Rancho Santa Fe,California – In a heartwarming response to the devastating January 2025 wildfires that ravaged the Los Angeles area,Blue Buffalo is stepping up to provide crucial support for animal welfare. Starting Friday, March 14, and continuing through National Puppy day on Sunday, March 23, Blue Buffalo will cover all adoption fees for pets adopted during Helen Woodward Animal Center‘s Make Space for LA! adoption event. This notable initiative aims to alleviate the overwhelming strain on Los Angeles-area animal shelters, which are struggling with capacity issues in the wake of the fires.
The january 2025 wildfires in Los Angeles county inflicted widespread destruction, leaving a significant number of animals displaced and local shelters stretched to their absolute limits. The blazes destroyed thousands of structures,including countless homes,leaving many families unable to care for their beloved pets. This sudden influx of what officials are calling “community animals” has created a critical shortage of space in local shelters, severely impacting their ability to rescue other animals in need of urgent care and shelter.
Addressing the Critical Need for Space
The sheer volume of lost and injured animals taken in by Los Angeles shelters has severely limited their capacity to accept new animals. This dire situation has a cascading effect, impacting rescue organizations that rely on these shelters to save pets from high-kill facilities. Helen Woodward Animal Center is actively working to address this urgent need by transferring pets from Los Angeles and surrounding areas to create more space and provide much-needed relief.
Kendall Schulz, Helen Woodward Animal Center Adoption Services Director, explained the severity of the situation, emphasizing the life-or-death stakes for many animals: The heartbreak that most people don’t realize is that with the kennels full of community pets there is simply no room for the regularly scheduled influx of pets that arrive at these shelters each week. SPCA LA, like Helen Woodward Animal center, pulls animals from high-kill facilities. If they don’t have capacity available, pets’ lives may be lost.
Collaboration and Support Efforts
helen Woodward Animal Center and blue Buffalo have been actively collaborating with SPCA LA and Pasadena Humane since the early days of the wildfires. The Center has made approximately 15 trips to the affected area, delivering essential supplies, providing veterinary assistance, and distributing pet food generously donated by Blue Buffalo. In addition to these efforts, Blue Buffalo is also contributing to an Emergency Pet Pantry organized by Pasadena Humane and providing vital food and supplies to SPCA LA for the upcoming Kitten Season, which typically runs from April through October.
Mike Arms,Helen Woodward Animal Center’s president and CEO,expressed his deep gratitude for Blue Buffalo’s unwavering support,highlighting their long-standing commitment to animal welfare: Blue Buffalo is a fantastic friend to the Helen Woodward animal Center and is dedicated to the health and wellbeing of all pets. We have been so grateful for their philanthropy as 2012, providing pet food for the Center’s pets, promoting and supporting our global campaigns Home 4 the Holidays and Remember Me Thursday – to bring attention to pets in need of homes, and for their active support of shelter dogs and cats with their annual coast-to-coast food distribution during the holiday season. When the fires broke out in L.A., they instantly contacted us to ask how they could help.
Make Space for LA! Adoption Event
The Make Space for LA! adoption event, generously sponsored by blue Buffalo, aims to find loving, forever homes for as many pets as possible, thereby freeing up valuable space in Los Angeles-area shelters. By covering all adoption fees, Blue Buffalo is making it considerably easier for families to open their hearts and homes to a new furry companion.
Schulz emphasized the profound impact of Blue Buffalo’s sponsorship, noting the direct link between financial assistance and lives saved: We are transferring as many orphan pets as we can from L.A. and surrounding shelters to clear as much space as possible. The fact that Blue Buffalo is going to gift adopters with sponsored adoption fees means that we can get more pets into loving homes.We are thrilled to have this opportunity to save more lives.
Arms added a crucial point about the adoption process, ensuring that the focus remains on finding the best possible homes for these vulnerable animals: This is an incredibly generous gift that Blue Buffalo is providing to adopters to open up kennel space and allow us to rescue more orphan pets from high-kill locations, saving more lives. it’s extremely crucial that the message is not that we are giving these precious lives away for free. We will still have the same rigorous screening and interview process to ensure that these pets are being placed with caring families.
How to Participate
Helen Woodward Animal Center encourages anyone considering pet adoption to participate in the Make Space for LA! event between March 14 and March 23. Adopters will receive a starter bag of free pet food, along with other Blue Buffalo treats and gifts. Adopters will be responsible for the $36 microchip fee. Those unable to adopt are encouraged to consider fostering, providing temporary care and a loving surroundings for pets in need.
For more details, contact the Helen Woodward Animal Center Adoptions Department at 858-756-4117 ext. 313, visit www.animalcenter.org, or visit the center at 6461 El Apajo Road in rancho Santa Fe.
Conclusion
Blue Buffalo’s commitment to covering adoption fees during the Make Space for LA! event offers a crucial lifeline to Los Angeles-area shelters struggling in the aftermath of the January 2025 wildfires. By partnering with Helen Woodward Animal Center, Blue Buffalo is helping to ensure that more pets find loving homes and that shelters have the resources they need to continue their life-saving work. This initiative highlights the importance of community support and collaboration in times of crisis, demonstrating how businesses and organizations can come together to make a positive impact on the lives of animals and the people who care for them.