A dog rests in the Skid Row community on June 21, 2021, in Los Angeles, California. (Mario Tama / Getty Images)
By Michael Austin September 19, 2026 at 1:20pm
The city government of Los Angeles, California, is struggling to deal with reports of rampant animal abuse from homeless people in Skid Row.
The area of downtown Los Angeles infamous for its large homeless population also has innumerable dogs kept by the vagrants.
Victoriah Parker, co-founder of Starts With One Today, described to Spectrum News that her organization has seen “dogs that are severely malnourished, dogs that are tied up 24/7, newborn puppies, illegal breeding.”
Starts With One Today has rescued hundreds of dogs, as well as offered spaying and neutering services for dogs in Skid Row.
Los Angeles Democratic Mayor Karen Bass meanwhile announced a partnership in August between LA Animal Services and the Los Angeles Police Department to deal with illegal animal sales and breeding in Skid Row.
Dogs found in suitcases on Skid Row in Los Angeles
EXPOSED 🚨 In addition to the homeless testing their drugs on these dogs, they are also breeding the dogs and selling their puppies for “drug money and sexual favors”
“People use these animals as an income. Every single person… pic.twitter.com/sHYmKdamlv
— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) July 2, 2026
Over 100 officers have been trained to investigate animal cruelty, while dozens of animals have been rescued and some residents have been arrested.
Gabrielle Amster, general manager of LA Animal Services, said that she has “not personally witnessed abuse and neglect,” and yet noted that Skid Row residents are not following city ordinances about sterilizing cats and dogs over four months old.
But the Los Angeles Times detailed several instances of abuse.
One legal complaint from the Stand Up for Pits Foundation included photos showing dogs which had endured serious abusive behavior.
They included a chihuahua with her eyes glued shut, a deaf pitbull chained up with burn injuries on her body, and a dead dog with its internal organs spilling out and hanging from a shopping cart.
In other instances, a Labrador had broken legs likely caused by a sledgehammer or another blunt object, as well as mangled paws.
The dog had to be euthanized.
Heather Mac Donald, a conservative author commentator who lives outside Los Angeles, criticized the city government’s handling of Skid Row.
Dogs are being tortured on Los Angeles’s Skid Row, the nation’s most dystopian homeless encampment.
A chihuahua’s eyes were glued shut; a deaf pit bull was burned all over her body; a dead dog was hung from a shopping cart with its entrails spilling out, reports the Los Angeles…
— Heather Mac Donald (@HMDatMI) September 17, 2026
“With any other human population, the national animal rights groups would be out in force demanding that dogs be removed from an environment of such sadistic threat,” she wrote.
“But the traditional humane organizations seem to take their cue from homeless advocates and from the city in placing the alleged rights of vagrants — in this case, to their ‘support animals’ — above those of wholly innocent creatures.”
Mac Donald summarized that the treatment of Skid Row dogs is “another component of civilized society sacrificed to the lethal ideology of progressive politics.”
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
Michael wrote for several entertainment news outlets before joining The Western Journal in 2020. He now serves as Managing Editor, which involves managing the editorial team and operations, guiding the publication’s editorial direction, and writing, editing, curating and assigning stories as needed.
Birthplace
Ames, Iowa
Nationality
American
Education
Iowa State University
Topics of Expertise
Cultural Politics, Pop Culture, Christian-Conservatism
