Stipend in the works to encourage fostering of L.A. shelter animals

The Los Angeles City Council approved a motion Friday seeking to establish a monetary stipend to encourage Angelenos to foster animals in the city's six shelters, and to help reduce overpopulation at these facilities.

In a 13-0 vote, council members instructed the Department of Animal Services to report back on the city's existing foster program to gauge its efficiency. The city administrative officer will also propose a monetary stipend for fostering animals, including a recommended dollar amount and pay structure based on models at other cities.

Council members Nithya Raman and Monica Rodriguez were absent during the vote.

"It's going to take a multi-pronged strategy and creative approaches to decompress our shelters," said Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez, who introduced the motion. "Our foster program is one of the best tools we have to get our animals out of the shelter, give them love and enrichment."

Hernandez, who chairs the council's Neighborhoods and Enrichment Committee, described being a foster volunteer as an "incredible, rewarding experience," though it can be "a great deal of work."

Some animals, like kittens, need to be bottle-fed, others might need medications or have special needs. Foster volunteers are responsible for giving the animals they take home the same care and love that they need, she added.

"Many nonprofit organizations have instituted a stipend for their foster volunteers, which both compensates them for their vital work and incentivizes more people to join the program," Hernandez said.

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Earlier this month, the City Council approved a temporary moratorium on dog breeding permits in another bid to address overpopulation at the six city-run animal shelters. The moratorium will be lifted once shelters are at or below 75% capacity for three consecutive months, and could be automatically reinstated if shelter capacity rises above 75%.

City officials emphasized the moratorium is only temporary until the shelters' can get control of the situation. It will affect dogs specifically, not cats or rabbits, because the shelters are reporting an influx of purebred dogs being dropped off.

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