Frieda, a cropped-eared, flea-bitten Doberman of a certain age, wasn’t faring well at a Los Angeles city shelter. Potential adopters couldn’t get past her tough exterior to see Frieda’s gentle soul.
Luckily for Frieda, Downtown Dog Rescue knew she was a diamond in the rough. The organization pulled Frieda from the shelter and took her directly to the NKLA Pet Adoption Center in West Los Angeles.
Operated by Best Friends Animal Society as part of its NKLA (No Kill Los Angeles) initiative, the NKLA Adoption Pet Adoption Center is unique in that NKLA coalition partners such as Downtown Dog Rescue are allotted half of the center’s space to showcase adoptable pets.
Frieda the Doberman found the perfect home and became a milestone for the center operated by Best Friends Animal Society. On May 15, five-year old Frieda found her forever family and became the 1,000th pet adopted at the NKLA Pet Adoption Center since its doors opened in August 2013.
Johnnie Richey of Los Angeles was touring NKLA Pet Adoption Center with a friend when she recognized a familiar face. “My heart jumped out of my chest. I said, ‘I know Frieda!’” she said.
Richey had first seen Frieda on Petfinder.com when the dog was at the shelter. A long-time Doberman lover, Johnnie and her husband had lost their dog the year before and were looking for a potential canine companion.
“When the adoption specialist asked if I wanted to meet anyone, I raised my hand and that was it,” she said.
Three days later, after discussing with her husband, Richey came back to the center and adopted Frieda.
Adoptions specialist Sean McGinnis was thrilled to see Frieda find a home. “Johnnie was head over heels about Frieda and Frieda was so excited when she was walking out of the center,” McGinnis said. “She’s going to be a great ambassador for her breed.”
Frieda has since settled in nicely into her new home, which includes a large yard. “Frieda just loves to lay out in the grass,” Richey said. “We’ve had many family and friends come visit and every single person that meets Frieda falls in love.”
Richey is a big fan of older pets. “They just have so much character to them. I’m grateful to be the one to adopt Frieda,” she said.
Best Friends Animal Society is the only national animal welfare organization focused exclusively on ending the killing of more than 9,000 cats and dogs per day in America’s shelters. Last fall, Best Friends launched their new call to action campaign, Save Them All to create awareness for this issue and of the need to adopt and spay/neuter all pets. Best Friends is working collaboratively in Los Angeles with animal rescue groups, city shelters and passionate individuals who are all dedicated to the mission of making Los Angeles a no-kill city. As part of this mission, Best Friends hosts adoption and fundraising events such as Strut Your Mutt and NKLA Adoption Weekends, runs both the Best Friends Pet Adoption & Spay Neuter Center in Mission Hills and the NKLA Pet Adoption Center in West Los Angeles, and leads the NKLA initiative. For more information on Best Friends, visit www.bestfriends.org. For more information on NKLA, visit www.nkla.org.