Animal Shelters in the South Bay Area

Los Angeles County Carson Animal Shelter
(310) 523-9566
216 W. Victoria Street
Gardena CA 90248

Lovejoy Foundation
1121 West Hillcrest Blvd
Inglewood, CA 90301

The Love Joy Foundation is a non-profit organization that began working with the City in 2020, as a more cost effective vendor than other organizations to provide animal sheltering services to the City of Hawthorne.

South Bay Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals (SPCALA)  
(310) 676-1149
12910 Yukon Avenue
Hawthorne CA 90250

Finding Your Lost Pet

Take Precautions

• License your pet.
• Make sure your pets wear collars with identification and are microchipped with up-to-date information. If a lost pet reaches a shelter, the staff can attempt to notify owners using the best information available.
• Keep your pets’ rabies vaccinations current.
• Create a file of your pets’ information in case they go missing. Include license and microchip
  numbers, rabies certificates, and photographs.

When your Pet is Missing

• Immediately start searching areas in and around your house, yard, and neighborhood for
  several blocks in all directions.
• Enlist the help of your neighbors to help search and spread the word about your lost pets.

• Make flyers using a clear photograph and detailed description of your pet for placement in all locations of inquiry. What should be on the Flyer?

  • Color Picture of the Lost Pet
  • Age of Pet
  • Distinctive Markings
  • Your Phone Number (many people forget this one)
  • Notification of Reward, if any (Do not post reward amount)
• Visit surrounding animal shelters to look for your pet and speak with staff. Most shelters
  have a “Lost Pets” registry or bulletin board. Check with their record of DOA’s (animals
  dead on arrival).
• Contact surrounding veterinary clinics.
• Take to your social media and spread the word in community groups, use apps like Pawboost, Petco Love Lost, Nextdoor. 
• Keep checking these print and digital resources daily for at least two months for announcements of “Found Pets.”
• spcaLA houses stray animals found in the cities of Culver City, El Segundo, Gardena, Hermosa Beach, Lawndale, Lynwood, and West Hollywood.
• Miscellaneous tips for finding your pet:
  • Most "lost" cats tend to stay in the general vicinity from which they disappeared. It is rare that they would wander out of the immediate neighborhood, unless perhaps, they were recently moved. Be patient and creative in your search.
  • A "lost" dog will tend to travel into the oncoming wind. This should be your first direction of search.

When You Find a Pet

• Immediately contact local shelters and report that you have found an animal. As soon as
  you are able, take the animal to the shelter or your veterinarian’s office so they can scan
  for a microchip.
• Post “Found Pet” flyers in and around the neighborhood you found the pet. Include pet
  description and your contact number or info.
• Take to your social media and spread the word in community groups, use apps like Pawboost, Petco Love Lost, Nextdoor.

Claiming your Pet from a Shelter

• Present proof of ownership such as license number, rabies certificate, photographs, or
  adoption papers.
• You may be required to renew expired licenses or rabies certificates.
• You may have to pay impound and boarding fees.

Keep in Mind

A lost pet can wander the streets for weeks or months and people who find lost pets may keep them for several weeks before taking them to a shelter. Keep searching in the neighborhood, newspapers, animals shelters, etc.

Municipal Code

Check the Hawthorne Municipal Code regarding Animal Control topics.