LA reaches 'no-kill' goal for dogs in city shelters

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Los Angeles has reached its "no-kill" goal of saving and adopting dogs in city shelters, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Thursday.

No kill means saving all animals that are considered healthy or can be treated and rehabilitated.

"Every pet should have a home where they are loved, cared for, and valued," Garcetti said.

In 2017, the city saved 92.4 percent of the dogs taken in by city shelters, and 81.3 percent of the cats, city officials said.

The city defines no-kill with a benchmark of 90 percent of the animals that shelters take in eventually leaving alive. The remaining 10 percent that are euthanized are typically suffering from untreatable medical conditions or are considered dangerous to the public.

The city had been trying for years to increase the number of animals that are adopted out of shelters and not euthanized.

Mayor James Hahn first set a goal in 2003 for the city to become no-kill by 2008. That target was missed, but the city committed new resources to the effort in 2012.

Since then the overall rate for saving animals increased from 57.7 percent to 87.2 percent.

That means more than 227,000 animals have been saved.

As part of the effort, the city has also taken other steps including banning puppy mills.

A new effort is planned to promote awareness of spay/neuter laws and to promote cat adoptions and kitten fostering.

The city also intends to create new staff positions, including an assistant general manager of life-saving in the Department of Animal Services.