The Los Angeles City Council Wednesday confirmed the appointment of Gabrielle Amster as the next general manager of Los Angeles Animal Services.
The council approved Amster’s nomination in a 10-0 vote without discussion, with council members Tim McOsker, Adrin Nazarian, Curren Price, Nithya Raman and Hugo Soto-Martinez absent.
The vote comes one day after the three-member Arts, Parks, Libraries and Community Enrichment Committee recommended support of the appointment. The committee met with Amster, who noted Mayor Karen Bass’ proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year originally lacked sufficient funding for pet food, veterinary supplies and out-of-kennel enrichment programming.
Last week, the City Council restored funding for those items under its revised budget.
“Angelenos showed up. Volunteers, advocates, rescue partners and pet owners made their voices heard, and this council listened. Funding for these essential needs were reinstated, and I want to thank you all, and the community members whose advocacy made that possible,” Amster said.
“This is exactly the kind of response we can continue to build upon as we work together to improve outcomes in our shelter system and across our community,” she added.
As she did two weeks ago in a brief appearance before the department’s Board of Commissioners, Amster stated her commitment to take a “deep dive” into “SOPs and policies” across all six city shelters, to promote effective policies and consistency across the facilities.
Bass chose Amster as LAAS’ next general manager on April 17, following a months-long search after former head Staycee Dains resigned in December 2024.
Amster brings more than 19 years of experience to the role, and was praised by the Mayor’s Office for her diplomatic leadership style.
She was the interim chief operations officer for Furry Friends Humane and Dogs Playing For Life, and previously served as vice president of shelter relations for DocuPet from February to October 2025.
Amster also served as director of the Wallis Annenberg PetSpace from 2021-25, and was executive director of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter from 2018-21.
Amster will take over for Annette Ramirez, who led LAAS on an interim basis for a year and half prior to Dains’ appointment in 2023, and again began leading the department on an interim basis soon after Dains’ departure.
She is expected to address the department’s euthanasia rate, dilapidated shelter conditions, behavioral issues in some shelter animals, and raising the morale and numbers of the volunteer corps, among other challenges.