Save DPFL — Restore funding for LA's shelter dog playgroups

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Email the Budget & Finance Committee

One click sends one email to all 5 committee members at once. Edit the message below to personalize it (much more effective when you do).

CHAIR Katy Yaroslavsky · CD5
CD3 Bob Blumenfield
CD1 Eunisses Hernandez
CD10 Heather Hutt
CD15 Tim McOsker

✓ The message below is ready to send as-is. Edit it if you want, or scroll to ✦ talking points & templates below to swap in a different letter before sending. Whatever's in this box gets used for your written comment too.

Subject Message Send email to all 5 →

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CHAIR · Katy Yaroslavsky · CD5 councilmember.yaroslavsky@lacity.org

CD3 · Bob Blumenfield councilmember.blumenfield@lacity.org

CD1 · Eunisses Hernandez councilmember.hernandez@lacity.org

CD10 · Heather Hutt heather.hutt@lacity.org

CD15 · Tim McOsker councilmember.mcosker@lacity.org

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Submit a written comment

Written comments enter the public record separately from email — so doing both doubles your impact. You'll submit the same message you already wrote in Section 1 above — we just copy it for you and open the city form.

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✎ Edit in Section 1 above ↑

💡 Personal comments land harder than form letters. Staff read these, and even swapping in one sentence in your own words makes a real difference. Scroll to ✦ templates & tips below to load a different letter or see guidance on making yours stand out.

⚠️ You'll need this file number on the city form

26-0600

Mayor's Proposed FY 2026-27 Budget

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Talking points & example letters

Use these if you want to personalize beyond the default. Click "Use this in email" on any template and it replaces the message in Section 1 — your email and your written comment both pick it up automatically. Personal beats polished — every time.

Talking points you can pull from

The fiscal case. Since 2023, Los Angeles has paid more than $31.85M in settlements to victims of shelter dog attacks. The DPFL contract costs less than 1/100 of 1% of the $14.85B city budget — roughly one-thousandth of what the city has already paid in bite settlements.
Bad math. Cutting DPFL doesn't save money. It converts a small, predictable, fixed cost into unpredictable, growing liability. That's not fiscal discipline — it's deferred cost.
The cause of the bites. Every shelter dog-bite settlement the city has paid traces to the same conditions: dogs decompensating in kennels without structured enrichment, behavioral histories undocumented, staff stretched too thin to safely assess them, and adopters sent home with dogs no one could reliably evaluate. DPFL is the program that most directly addresses those conditions.
Playgroups are the only out-of-kennel time most shelter dogs get. Without DPFL, dogs sit in concrete kennels 24 hours a day. No walks. No play. No contact outside the steel door.
Playgroups = the data every placement depends on. How a dog handles other dogs is the single most important piece of behavioral information LAAS can collect. Playgroups are the only way that data gets gathered at scale.
"Humane LA" is a marketing line if shelter dogs sit in concrete kennels 24 hours a day. That phrase is on LAAS's website, in press releases, and in the Mayor's talking points. It cannot mean anything without DPFL.
2028 Olympics. In less than three years, the world comes to Los Angeles. Journalists, visitors, and Olympic delegations will look at how this city treats the beings in its care. LA can set the national model for humane sheltering — or walk into 2028 with dogs warehoused in kennels and staff burned out.
Peer-reviewed research backs this up. Studies on shelter behavior show structured playgroups reduce length of stay, lower stress indicators, and decrease kennel-related behavioral deterioration. DPFL's own outcome data across client shelters reports a 38% decrease in length of stay and a 6% increase in lifesaving.

Example letters (3 templates — different tones)

Pick one, copy it, then edit. The goal isn't to submit these exact words — it's to give you a starting shape.

Template 1 · Short & direct

For when you just need to get it sent. ~100 words.

Dear Councilmember, I'm writing as an Angeleno to urge you to fully fund the Dogs Playing for Life (DPFL) contract in the 2026-27 budget. DPFL is the only structured out-of-kennel time most dogs at LA's six city shelters ever receive. It also prevents the behavioral deterioration that has led Los Angeles to pay more than $31.85M in shelter dog-bite settlements since 2023. The contract costs less than 1/100 of 1% of the city budget. Cutting it doesn't save money — it converts a fixed cost into unpredictable liability. Please restore funding before Council locks the budget June 6. Thank you, [Your name] [Your neighborhood]

Template 2 · Personal & story-led

If you volunteer, foster, or have adopted from LAAS. ~160 words.

Dear Councilmember, I'm writing to urge you to fully fund the Dogs Playing for Life (DPFL) contract in the 2026-27 budget. I've spent time at [shelter name] as a [volunteer / foster / adopter], and I've watched firsthand what DPFL does. Dogs who arrive anxious and reactive become adoptable within weeks because of playgroups — because DPFL is the only structured out-of-kennel time they receive. Without it, those same dogs decompensate, and the city pays for that deterioration in bite settlements (more than $31.85M since 2023). The DPFL contract costs less than 1/100 of 1% of LA's budget. Cutting it doesn't save money. It just shifts a small fixed cost into unpredictable liability — and it abandons the dogs we claim to care about. Please restore the funding before June 6. Thank you, [Your name] [Your neighborhood]

Template 3 · Fiscal-focused

For civic-minded neighbors who lead with numbers. ~150 words.

Dear Councilmember, I'm writing on fiscal grounds to urge full funding of the Dogs Playing for Life (DPFL) contract in the 2026-27 budget. Since 2023, the City of Los Angeles has paid more than $31.85 million in settlements to victims of shelter dog attacks — all traceable to conditions DPFL prevents (dogs decompensating in kennels without enrichment, behavioral histories undocumented, adopters unwarned). The DPFL contract costs less than 1/100 of 1% of the $14.85 billion city budget — roughly one-thousandth of what the city has already paid in bite settlements over three years. Cutting this contract converts a small, predictable, fixed cost into unpredictable, growing liability. It is not fiscal discipline. It is deferred cost. Please restore DPFL funding before Council locks the budget June 6. Respectfully, [Your name] [Your neighborhood]

How to make yours more effective

Name your neighborhood in the first line. Staffers triage by constituency. "I'm writing from Mid-City" gets read; "a concerned citizen" gets filed.
Use your own words for at least one sentence. One personal line proves it's not a form letter — and that's what elevates it above the pile.
Tell them why you care. A specific dog you met. A shelter you've volunteered at. A neighbor whose adopted pup changed after a hard week in a kennel. Specific beats general every time.
Keep it short. Staff scan, they don't read. The best emails are one screen — roughly 150 words. Three short paragraphs: who you are, what you're asking for, why it matters.
End with the action, not the thanks. "Please restore DPFL funding before June 6" is what they'll remember. Put that last.
Subject lines matter. "Restore DPFL Funding — 2026-27 Budget" gets sorted to the right pile. "A concerned constituent" gets lost.

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Email your own councilmember too

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Show up & speak (1 minute)

Public comment is the loudest signal you can send. The Budget Committee has two open hearings coming up. Show up to either, sign up at the door, and read the script (or speak from the heart — even better).

Friday

Apr 24 · 1:00 PM

John Ferraro Council Chamber, Room 340
LA City Hall, 200 N Spring St

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Monday

Apr 27 · 3:30 PM