In October 2024, Los Angeles animal shelters held 1,270 dogs across the city's six facilities — more than 170% of overall capacity, according to a new performance audit. As of September 2024, every single one of those shelters had more dogs on hand than kennels and cages to put them in, and the department said an average of 47 dogs arrived each day while only 46 left.
The findings come from a sweeping audit released by the Los Angeles Controller's Office, which examined the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services' capacity, resources and business operations between July 1, 2020 and June 20, 2025. As reported by MyNewsLA.com, the audit concluded that the department lacks sufficient staff and resources to provide humane or adequate care to the animals in its custody. During the audit period, the dog population averaged 35% over the shelters' built capacity of 737 dogs, with overcrowding spiking to 100% over capacity during extreme periods in 2023 and 2024. Cats fared worse, averaging 131% over their 340-cat capacity and reaching 300% over capacity at peak crowding.
Dogs Died at Record Pace in 2024 as Save Rate Hit New Low
The crowding has translated into rising death tolls. In August 2024, 226 dogs were euthanized in LA shelters — the highest monthly total since at least January 2022 — according to KTLA. The station reports that more than 250 cats were euthanized in July 2024, also the highest since that same starting point, and the August 2024 dog save rate fell to a historic low of just 86%.
Not all of the news out of the dashboard was grim. The same KTLA report notes that 861 dogs were adopted out in August 2024, a new high, though foster placements lagged badly behind need, with only 22 cats and 47 dogs fostered that month. LA Animal Services has said that if just three additional dogs left the shelters each day, the system would get back within its built capacity in under nine months.
Staffing Shortfalls Behind the Crowding
Part of the strain traces to staffing. The department had just 75 animal shelter care staff assigned to dayshift before accounting for absences, well short of the at least 90 dayshift staff the audit found necessary based on kennel capacity. During peak overcrowding, the department needed at least 185 staff — roughly 2.5 times the number assigned, per the same account.
The audit also found that LA Animal Services receives more animals than its shelters can handle in part because, unlike several comparison cities, it accepts owner-surrendered animals regardless of capacity concerns. Long Beach, San José, Fresno and San Diego County all limit intake of voluntarily surrendered animals, the audit noted, and the Controller's Office recommended LA adopt a similar policy. Auditors also warned that the department's save-rate goals may be compromising animal welfare.
Outdated Procedures and a Sanitation Gap
Beyond overcrowding, the audit zeroed in on operational neglect. LA Animal Services has 162 standard operating procedures covering shelter operations, medical services, finance and administration, but most have not been updated since 2010, the auditors found. Many of those procedures are now outdated, no longer reflective of current operations, or simply nonexistent for some issues — including sanitation. The department lacks a formal procedure for removing organic matter and cleaning kennels, the audit reported.
City Controller Kenneth Mejia said the office conducted the audit to identify changes that could improve animals' lives immediately and over the long term. Mejia said city hall has failed the animals in its care, pointing to budget and staffing cuts along with proposed shelter closures, and said following the audit's recommendations could improve the lives of thousands of animals that pass through the shelter system each year.
Budget Cuts Loom Even as Liability Payouts Mount
Budget Cuts Loom Even as Liability Payouts Mount Those concerns arose alongside the city’s proposed fiscal year 2025-26 budget. In April 2025, the proposal would have left Animal Services $5 million and 80 employees lighter, according to the Westside Current. The proposal included a $3.6 million cut specifically targeting shelter operations even as the city's six shelters sat nearly 200 animals over capacity, and the department estimated the cuts would mean saving 15% fewer animal lives than the previous year and 21% fewer than in 2019. Per Mejia, the mayor had also proposed shutting down three of the city's six animal shelters and eliminating animal food and canine enrichment programs.The outlet also reports that the number of animals receiving treatment has plummeted from around 200,000 annually in the early 2000s to fewer than 50,000, and that the proposed budget would cost the city $300,000 a year in lost license revenue. The audit separately found that Los Angeles paid $15.8 million in liability payments tied to LAAS cases involving dangerous conditions or professional negligence, according to the Controller's Office.
Licensing Gaps Leave Millions on the Table
The audit also flagged weak dog-license enforcement, which it tied to both public-safety and revenue problems. Under the LA Animal Services licensing rules, all dogs over four months old kept within the city must be licensed and spayed or neutered, and the department must receive a valid rabies vaccination certificate from a licensed veterinarian before a license can be issued. The Los Angeles Municipal Code sets the annual dog-license tax at $8.50 per dog, or $3.50 for altered dogs, and allows the department to issue licenses for one, two or three years without prorating the cost.
Despite those rules, dog owners failed to respond to 71,128 one-year and 8,790 three-year license-renewal notifications sent between fiscal years 2021 and 2025, the audit found. As a result, the city may be missing up to $14.1 million in dog-license revenue. Low licensing compliance also makes it harder to confirm that pet owners are vaccinating their dogs against rabies — a gap compounded by the fact that only 26 of 379 veterinary offices regularly submit or plan to submit rabies vaccine certificate information to the city, even though the municipal code requires veterinarians to report that information.
Volunteer Program Strained by Staff Friction
The audit's review of the department's volunteer program turned up its own tensions. Auditors interviewed 14 volunteers from the top 30% by volunteer hours over the prior three fiscal years, and while those volunteers reported overall satisfaction with their experience, they ranked working with LAAS staff lowest among the aspects they were asked about. The Controller's Office found that tension between volunteers and LAAS staff can create a difficult work environment, citing employee behavior such as ignored requests for help and a failure to update volunteers on policy changes. The program also lacks a system to ensure volunteer discipline is applied fairly and consistently.
To address the findings, the Controller's Office recommended that the mayor and City Council consider appropriate LAAS funding alongside a comprehensive animal-care recruiting, hiring and funding plan. Other recommendations included limiting intake of voluntarily surrendered animals, updating outdated policies, creating new enforcement procedures and fines for licensing failures, identifying veterinary providers that skip rabies certificate submissions, improving the volunteer program, and establishing a volunteer discipline system with clear fact-finding steps and penalty ranges.
Department Says It Agrees, Points to Next Year's Plan
LA Animal Services spokeswoman Agnes Sibal said the department agreed with many of the audit's findings and recognizes areas for improvement. Per Sibal, the department has identified updating operating procedures, strengthening staff-to-animal ratios and improving its volunteer program as priorities, and plans to address them through ongoing planning and its 2026-27 goals, complete with assigned owners, timelines and progress measures. A representative for the mayor's office did not immediately provide comment when asked about the audit.
