Every week on his new CBS’ show “Lucky Dog”, which premieres on Sept. 28, popular dog trainer Brandon McMillan visits a Los Angeles shelter and gives one lucky adoptable canine a second chance at a new life.
McMillan recently visited the Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in Mission Hills to meet more than 200 adoptable dogs, including Thomas, a senior Chihuahua, and Kennedy, a young German Shepherd.
The “Lucky Dog” star also met with Marc Peralta, executive director of Best Friends Animal Society – Los Angeles and NKLA (No Kill Los Angeles), to discuss Best Friends’ new national call to action “Save Them All”, which focuses on ending the killing of 9,000 pets a day in America’s shelters.
“That number is unfathomable when you meet dogs like Thomas and Kennedy. Each would make a perfect family pet,” McMillan said. “Best Friends Animal Society is doing an incredible job in L.A. and across the country to showcase these amazing pets and give people the tools to Save Them All.”
“What Brandon’s doing on ‘Lucky Dog’ to promote the adoption of shelter dogs will go a long way towards educating the public on just how great these dogs are,” Peralta said. “All animal lovers can play a huge role in helping us Save Them All by adopting their next pet, as well as by promoting spay/neuter of household and community pets.”
Since it opened in January 2012, the Best Friends Pet Adoption Center has had more than 4,000 adoptions and provided more than 5,800 spay/neuter surgeries on-site to pet owners in Los Angeles. Additionally, the newly opened NKLA Pet Adoption Center has had more than 130 adoptions since August 2013, including dogs and cats from six participating NKLA Coalition Partners that showcase adoptable pets at the center.
“Best Friends is leading the charge to make Los Angeles a no-kill city by 2017,” Peralta says. “Celebrities such as Brandon McMillan engage a wider audience that can help us Save Them All and we really appreciate that.”
Best Friends is the only national animal welfare organization focused exclusively on ending the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters. An authority and leader in the no-kill movement since its founding in 1984, Best Friends runs the nation’s largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals, as well as life-saving programs in partnership with rescue groups and shelters across the country, including Los Angeles. Since its founding, Best Friends has helped reduce the number of animals killed in shelters from 17 million per year to about 4 million. Best Friends has the knowledge, technical expertise and on-the-ground network to end the killing and Save Them All™.
For more information, including the 30 Things You Can Do to Save Them All, visit www.bestfriends.org/save
Best Friends Animal Society Los Angeles
Best Friends Animal Society Los Angeles works collaboratively with animal rescue groups, city shelters and passionate individuals who are all dedicated to the mission of making Los Angeles a no-kill city. As part of this mission, Best Friends hosts adoption and fundraising events, runs the Best Friends Pet Adoption & Spay Neuter Center in Mission Hills, and leads the NKLA initiative.
About NKLA
NKLA (No Kill Los Angeles) is a coalition of animal welfare organizations, city shelters and passionate individuals, led by Best Friends Animal Society. NKLA is dedicated to ending the killing of healthy and treatable pets in L.A. shelters by providing spay/neuter services where they are needed most so fewer animals go into shelters, and increasing adoptions through the combined efforts of the NKLA coalition so more animals come out of the shelters and go into new homes. In 2012, the coalition’s first year of existence, L.A. shelter deaths decreased 12 months in a row, culminating in 4,200 fewer animals killed than in the year prior. Also in 2012, the NKLA Coalition facilitated 23,421 adoptions and 4,458 spay/neuter surgeries were performed.
