Every day, hundreds of dogs are abandoned on the streets, with some ending up at local animal shelters and getting trapped in a cycle that rescuers said needs to be broken.

“It is a never-ending cycle,” advocate Maya Bery said. “They’ve been here for months, and there are so many.”

There are only 50 city-owned shelters across Los Angeles that can house the many dogs abandoned or surrendered every day. 

“You can come to a shelter and get a designer dog,” Maddison Giammona said. “There are purebred German shepherds, there are pugs, French bulldogs. You name it, the dog is here.”

Giammona and Bery are with the nonprofit “Hot Girls Who Care.” Giammona started it to help shelter dogs after fostering Miles, a German shepherd who was set to be euthanized. 

“I immediately was like, ‘I have to save this dog,” she said. “I am going to try not to cry but I just fell in love with him. We were able to save him and get him to his forever home. I just know there are so many Miles out there.”

Both city and county animal services said shelters aren’t overcapacity, but kennels can fill quickly. LA County said many owners simply can’t afford to keep their pets, but they have programs to help.

“If it’s food, we have a food pantry,” said Christopher Valles, a spokesperson for LA County animal services. “If it’s resources like spay and neuter voucher, medical, we can provide vouchers that offset that cost.”

They also offer low-cost spay-and-neuter services to help break the cycle of pet abandonment. Fostering and adoption are also ways to free dogs from crowded kennels and finally giving them the loving homes they deserve. 

“If you can adopt a dog right now, you can foster,” Giammona said. “If you can’t foster, you can come take a dog for a doggy day out.”

Since starting Hot Girls Care, the women have saved over 50 dogs from shelters. They hope to create a dog sanctuary where dogs can stay until they’re adopted. 

“One problem that we have is we will say come to the shelter, and people say it’s too sad,” Bery said. “I think the most important thing to remember is it’s going to stay sad if we don’t come.Â