Animal activists are pressing the Los Angeles City Council to continue funding a program that provides exercise and play time for dogs confined in city animal shelters.
Under a $1.6-million annual contract with the city, a nonprofit group called Dogs Playing for Life ensures that shelter dogs get out of their kennels for walks, play time with other canines and human interaction. The city cut funding last year to $800,000, with the remainder covered by a grant from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
In her new 2026-27 budget proposal, Mayor Karen Bass declined to fund any of the $1.6 million for the third and final year of the Dogs Playing for Life contract.
Aimiee Sadler, chief executive of Dogs Playing for Life, said that the program helps make dogs more suitable for adoption and that keeping dogs confined to their kennels is equal to “incarceration.”
“They’re not supposed to live in social isolation, so you see a lot of behavioral deterioration when they’re not getting out,” she said.
Jennifer Naitaki, a Michaelson Center for Public Policy senior advisor, said the group’s workers keep notes on how the dogs behave outside their kennels, which helps match shelter dogs with appropriate new homes.
“They help us understand the behavior of these dogs and what home is going to suit them the best. And so their notes are directly contributing to live outcomes,” she said.
Bass spokesperson Kolby Lee said the mayor’s office agrees with the importance of the program and is looking for other sources of funding to cover the expense.
He also noted that Bass has nominated longtime animal welfare advocate Gabrielle Amster to run the Animal Services Department, and that Amster views “out-of-kennel enrichment as a key priority.”
The City Council’s budget committee, which is reviewing Bass’s budget plan, has been flooded with hundreds of comments from people urging continued funding of the contract.
“[Dogs Playing for Life] is an organization that has proven to be professional, knowledgeable, and most importantly, has demonstrated the importance of playgroups for dogs. Please do not take away this highlight in such an overwhelmingly sad situation,” wrote Lisa Wharton.
In an interview, Sadler said she hoped the city would continue providing an exercise and play program for dogs even if it cuts the contract with her group.
Without their efforts, Sadler said, dogs could go weeks or months between walks.
“Whether you go with us or do something else, you cannot afford to not invest in out-of-kennel enrichment for your dogs because all of the progress that you’ve made will be lost,” Sadler said.
Animal Services is expecting massive changes through a $14-million ASPCA and Best Friends Animal Society grant that will fund 23 new positions over the next three years. The positions will bolster shelter operations around adoption, fostering and other areas, according to the nonprofits.
At the same time, Bass has proposed cutting entirely the Animal Services Department’s annual budget for food, which was $200,000 last year, and also slashing the medical supplies budget to $49,000, from $388,000 last year.
Bass spokesman Lee said these expenses are intended to come out of the Animal Welfare Trust Fund, where private donations to Animal Services are held to “enhance the quality of life for shelter and other animals,” according to the service’s website.
City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who serves on the budget committee, warned that people might cease contributing to the trust fund if they learn that their donations are being used for basics such as food and medicine.
“That’s not what the trust fund was set up for,” Blumenfield said. “And it’s not what people who donate to the trust fund think that they are paying for.”
Interim general manager Annette Ramirez noted that Bass has proposed cutting three positions — a shelter supervisor, an animal care technician and an animal control officer — under the proposal.
“We are spreading our staff thin and, at times, not providing the best of care for the animals in our facilities because we don’t have the resources to do so,” Ramirez told the committee.
Members of the City Council budget committee signaled they would look for enough funds to cover most of the cuts during a Wednesday meeting that stretched into the evening.
Blumenfield put forward a measurelast week asking for a report on the feasibility of contracting out at least one of its shelters to nonprofits so Animal Services staff members can properly run fewer locations.
The measure was referred to the arts, parks, libraries, and community enrichment committee and has yet to be scheduled.
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