Long Beach
Animal Care Services

Updated 1/19/23: The number of 2022 adoptions was updated in the lede paragraph below to the correct number of 1,968, as identified in the bar graph.

Long Beach, CA – In 2022, Long Beach Animal Care Services (LBACS) reached its highest adoption rate ever, placing 1,968 pets into homes and increasing placement of animals by 194% since 2018. This exceeded the LBACS 2024 Strategic Plan goal of placing 1,500 animals by nearly 500 pets. In comparison, in 2018, 687 pets were placed into homes.

“The emphasis we’ve placed on community engagement and offsite adoption events over the past year has proven to be a successful strategy to get more animals into homes, thanks to our Animal Care Services staff and residents,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “We will build on this achievement so even more animals can be adopted.”

These results can be attributed to the City’s commitment to the Compassion Saves model, which emphasizes community outreach, education, guidance and support services, as well as the City Council’s support and staff implementation of the LBACS 2024 Strategic Plan and the bureau’s restructure to create new staff positions and fill longtime vacancies including hiring a Foster Coordinator and a Behavior and Enrichment Coordinator and expanding the Volunteer Adoption Coordinator position into two. This focus allowed LBACS the staffing needed to implement Strategic Plan priorities and achieve key goals. Specifically, over the last few years LBACS has prioritized focus on community engagement as part of the Compassion Saves model.

2022 by the numbers:

• Placed 1,901 animals into homes via in-center adoptions at the LBACS location.
• Placed 500 animals into foster homes.
• Conducted over 40 offsite adoption events garnering 60 adoptions through deployment of the “Adoption Waggin.”
• Conducted themed community events like Howl-O-Ween and the Happy Howlidays Series, which together raised over 200 donated items. The events included participation by five donation drive drop-off locations such as Bixby Animal Clinic, Paw Shoppe Pet Center, Pet Supplies Plus, Zoom Room and Pizzamania and over 100 community members.

“We have worked diligently to get as many animals as possible into loving, safe homes and our 2022 numbers reflect that commitment,” said Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine Director Brent Dennis. “I am so proud of the efforts made by our Animal Care Services staff and embrace by our community.”

LBACS is open for adoptions 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. For more information about adoptions, people can email PetAdopt@longbeach.gov or call 562.570.7387.

More information about LBACS is available at longbeach.gov/acs.