Carla Robinson, the founder of Animals First LA, has spent her life loving animals of all types. She grew up in southern Maryland on the Potomac River, and by age 5 was bringing home injured frogs or abandoned baby ducks to care for after until they could be released. From a young age, Carla had a strong empathy for other living beings and just knew she would be an animal lover and caretaker for life.

After college, Carla went on to work as a Park Naturalist in Maryland for almost a decade (2005-2014) before moving to Los Angeles. There she managed a small nature center comprised of native, unreleasable raptors, reptiles and amphibians, small mammals, insects and other invertebrates. Carla also taught wildlife education & art classes, did interpretive design and grant writing, managed a small staff, and much more!

Her love of nature & animals, as well as her experience managing animals of all kinds continued to grow since moving here in 2014. During the first few years of living in Los Angeles, Carla worked for another petsitting company caring for dogs and cats, she began volunteering for Angel City Pitbulls walking foster dogs and helping with transporting, as well as working at an exotic animal organization in Sylmar where she provided primate enrichment and was the lone outreach staffer.

Animals First LA was officially founded in December 2016 and we have been working hard to serve Los Angeles area pets ever since! We have grown quickly from just a few long-term clients to a full schedule each week, with a few new additions to our client roster each month. We look forward to continuing to provide superior pet care services to you and your loved ones for years to come!

Get in touch

We do our best to be available 24/7 for all of your pet care needs, animal emergencies or questions. Do not hesitate to text, call or email us!

Request a Meeting or Booking

Pet Medical Emergency

Wildlife Emergency

Report Animal Cruelty in LA

Our Future Sanctuary

Animals First Sanctuary, Co- Founder & Executive Director.

AFS is a CA nonprofit & 501(c)(3) organization and future sanctuary in Ojai, CA dedicated to providing open spaces for unreleasable wildlife. Working to redefine rescue & connecting community. With the help of my partner, Megan Emerson, we hope to create an innovative and dynamic sanctuary for wildlife to live out their lives in peace while receiving expert care and attention to ensure they are living happy, enriched lives.

Formal Education - Bachelor of Science

Environmental Science and Policy, specializing in Wildlife Conservation (University of Maryland, College Park MD)

Professional Experience

• Watkins Nature Center, Maryland -- Park Naturalist II (2005-2014)
• Sitter4Paws, Los Angeles, CA -- Dogwalker/Petsitter
• Wildlife Waystation, Sylmar, CA -- Primate Enrichment Coordinator, Animal Keeper & Education Specialist