The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has announced the acceptance of a $50,000 grant from Los Angeles County Animal Care Foundation to be used to enhance medical capabilities for pets housed at County animal care centers. This gift was made possible by a grant from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to the ACF for the County of Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control (DACC).

The majority of the grant will be used to enhance DACC’s medical care capabilities. DACC’s six animal care centers will soon be able to provide in-house blood tests, which will help determine the cause of illness and disease in animals. In addition, DACC’s animal care centers will also be equipped with dental equipment that will enable medical staff to perform procedures on dogs with dental conditions and diseases, which is one of the most common health problems in dogs.  Each animal care center will also receive specialized eye surgery equipment to help diagnose and correct eye conditions in animals that suffer from eye ailments.

The grant will also be used to provide DACC’s medical staff with an online medical library, which will be used to further enhance DACC’s in-house medical capabilities and keep staff up-to-date in the field of shelter medicine. Funds will also be used to equip the new spay and neuter clinic at the Castaic animal care center and to make minor modifications to existing medical treatment areas (at various animal care centers) to help facilitate more efficient animal care procedures.

“We are extremely grateful for the generous support of the ASPCA and the ACF. As the largest municipal animal control agency in the United States, we are constantly challenged to provide more services with fewer resources. This donation will provide our animal care centers with additional resources needed to provide in-house diagnostic capabilities, which will help increase the adoptability of the animals in our care,” said Marcia Mayeda, director of DACC. “Support from philanthropic agencies like the ASPCA and the ACF contribute significantly in helping us continue to raise the level of care for the animals,” Mayeda said.

The Los Angeles Animal Care Foundation (ACF) is a non-profit 501(c) (3) foundation that supports DACC through fundraising for spay-and-neuter programs, pet adoptions, animal welfare, and public education. Grooming Gives Hope, one of the ACF’s specialized programs, provides professional grooming services to animals that enter DACC’s animal care centers in poor physical conditions.  Removing painful matting and treating underlying skin conditions makes these animals comfortable and more likely to be adopted.  ACF’s Dreams Come True fund pays for extraordinary medical services to save the lives of seriously ill or injured pets housed at County animal care centers. ACF’s programs saves the lives of pets whose injuries (or illnesses) are too extensive and too costly to treat through the normal course of shelter veterinary services.

If you would like to support the Foundation and help enhance the lives of shelter animals in Los Angeles County, you can make a donation directly to the ACF by visiting www.lacountyanimals.org or consider including the ACF in your will or estate. Donations may be made in memory of a beloved pet, or in honor of a friend or family member as a heartfelt way to recognize their compassion for animals. Donations are tax deductible and will be utilized to directly impact and improve the lives of the animals in Los Angeles County.