Understanding Saves Lives: The Power of Language in Animal Care and Control

When we think about animal care and control, our minds often go to animal rescue, pet adoptions, or enforcing laws regarding animal ownership. But one crucial component often gets overlooked: language access. Ensuring that people can communicate effectively with the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control (DACC), regardless of the language they speak, is not just a matter of convenience. It’s a matter of public safety and animal welfare.

Breaking the Language Barrier Saves Lives

Imagine this: A Spanish-speaking family finds a stray dog injured in their neighborhood. They want to help, but the animal rescue hotline only offers service in English. Uncertain about what to do and afraid of miscommunication, they hesitate. The dog doesn’t get immediate care.

Or, a Mandarin-speaker was attacked by a dangerous dog. They must be able to communicate with a DACC officer so the animal can be properly identified, contained, and regulated to prevent another incident. Effective translation and interpretation services help ensure that accurate information is shared quickly, reducing risks for people and pets alike.

These scenarios aren’t hypothetical—they happen more often than many realize. Without multilingual support in our animal care centers, hotlines, websites, and field services, good intentions can fall through the cracks. And in urgent situations, delays in communication can mean the difference between life and death for an animal or person.

Community Engagement Requires Understanding

Animal care and control agencies are most effective when they’re connected to the communities they serve. But that connection falters when language creates a wall.

There are 224 identified languages, not including differing dialects, spoken among Los Angeles County’s ten million residents. Approximately 45% of residents speak only English, and 55% of persons aged five years and older speak a language other than English at home. Providing materials and assistance only in English excludes many residents. That can lead to misunderstandings about pet laws, fear of contacting authorities, or the spread of misinformation about spay/neuter programs, leash and licensing laws, or how to report animal cruelty.

By offering services in multiple languages, DACC fosters trust and cooperation. We take our responsibility to serve everyone, not just those who speak English fluently, seriously and with a heart for service.

DACC’s Steps to Increase Language Access

As part of Los Angeles County’s broader Language Access Initiative—an effort aimed at ensuring equitable access to County services for residents with limited English proficiency—DACC has taken several meaningful steps to improve language accessibility and better serve our diverse communities. The County’s initiative calls for departments to adopt strategies that remove language barriers, enhance communication, and promote inclusion across all services.

In alignment with this goal, DACC recently launched a new website that supports more than 100 languages, ensuring that vital information is accessible to all residents. Additionally, we have developed a dedicated Language Access page on our website that includes our Language Access Plan and provides a complaint form for anyone who experiences a language barrier when trying to access our services. This new page can be viewed here: https://animalcare.lacounty.gov/language-access/.

This translation service makes Los Angeles County Code Title 10 – Animals, the ordinance governing the keeping of animals, accessible and understandable to residents. Providing Title 10 in the language people understand helps them understand and comply with laws they otherwise would not know about.

DACC has more than 85 employees who fluently speak, read, and write in other languages. These include Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin, and Cantonese. Internally, DACC has introduced a new field into our animal management software database to capture the primary language spoken by customers. This allows our staff to better prepare for interactions, particularly when a bilingual staff member may be needed, and helps us gather better data on the communities we’re serving to make sure our services meet their needs. To further support this effort, we have developed a formal training for internal staff focused on language accessibility, which will be launched later this month. This training aims to ensure our team is equipped to provide inclusive and equitable service to all members of the public.

Language access isn’t a luxury. It’s a lifeline. By investing in inclusive communication, DACC can serve more people, save more animals, and create stronger, safer communities. Because compassion exists in all languages—and our services should as well.

Marcia Mayeda

You can subscribe to Marcia’s blog here: https://animalcare.lacounty.gov/categories/directors-blog/

The Los Angeles County Animal Care Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)3 charity that raises money to support DACC in its mission of saving animals and keeping pets and families together. Learn more at www.lacountyanimals.org.