If successful, the campaign could raise an additional $680,000 annually for Los Angeles’s spay and neuter fund, civic leaders say.
The promotion is a multi-pronged effort to make licensing easier for Los Angeles pet owners, who have registered just 350,000 to 500,000 dogs in the city. The program includes new online registration tools for pet owners, an amnesty period from late fees through March 31 and an outreach campaign to remind pet owners about the importance of licensing their pet.
“Licensing is a safety net for your pet,” says Brenda Barnette, general manager of the Department of Animal Services. “One in three pets will get lost at some point in their lifetime, and without proper identification, many of those pets are never reunited with their families. Licensing is one of the most effective ways to ensure that a lost pet will be safely and swiftly returned.”
Found Animals, a Los Angeles-based non-profit animal welfare organization, donated graphic design and production costs for 100 bus benches and 115 bus shelter advertisements that will be placed throughout the city, as well as supporting radio ads, posters, and flyers and more to help spread the word. Found Animals has also developed an online tool to help local pet owners quickly identify their licensing agency information including prices, forms, and web links.
“We applaud the city of Los Angeles for their best practice policy that harnesses licensing revenue to support subsidized spay and neuter services for low income pet owners and we are thrilled to continue working with Animal Services on this innovative public-private partnership to benefit the pets and people of our city,” says Aimee Gilbreath, executive director for the Found Animals Foundation. “The Found Animals Foundation thinks that the money we are spending on this outreach campaign is a great investment that will pay off many times over in the years to come through more licenses sold, more lost pets returned home, and more funding for spay/neuter in Los Angeles.”