are helping to create a community that cares for animals with responsibility and compassion.

Halfway To Home Dog Rescue

Halfway to Home was started in 2001 by Suzanne Poth, a retired social worker for Los Angeles County Department of Children's Services Emergency Response Unit. A long-time advocate for dogs, she hoped to address the extreme quantity of homeless and displaced dogs in the Antelope Valley. And plus, she was pretty good at rescuing the helpless. Suzanne started the rescue in her home, picking up stray dogs, getting them spayed or neutered and then placing them in homes via ads she ran in the Penny Saver. She continued to do this successfully, eventually forming a 501c3 non profit and in 2003 Halfway To Home was officially born. For several years Suzanne would load up her station wagon and drive a bunch of happy dogs near and far to participate in various adoptions. She landed at Petco for a few years before finding a spot at the West Palmdale Petsmart, which she maintained with much success from 2007 to 2018, adopting out 5,927 dogs in those 11 years. Suzanne found a large amount of property to house the increasing number of dogs she and her volunteers were rescuing. Over the years the five acre property has been developed to accommodate 75 dogs. Through donations and fund raising she has been able to create climate controlled environments where up to 50 dogs can find shelter from the heat and cold characteristic of the Antelope Valley. The remaining outdoor kennels are outfitted with permanent shade covers, sand, concrete, a mist system, doggy doors, doggy pools and Igloo dog houses.

Eastwood Ranch Foundation

Tales of the Paw

Tales of the Paw is a Los Angeles based 501(c)(3) non profit organization with a mission to rescue and rehabilitate the dogs ands cats that are most vulnerable: senior, medical, and hospice animals, including kittens and puppies in need of medical care. We take in rescues all across Southern California, from both shelters and the community. We are a small but mighty organization, with a hope that every animal is forever loved and never forgotten. We are 100% volunteer-run and foster-based, which means we are fully reliant on the help of our community through donations, fostering, and other forms of volunteering. Please consider opening up your hearts and your homes to these animals in need, because we are just getting started.

Shelby Shelter

For the Love of Animals Dog and Cat Rescue

For almost 10 years, our goal has been to make a difference in the lives of dogs and cats in need. In return, these dogs and cats and the wonderful people who adopt have made an imprint on our hearts. When you visit FLA at an adoption event, you will see many dogs and cats in need of adoption. We work with all breeds and all ages. Our goal is to match person to pet in a way that compliments temperaments and lifestyles. Here is a brief breakdown of what to expect from our adoption process: • Talk with an FLA representative about a dog or cat. • Fill out a simple, one-page application form. • Agree to a quick yard-check if necessary (to check for a safe perimeter of the yard when adopting a dog). • Fill out adoption paperwork, print an ID tag and take your new family member home! Once you have adopted from FLA, we remain a support system for you. We are here to answer any questions you may have as you bring your new dog or cat into your home.

Big Love Animal Rescue

Big Love’s team is made of up seasoned rescuers who have spent many years rescuing frightened and abandoned animals of all ages and sizes from sidewalks and dumpsters to alleyways and gutters. We’ve saved petrified animals hiding under vehicles; pets who were dumped in parks or literally thrown out on the freeway. We’ve taken dogs who had gone days without food or water, chained in yards while their owners moved away. The animals we encounter are all emergencies and may suffer multiple health problems. Very often, their immune systems are low and they have been through physical and emotional trauma. They have been without sufficient food, water, and shelter and many require hospitalization or surgery for everything from broken bones to infected wounds. Our vision is a world where people have compassion, respect and big love for animals. Our team will stop at nothing to save an animal who needs us. We drive for hours to get to a rescue. We stay up all night caring for sick animals. We spend nights watching and waiting in a car for a dog to walk into our humane trap so we can get it to immediate safety. We get down and dirty, crawling under cars and trailers, between railroad tracks, navigating abandoned junkyards. We won’t give up on an animal because we know, that they would never give up on us. With your help, we can save so many more lives. We can’t be everywhere but together we can make a huge difference.

Second Chance at Love Humane Society

Second Chance at Love Humane Society is a no-kill animal welfare organization, founded in 1994 by renowned dog-behaviorist, Cheri Lucas, for our society’s dog outcasts. Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, and other strong-willed breeds, senior citizen dogs, dogs without advocates are all welcomed to Second Chance at Love. In a world where animal “shelters” are often just stopovers on the way to euthanasia - where abandoned, neglected, abused, and troubled pets are condemned for the carelessness of humans - there is a place where dogs get a second chance at life, love, and happiness. Second Chance at Love Humane Society is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, 91-181621. We are dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and re-homing of dogs in dire need. We are located in Templeton, CA, San Luis Obispo County.

Bichon Rescue of Orange County

Bichon Rescue of Orange County, California is a non-profit organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming of neglected, abused, or otherwise homeless senior Bichon Frises, bichon mixes and other small non-shedding breeds, placing them into permanent, stable, and caring forever homes. We believe in the value of our senior citizens as adopters as well as fosters and are committed to their advocacy and support through our “Seniors for Seniors” focus. We believe in promoting awareness of the need to spay and neuter pets, and of the importance of proper medical, dental and nutritional care. We believe in cultivating a volunteer spirit in our youth and educating them about the importance of pet advocacy.

Animal Rescue Volunteers (ARV)

Animal Rescue Volunteers (ARV), Inc. is a non-profit organization that began in 1994. We are volunteers who love animals and wish to make a difference. ARV is a well respected, long-standing organization that provides this service to the Simi Valley Community as well as the larger Ventura and Los Angeles County areas. We work with local animal shelters, veterinarians, and other rescue groups to locate animals most in need of care. We then place the animals in foster homes, (we always need more foster homes!). We take our animals to local veterinarians and nurse them back to health, if needed, before presenting them at our weekly adoptions. Decrease animal overpopulation and euthanasia rates in the greater Los Angeles area by expanding our pet spay/neuter program working with local veterinarians. 190,000 animals die in Los Angeles and Ventura County shelters each year. We want to make a difference in bringing this number down. We also want to educate the public on the brutal realities of puppy mills and dissuade the public from unknowingly contributing to their existence. ARV has been instrumental in the adoption of over 5,000 animals since 1994. We continually provide veterinary care for rescued animals such as assistance for broken jaws, hip and leg fractures, and upper respiratory illnesses, cancer treatments, mange, vision impairment, infections, and heart problems while they are awaiting adoption. We even bought a pacemaker for ARV's mascot, who is no longer with us. We provide animal "well-care" such as shots and grooming. To date we have provided over $250,000 for this care.

Ghetto Rescue FFoundation

We have been rescuing dogs for much longer than when we became an official nonprofit. In 2011, we decided to turn our group into an organization. Unfortunately, most of the names we thought of were already taken. We thought of names with words like “gutter dogs” or “street dogs”, but nothing seemed unique enough to what we were doing. We focus specifically on rescuing dogs from Los Angeles streets and city shelters in different parts of the city, from downtown to south LA and the Pacific coast. As you may know, we are a group of fire, police and civilian personnel. One day, we met a man who lived right across the street from the police station some of us work out of. He was the owner of a dog in grave condition, and we wanted to rescue the dog. After cultivating a relationship with this man, he asked us to care for his dog. The day that we rescued his dog, he said to us, “Oh good, you’re taking her out of the ghetto.” In that moment, it clicked for us. We liked the idea of naming the organization using the words ghetto, rescue and foundation, but we wanted to take it a step further. We wanted our acronym to be just as playful and specific to our work. That’s why you see two Fs in our name, to associate the sound a dog may make (gruff!) to GRFF.

Deity Animal Rescue

Deity Animal Rescue is a non-profit rescue organization based in Los Angeles. It is our passion and mission to rescue, rehabilitate, and place stray, neglected, and shelter dogs into loving, responsible, and committed homes. We do not discriminate on age, breed, or ease of placement. Rather, we choose dogs based on temperament and potential to be wonderful companions

Pedro Pet Pals

Pedro Pet Pals was founded in 2009 by Theresa Sardisco to support homeless animals through the programs of the City of Los Angeles Harbor Animal Shelter and the SPCA. Donations were received to add a misting system at the Harbor Shelter to keep the dogs cool. When the City announced it would be funding the misting system, donors wanted their money to be used for other efforts to help animals. And so, Pedro Pet Pals was born. We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, run by a team of volunteers. Pedro Pet Pals actively raises funds to supports our local animal shelters with supplies, medical equipment, and other items that the city cannot afford. Pedro Pet Pals is also committed to the community by providing spay/neuter programs, and community educational outreach to pet owners. Pedro Pet Pals is not a rescue organization, but we are committed to providing comfort and support to wayward animals in the Los Angeles area. Money raised by Pedro Pet Pals has been used to fund the following: • blood machine • anesthesia machine • kennel beds • leashes and harnesses • dog pools and canopies • dog and cat toys • grooming table and supplies • cat room improvements • cat/kitten health supplies • adoption fee vouchers • spayed and neutered over 900 pit bulls from Watts to San Pedro In addition, Pedro Pet Pals has: • organized a volunteer dog walking program • provided community outreach and education

The Dexter Foundation

The Dexter Foundation is a non profit organization dedicated to helping shelter dogs have a second chance at life. We honor a little Boston Terrier named Dexter who was given a second chance. The Dexter Foundation is dedicated to helping shelter dogs and other rescue organizations who adopt misunderstood dogs. We assist owners needing to find homes for their dogs by posting their dogs, screening applicants, and finding them new loving forever homes. We work cooperatively with other rescues and help fund the rescue and care of shelter dogs. We provide a safe haven for abandoned dogs that are passed over. In these difficult economic times, many owners are forced to surrender or abandon their dogs who may need only temporary medical attention. The Dexter Foundation, with your assistance, is able to help save the lives of these otherwise happy, healthy dogs.

The HIT Living Foundation