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UPDATE: Ongoing Aid for Animal Victims of the Los Angeles Fires

UPDATE: Ongoing Aid for Animal Victims of the Los Angeles Fires

The immediate panic of the Los Angeles fires has passed, but the devastation remains and new dangers are emerging for animals caught in the aftermath. From the very start, In Defense of Animals has been actively involved in hands-on rescues, coordinating evacuations, and providing critical aid to animals in need. Here’s an update on how your donations are making a difference.

You may have watched our dramatic rescue mission to save two ponies from the heart of the inferno as Philozoia Animal Rescue burned down. But our work didn’t stop there. We’ve continued serving on the ground, evacuating shelters, relocating animals to safety, and delivering life-saving resources for equines, dogs, and even a sweet pig!


As mass displacement, injuries, and destruction of homes and habitat threaten animals across fire-ravaged areas of Los Angeles, we are rushing emergency funds to trusted rescue partners to provide shelter, veterinary care, and rehabilitation. Here’s how your support is making a difference in the lives of fire victims, ensuring that no animal is left behind.


Viva Rescue: Keeping Survivors Alive 



Through our partnership with Viva Rescue, we are providing critical rescue and emergency relief for animals impacted by the fires. While ensuring the safety of their goats, sheep, exotic birds, cats, pigs, and horses, the Viva Rescue team has been in the field for 12-16+ hours a day helping survivors.

Thanks to your support, they are refilling dozens of feeding stations to sustain displaced wild and domestic animal survivors who are dehydrated, injured, and suffering from toxic exposure as rescue efforts continue. Some animals have been found with burned paws, smoke inhalation, and severe dehydration, requiring urgent veterinary attention.

Thank you for making this rescue work possible. We must continue to support fire victims with clean food and water, as well as lifesaving critical care.


Love Always Sanctuary: A Safe Haven for Therapy Birds

During the first hours of the fire, we were on standby to help our friends at Love Always Sanctuary evacuate their donkeys, chickens, pigs, goats, sheep, dogs, cats, turkeys, and ducks. Thankfully, the fire passed them by, allowing them to focus on rescue efforts for others in need.

When Loving Hands Children’s Home had to evacuate from the Eaton Fire, they faced an urgent crisis — their 24 chickens and turkeys who give essential love and emotional healing to foster children, had nowhere to go. Without hesitation, Love Always Sanctuary answered the call, offering a safe haven for these special birds in their time of need.



Doesn't it melt your heart watching them enjoy fresh fruits and veggies in safety? These birds play a vital role in bringing comfort and joy to foster children, and we are delighted to give them the same love and kindness they provide to others by supporting our partners. This rescue is a powerful reminder of the strength and beauty of community — when we come together, we can provide hope, even in the darkest times.


Kinship Circle: Disaster Response in Action



We are once again partnering with our dedicated disaster relief allies at Kinship Circle to provide critical rescue and emergency relief for animal victims of the devastating Los Angeles fires. 

Kinship Circle has worked remotely to assist with the Rescue Request Map, identifying food donation sites, and coordinating with trappers to deploy camera-outfitted traps for animals in evacuated areas.

With a long-term response expected to last three months or more, Kinship Circle's FEMA-trained responders and Disaster Animal Response Team are on standby to bring vital expertise to the disaster zones in search and rescue, field operations, veterinary care, crisis sheltering, large animal rescue, and technical rescue, ensuring that no animal is left behind, no matter how long it takes.

 

West Valley Animal Shelter: Silver Lining

When we reached out to our friends at the West Valley Animal Shelter to offer aid, they responded by sharing a rare silver lining for Los Angeles’ lost and abandoned animals. 

For the first time in years, city animal shelters have dropped below 100 percent capacity. They are now 75 percent full, having been overcrowded for a very long time. Over 638 dogs, cats, rabbits, and other animals have been adopted, 207 dogs and cats have been fostered, and 819 animals have been pulled by other rescues. 

Though not expected to last long, it’s a small miracle made possible thanks to the outpouring of support from folks across the country who have pulled out all the stops to take in animals from Los Angeles. If you took in or relocated animals, we send you our sincere gratitude for your support in this crisis. 


Support Fire Victims with Our New Collection



To raise additional funds for fire relief, we’ve created a special merchandise design featuring a powerful symbol of compassion, resilience, and unity. The design features a hand and paw within a heart, representing our support for all beings affected by the Los Angeles fires. The California state shape in In Defense of Animals’ signature rainbow colors encircles the heart, symbolizing hope and solidarity.

100% of the profits from this collection go directly to our Los Angeles Fire Fund, supporting:

  • rescue efforts
  • veterinary care
  • food and shelter for animal victims.

Wear Your Compassion & Be Part of the Los Angeles Fire Rescue: 

 


Our mission isn’t over. We continue to field urgent rescue requests, including saving endangered fish from toxic runoff, relocating displaced animals before demolition begins, and finding, trapping, and treating lost animals who survived but remain in danger.

What YOU Can Do

Together, we are rescuing, healing, and rebuilding lives. Thank you for making this lifesaving work possible!

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