Animal Care Services

We are at critical capacity. Even if you think your pet should have a new home, chances are, your pet is better off with you than in a shelter. Your pet will be cared for but will remain in a cage for almost 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Nothing will be familiar to them, and they will likely experience emotional trauma from separation from everything they know. A shelter is a place for sick, injured, and abused animals. It is better to see how you can reconnect with the commitments you made to your pet when you first acquired them. That being said, every situation is different. Pets that will go without food, water, or medical care should be surrendered to the shelter.

If you need to rehome your pet, try these steps:

Step 1

Post your pet on  Rehome by Adopt-A-Pet. Adopt-A-Pet will create contracts and collect an adoption fee, but you will receive applications from potential adopters. You'll get the final say about which home is best for your pet. In most cases, this step is required prior to LBACS accepting a surrendered pet.

Step 2

Network your pet to your family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors. Post them on your social media and ask your friends to share! Be sure to tell them you will have to surrender your pet to a shelter if you cannot find a home.

Step 3

If your pet came from a shelter or rescue other than LBACS, please get in touch with them first. You can find a list of shelters and rescues on Petfinder.com.

Other Tips:

• Post your pet on many different websites, including Facebook, Twitter, Craigslist, Nextdoor, and wherever else you think an adopter may see them!
• Have an honest conversation with any potential adopters to ensure their home is a good match for your pet.
• Consider getting your pet spayed or neutered if they aren't already and getting them up to date on their shots. This may make your pet more adoptable for a new home. Ask LBACS for a voucher to help offset the surgery cost.

Have you tried all of the above?

If you would like to surrender your pet, you will need to make an appointment by filling out an Owner Surrender Form to request an appointment. We can only take animals from within our service areas: Long Beach, Cerritos, Los Alamitos, and Signal Hill.

Please complete these forms and email the documents.

• Animal Release Form 
• Owner Surrender Questionnaire
• Vet History