Managing a public animal shelter is a stinker of a job. But if your heart’s in it, Staycee Dains will tell you, it can be rewarding as well.

Last year, the city-run shelter found homes for a tail-wagging, pupil-dilating 1,961 pets.

To celebrate, why not consider adopting or fostering one of your own?

Rescues—and pet owners in general—who have struggled to find a veterinarian for a dog who’s sick with canine parvovirus will be relieved to know that Long Beach is now home to its first intensive care unit for infected dogs.

The popularity of a medicine called GS-441524 in treating the deadly cat disease known as FIP has exploded, and many organizations, including Helen Sanders CatPAWS, have found ways to obtain it.

May your New Year’s Day hair of the dog be actual hair of the dog, who came in from LBACS and who’s curled up next to you. Cats and rabbits, too, of course.

Photographer Marissa de la Torre, the book’s author, has snapped scores of canines in neighborhoods, in front of small businesses, at libraries, in parks and at beaches, and outside city limits in Wilmington, Lakewood and Signal Hill.

Residents are eligible if they live in any of the city’s Community Development Block Grant-designated areas.

“There are over 200 pets in the shelter and over 90 animals in the foster program,” LBACS community-outreach coordinator Megan Ignacio said. “Our city’s commitment to Compassion Saves means that animals in our care can live and thrive.”

Store aisles and windows are stocked with toys and cute holiday outfits, tempting cookies with red and green icing are on display on bakery counters, and goodies fill shelves. Shop for fun, as well as for safety.