⚡ URGENT · LA CITY BUDGET 2026-27

LA is about to abandon its shelter dogs.

Without City Council action, the Dogs Playing for Life contract ends July 1. Dogs at LA's 6 city shelters lose the only structured out-of-kennel time they get. The Council adopts the final budget by June 1. Email your representatives this week — that's how the budget changes from here.

Committee report
May 15
Council adoption
By June 1
Cost to save it
< 1/100 of 1%
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Call your own councilmember today

A phone call from a constituent is the single most impactful thing you can do this week. Staff log every call, and elected officials weight calls from their own district the most. The Budget & Finance Committee finalizes its recommendations by May 15 — call before then.

⚡ EXTRA IMPACT — Budget & Finance Committee

These 5 councilmembers sit on the Committee deciding whether to restore DPFL by May 15. If you live in their district, your call has the most weight. Tap the phone number to call.

CD1 Eunisses Hernandez
(213) 473-7001
Highland Park · Mt. Washington · Cypress Park · Glassell Park · Lincoln Heights · Chinatown · Echo Park · Westlake · MacArthur Park · Pico-Union
CD3 Bob Blumenfield
(213) 473-7003
Reseda · Tarzana · Encino (parts) · Winnetka · Canoga Park · West Hills · Woodland Hills (parts)
CHAIR · CD5 Katy Yaroslavsky
(213) 473-7005
Westwood · Beverly Grove · Beverlywood · Cheviot Hills · Holmby Hills · Pico-Robertson · Bel Air · Brentwood (parts) · Century City · Fairfax · Mar Vista (parts)
CD10 Heather Hutt
(213) 473-7010
Mid-City · West Adams · Crenshaw · Leimert Park · Baldwin Hills · Jefferson Park · Arlington Heights · Country Club Park · Koreatown (parts)
CD15 Tim McOsker
(213) 473-7015
San Pedro · Wilmington · Harbor City · Harbor Gateway · Watts

Then call your councilmember's office and read it.

Don't know your district? Look it up →

📒 All 15 LA City Councilmembers

Not in a B&F district? Your councilmember still votes on the final budget in early June. Find yours below and call. Tap any phone number to dial.

CD1 · Eunisses Hernandez (B&F)
(213) 473-7001
Highland Park, Mt. Washington, Cypress Park, Glassell Park, Lincoln Heights, Chinatown, Echo Park, Westlake, MacArthur Park, Pico-Union
CD2 · Adrin Nazarian
(213) 473-7002
North Hollywood, Sun Valley, Sunland, Tujunga, Lake View Terrace, Shadow Hills, Studio City, Valley Glen, Valley Village
CD3 · Bob Blumenfield (B&F)
(213) 473-7003
Reseda, Tarzana, Encino (parts), Winnetka, Canoga Park, West Hills, Woodland Hills (parts)
CD4 · Nithya Raman
(213) 473-7004
Hollywood Hills, Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Sherman Oaks, Studio City (parts), Hancock Park, Toluca Lake
CD5 · Katy Yaroslavsky (B&F CHAIR)
(213) 473-7005
Westwood, Beverly Grove, Beverlywood, Cheviot Hills, Holmby Hills, Pico-Robertson, Bel Air, Brentwood (parts), Century City, Fairfax, Mar Vista (parts)
CD6 · Imelda Padilla
(213) 473-7006
Sun Valley, Lake Balboa, Panorama City, Van Nuys, Arleta, North Hills
CD7 · Monica Rodriguez
(213) 473-7007
Sylmar, Pacoima, Lake View Terrace, Mission Hills, Sunland, Tujunga, Shadow Hills
CD8 · Marqueece Harris-Dawson (Council Pres.)
(213) 473-7008
South LA, Vermont Square, Vermont Knolls, Hyde Park, Manchester Square, Florence-Graham, Vermont-Slauson, Chesterfield Square, Gramercy Park
CD9 · Curren Price
(213) 473-7009
Historic South-Central LA, Vermont Square, South LA, Florence, Vermont-Slauson, Vermont Vista
CD10 · Heather Hutt (B&F)
(213) 473-7010
Mid-City, West Adams, Crenshaw, Leimert Park, Baldwin Hills, Jefferson Park, Arlington Heights, Country Club Park, Koreatown (parts)
CD11 · Traci Park
(213) 473-7011
Venice, Mar Vista (parts), Pacific Palisades, Brentwood (parts), Westchester, Playa Vista, Playa del Rey, Del Rey
CD12 · John Lee
(213) 473-7012
Northridge, Granada Hills, Chatsworth, Porter Ranch, North Hills, West Hills (parts)
CD13 · Hugo Soto-Martinez
(213) 473-7013
Hollywood, Silver Lake, East Hollywood, Atwater Village, Rampart Village, Thai Town, Little Armenia, Historic Filipinotown
CD14 · Ysabel Jurado
(213) 473-7014
Boyle Heights, Eagle Rock, El Sereno, Hermon, Garvanza, Downtown LA (parts)
CD15 · Tim McOsker (B&F)
(213) 473-7015
San Pedro, Wilmington, Harbor City, Harbor Gateway, Watts
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Submit a public comment

Public comments are entered into the official record for Council File 26-0600 and read by Council staff. The button below opens the city's submission form with the file number already filled in — you just paste your comment.

Opens cityclerk.lacity.org/publiccomment with Council File 26-0600 already entered. Your comment text auto-copies to clipboard so you just paste once.

📧 Don't forget the verification email: The City Clerk will email you a verification link. Click it within 24 hours or your comment won't enter the public record. Check your inbox — and your spam folder.
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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
💡 Personal lands harder than form letters. Even one sentence in your own words makes a real difference. Scroll down for alternate templates & talking points.
Send email to all 5 →

Opens your email app with everything filled in.

No email app? Email them directly

Paste these into the "To:" field of Gmail, Outlook, or whatever you use.

✦

Talking points & example letters

Use these to personalize beyond the default. Click "Use this in my email" on any template — it loads into the email message above. Personal beats polished — every time.

Talking points you can pull from
  • The fiscal case. Since 2023, Los Angeles has paid more than $31M in settlements to victims of shelter dog attacks. The DPFL contract costs less than 1/100 of 1% of the $14.85B city budget.
  • The Department's own GM warned the Committee. In a letter to Chair Yaroslavsky on April 21, LAAS interim GM Annette Ramirez warned that cutting DPFL will negatively affect shelter dogs' physical and behavioral health, decrease adoptability, and increase bite risk to staff, volunteers, and visitors.
  • Bad math. Cutting DPFL doesn't save money. It converts a small, predictable, fixed cost into unpredictable, growing liability.
  • Playgroups are the only out-of-kennel time many 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.
Example letters (3 templates — different tones)

Pick one, click "Use this in my comment," then edit. Personal beats polished — every time.

Template 1 · Short & direct
For when you just need to get it sent. ~100 words.
Dear Council, 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 many dogs at LA's six city shelters ever receive. It also prevents the behavioral deterioration that has led Los Angeles to pay more than $31M 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 vote to restore funding before the Committee report on May 15. Thank you, [Your name] [Your neighborhood]
Template 2 · Personal & story-led
If you volunteer, foster, or have adopted from LAAS. ~160 words.
Dear Council, 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 $31M 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. Thank you, [Your name] [Your neighborhood]
Template 3 · Fiscal-focused
For civic-minded neighbors who lead with numbers. ~150 words.
Dear Council, 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 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. Cutting this contract converts a small, predictable, fixed cost into unpredictable, growing liability. It is not fiscal discipline. It is deferred cost. Please vote to restore DPFL funding before the Committee report on May 15. 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.
  • Keep it short. Staff scan, they don't read. The best emails are one screen — roughly 150 words.
  • End with the action, not the thanks. "Please restore DPFL funding" is what they'll remember.

Now amplify it.

An algorithm picks who sees a post. You pick who hears you.

#SaveDPFL #HumaneLA #DogsPlayingForLife #LAAnimalServices
Built by Angelenos who love dogs. Not affiliated with the City of Los Angeles.
Council File 26-0600 · Mayor's Proposed Budget FY 2026-27 · City Clerk Public Comment Portal
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