LA shelter dogs and cats headed to Tri-Cities to make room for fire-displaced pets
As wildfires continue to ravage the Los Angeles area, California animal shelters are sending adoptable pets to western states.
The shelters are trying to make room to intake a growing number of displaced animals that will be kept temporarily before they reunited with their owners.
Some dogs and cats that were already in the shelters before the fires will come to the Tri-Cities in hopes of finding them new homes.
The Benton-Franklin Humane Society is partnering with the Humane Society of Pasadena to shelter up to 15 dogs and some cats at its Kennewick shelter.
Autumn White, executive director at BFHS, told the Tri-City Herald that larger Humane Societies with greater capacity, like Seattle Humane in Bellevue, will receive animals first from California. Large dogs will take priority.
White said that BFHS will coordinate transportation from Tri-Cities to Los Angeles and back.
It’s unclear when the animals will arrive here.
It takes money, time and a team of volunteers to safely move them. Individuals interested in volunteering for BFHS can email volunteer@bfhs.com or visit the organization’s website.
About 60 dogs and cats arrived in Seattle on Sunday and will be sheltered at Seattle Humane. The LA-based nonprofit Wings of Rescue flew the animals to Washington.
To learn more about how to adopt from BFHS, visit bfhs.com/adopt.
Tri-Cities Animal Services in Pasco, operated by the cities of Pasco, Kennewick and Richland, will not be taking in any animals from LA, said Ben Zigan, animal services manager. It was recently renamed from Tri-Cities Animal Shelter.
“We struggle enough with capacity for animals within our own community and are not equipped to bring in animals from other jurisdictions,” he said.
The shelter is about to open a new facility. The community is invited to attend a grand opening on Feb. 4 at 1 p.m. and tour inside.
The new 9,600-square-foot building next to the existing facility off South 18th Avenue in Pasco will have slightly more space for animals. There are kennels for about seven more dogs than before and the cat capacity will likely be more.
This story was originally published January 15, 2025 at 10:48 AM.
