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IN THE NEWS - 2008
Culver City News
January 3, 2008
Death of Puppy Sparks Investigation
by Gary Walker
A 10-month-old mixed breed female puppy that died in a county animal
shelter in Carson was reportedly transported there from Culver City,
the News has learned.
The puppy's death has led to an investigation by Los Angeles
County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke after two animal rescuers joined
an
animal rights organization in filing a lawsuit against the
Los Angeles Department of animal Care and Control on Dec. 21.
Zephyr, a female puppy, reportedly was picked up from the 6300 block
of Green Valley Circle in Culver City in October and taken to the shelter,
where she was scheduled to be adopted soon after. She was found dead
at the shelter by an animal rescue worker on Dec. 5 due to exposure from
cold weather.
Abandoned pets and animals from Culver City are taken to the Carson
shelter.
The county received a barrage of e-mails - several from
Culver City - after the news of the puppy's death spread, and that prompted
Burke
to request the county's chief executive officer and director
of animal control and care at the Dec. 18 board of supervisors meeting
to report
back on the results of the investigation at the first meeting
of 2008, which will be held on Tuesday.
"While the exact cause of death has not been substantiated, allegations
have been made by advocacy groups in the media about inadequate shelter
and treatment, calling into question the overall condition of county
shelters and the protocols to ensure that the animals that are brought
in receive quality care," Burke, whose district encompasses both
Carson and Culver City, stated in her motion.
Deborah Weinrauch, president of the Culver City
Friends of the Animals, has visited the Carson shelter many
times and is appalled at the conditions
there and the news that the puppy had died. "Our organization is
outraged by Zephyr's death," she replied when asked her organization's
response upon learning of tragedy. "We are outraged any time that
something like this happens to an animal."
Weinrauch and her supporters have advocated for an
animal control officer in Culver City, and she believes that what happened
to Zephyr could have
been averted had there been an officer in Culver City. According to Weinrauch,
the puppy was about to be adopted when she died in the county shelter. "She
was left on the floor to die a slow, horrible death," said the organization's
president.
The City Council has repeatedly rejected the group's pleas to hire an
animal control officer as many other South Bay and Westside cities have
done. The council has cited fiscal restraints as the primary reason for
choosing not to honor the organization's requests.
Burke toured the facility shortly after the discovery orf Zephyr's death
and subsequently called for an investigation of the facility.
The Department of Animal Care & Control was recently
granted $5 million for capital improvements at the Carson, Baldwin
Park and Lancaster
shelters for new medical treatment and surgery wards. However, an in-depth
analysis of the Carson facility's infrastructure and personnel is necessary
to ensure that the highest quality of service is being delivered, says
the supervisor.
The No Kill Advocacy Center, a San Qlemente based
nonprofit corporation, is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The organization
describes itself
in court papers as being "dedicated to saving the lives
of millions of abandoned, lost, neglected and abused animals
that find their way
into the nation's animal shelters every year." Two rescue
workers, Cathy Nguyen and Rebecca Arvizu, are also plaintiffs
in the lawsuit.
The legal action, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Dec. 21, names
Los Angeles County, the Department of Animal Care and Control and its
director, Marcia Mayeda, as defendants and asks that the court order
the county animal control department and Mayeda to comply with state
laws that protect animals from arbitrary and inhumane. treatment.
"The Los Angeles County animal control system is supposed to provide
a reasonable safety net for the care of lost and abandoned animals," said
Nathan J. Winograd, the executive director of the No Kill Advocacy Center. "Instead,
the system betrays the trust of the citizens of Los Angeles County by
failing to treat animals humanely and kindly."
The lawsuit also alleges that the county has retaliated against rescue
workers who publicize unlawful treatment of animals at county facilities.
The lawsuit accuses Mayeda of indefinitely suspending the volunteer status
of Janet Taylor, Nguyen's rescue partner, and refusing to release any
animals to either rescue worker in their capacity as volunteers for nonprofit
animal rescue groups willing to care for those animals or as members
of the public, among other allegations.
Weinrauch said that the animal shelter in West Los
Angeles is a much better facility than the Carson shelter, and Culver
City should consider
using other animal facilities, as other Westside municipalities are considering. "Culver
City taxpayers are paying for these services already through county taxes," she
noted. "The City Council heeds to realize that, and realize that
we need an animal control officer here in Culver City.
"This is about public health and safety," Weinrauch continued. "Our
organization will continue to fight to get an animal control officer
in Culver City."
Calls to the Carson shelter were not returned as the News went to press.
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Culver City Observer
January 16, 2008
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor,
Congratulations for reporting the investigation of the Carson Animal
Shelter, and noting that the Culver City Council recently entered into
a new five-year contract with the same shelter despite unrelenting protests
from Culver City residents citing incidents of animal abuse, neglect,
and poor service.
Hopefully a newly elected City Council this spring will take recommendations
and opinions of its residents more seriously than present council members
who have responded dispassionately to Culver City residents' animal issues.
I for one will be looking for candidates' positions on local animal
control and sheltering before casting my vote.
Anita Jaskol
Culver City
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Culver City Observer
January 16, 2008
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor,
It's About Time. At last concerned citizens in Culver
City can say, "It's
about time!"
On December 20,2007, the news was released that the national No Kill
Advocacy Center, along with individually named plaintiffs, filed a lawsuit
against the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control.
Also sued was the Department's Director, Marcia Mayeda.
The lawsuit asks a Superior Court Judge to order Los Angeles County,
its Department of Animal Care and Control, and department head Marcia
Mayeda to comply with state laws that protect animals from arbitrary
and inhumane treatment.
Among the allegations in the 29 page complaint, it is alleged
that the Department of Animal Care and Control routinely:
- Kills healthy and treatable animals before their state mandated holding
period expires;
- Misclassifies animals as "ill" or "injured" in
order to kill them before their holding period expires,
even though the animals are not irremediably suffering as required by
state law;
- Kills lost animals without making reasonable attempts to find the animals
owners;
- Fails to provide adequate veterinary care to impounded animals, resulting
in animal deaths;
- Fails to provide adequate nutrition, water, shelter and exercise to
impounded animals and to treat the animals humanely and
kindly;
- Refuses to release animals to rescue groups that are willing to care
for them until adoptive homes can be found and, instead, kills them.
For years there has been an outcry from concerned residents in Culver
City about the filth, neglect and abuses at the Carson shelter used by
Culver City. Unfortunately, our City Council chose to ignore the enormous
amount of evidence presented to them of animal abuse and neglect and
voted instead to reward the county with an unusual five-year contract!
This was done in spite of the evidence presented to the Council at several
different City Council meetings, as well as through e-mails, letters,
pictures, videos, and declarations sent by Culver City residents over
a period of years. However, the fact that the City Council sits on its
hands and chooses to look the other way when faced with evidence of cruelty
does not mean that citizens cannot act independently and take action
- as this lawsuit affirms.
Friends of Culver City Animals have long championed a break with the
County's Department of Animal Care and Control and reliance on the County
animal control officers. We welcome input from the community so that
individual experiences with the Carson shelter in particular can be further
documented and shared with interested parties. This can be done by contacting
Friends of Culver City Animals at (888) 893-9909 and/or fcca@onebox.com.
In a related article, the Culver City Observer pointed out in its December
27, 2007 edition that County Supervisor Yvonne Burke has ordered an investigation
of the Carson shelter in response to numerous complaints by citizens,
the media, and advocacy groups, including residents of Culver City.
To which we would like to say again, "It's about
time!"
Deborah Weinrauch
Friends of Culver City Animals
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Culver City Observer
January 16, 2008
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor,
Regarding the Culver City Observer article "Burke Orders Investigation
of Animal Shelter" - See! This is one of the many examples of why
Culver City needs it's own Animal Control Officer! The current Culver
City Council Members were not on our side and/or misled us, other than
Gary Silbiger. Let's all vote the proper council members in this time!!
I hate to say it, but maybe little Zephyr will not have died in vain.
Maybe her life and death had a huge purpose and that was to help open
the door to opening the minds of the City Council and the Culver City
people to the fact that we need our own Animal Control Officer just like
Santa Monica, EI Segundo, Redondo Beach, Torrance and many other cities.
We also need to find a closer, more humane existing shelter to use like
the new West Los Angeles (LA City) shelter on Pico Boulevard or the SPCALA
shelter on Jefferson Boulevard.
May Zephyr rest in peace.
Kimberley King
Culver City
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Culver City Observer
January 24-30, 2008
Carson Animal Shelter Draws Protestors
About 20 protesters appeared at the Carson Animal Shelter in Gardena
last Saturday to illustrate their unhappiness with
the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control's continued
alleged treatment
of animals in their care.
The Culver City Council recently reached a five-year agreement with
the facility despite numerous requests from local residents to sever
the relationship.
Culver Councilman Gary Silbiger was among the protesters, along with
Carson Councilman Mike Gipson.
"Friends Of Culver City Animals have been complaining
about cruelty against the animals at the Carson Shelter since May of
2004,' said Deborah
Weinrauch, Director of the group.
It is the group's contention that Silbiger is the only Culver councilmember
to support their stance.
On December 5 a 10-month-old puppy died at the Shelter and then Supervisor
Yvonne Burke directed her deputies to meet with the Deputy Director of
the Carson Shelter to review conditions.
''This meeting made it apparent that some personnel
and infrastructure needs must be addressed," she said.
Burke then asked the Los Angeles County Board Of Supervisors to investigate
and at a Jan. 8 meeting the Board asked for more time. The next meeting
is scheduled for Feb. 8.
The Carson Shelter recently received $5 million for capital
improvements.
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Culver City News
January 24, 2008
Poster Dog for Survival
"10 months later, an Alaskan Husky emerges from
the Carson Shelter"
by Gary Walker
The Carson Animal Shelter has become the flashpoint of controversy since
Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke opened an investigation
of the facility in December after several comlplaints were lodged with
her office about the conditions of the facility, which many animal rights
activists have considered to be a shelter that has been managed in a
negligent fashion for years. They tell stories of animals that are neglected
for long periods of time and lost pets that are euthanized without their
owners' knowledge.
While their pet survived his stay at the Carson shelter,
one Culver City couple learned firsthand why there have been protests,
complaints
and even legal actions taken against the Los Angeles County Department
of Animal Care and Control. Unwittingly, their Alaskan Husky, Mowai has
become, as one local animal rescue advocate put it, "the poster
dog for surviving the Carson shelter."
For Rick and Meg Shick, the ordeal began last March when county officials
impounded Mowai after he and another dog escaped their fenced-in yard
and was found next to a neighbor's dead cat. Mowai, a friendly, lively
dog that his owners had rescued from an animal shelter, was impounded
to the Carson facility along with the foster dog, pending an investigation
into the cat's death.
That began a nearly year-long odyssey through the
bureaucracy of the Department of Animal Care & Control that has
morphed from a routine investigation into their neighbor's pet's death
into a Kafkaesque experience
that led them from temporarily losing custody of their pet to incurring
thousands of dollars in legal fees and boarding expenses.
The Shicks, who have rescued various dogs from shelters,
in an interview with the News, recounted in detail at their home in
Sunkist Park how
they are still amazed and angry at the way they were treated at the hands
of county officials who are charged with the care of lost, abandoned
and impounded airimals county-wide. "It was a nightmare," said
Rick Shick, who works in the entertainment industry for Sony. "We
thought that we would eventually get him hack, but it was so frustrating
because it seemed like it was forever at times, and we couldn't understand
why."
Five days after the dogs were impounded, an animal
control officer came to the couple's home to inspect their property
for safety. After completing
his inspection, the Shicks say the officer told them that everything
seemed fine and that Mowai. would be returned to them soon. "We
thought that meant within a few days," said Shick. The following
day, they were informed that while the foster dog was being released,
Mowai would remain at the shelter as evidence, pending a further investigation,
and his case was turned over to the department's Special Case Unit.
The Shicks began to grow more frustrated as the weeks_mounted,
and as they visited Mowai in Carson, no one could tell them when or
if their
pet would be released to them. "The standard response that we would
get was, 'We can't tell you anything,'" Shick recalled. "Marcia
Mayeda (the director of the Department of Animal Care & Control)
did not want to help either, because she was convinced that Mowai was
responsible for the cat's death," added Meg Shick, Rick's wife.
During their visits to Carson, the Shicks witnessed
the kind of conditions that animals that are being held there are subjected
to on a daily basis.
Mowai, accustomed to roaming in his large yard at home, was housed in
a cage with another dog, as were most of the animals there, said Shick.
He also noticed that often the animal's cages appeared to be unclean,
and frequently Mowai was found standing in a filthy cage in his own waste. "I
thought that was how the shelter was run, until I began hearing from
different people," said Shick.
Due to the conditions at the facility and after hearing
that some animals had been euthanized without their owner's knowledge and
on the recommendation of a former Los Angeles Animal Services commissioner,
after six months at the Carson facility, the Shicks
petitioned to have Mowai transferred to the care of an animal behaviorist
known to county
officials, Bobby Doarfshar. The county consented
and the Shicks agreed to pay $45 a day for their pet's boarding. "We
weren't sure what would happen to him if we let him stay [in Carson]," said Shick.
Because he had spent so much time away from his family,
Mowai quickly grew despondent and lethargic, say
the Shicks. Doarfshar recommended
sedating Mowai with the canine antidepressant Chlomacalm.
Mowai, who was not allowed around other dogs and was given limited time
with his
owners, was given this drug for nearly four months. "Every
time that I would leave after visiting him, I could
hear him crying and wailing," Shick
recalled.
In August, prosecutors filed two misdemeanor charges of
community hazard and public nuisance against both Rick and Meg Schick
for the death of
their neighbor's cat. The charges came on the day
that their attorney filed an action to force the county to release Mowai.
One week before
the trial in December, prosecutors dropped the charges
against Rick Shick, but not against his wife. Meg Schick eventually pleaded
no contest to
one count of community hazard, received 36 months
probation and paid a fine. Upon paying restitution to the cat's owner,
the misdemeanor will
be reduced to an infraction.
The county acknowledged during the trial that Mowai was not evidence
in the case, and no necropsy of the cat was presented.
During this time, Mowai, now away from his family for nearly
10 months, remained sedated, and it was never determined that he was responsible for the death of the cats.
Then, without any warning, after more than 10 months
since Mowai was taken from their home, the couple received a call from
Doarfshar on January
13, who told them he was being released. "It came out of nowhere," said
Meg Shick."It was quite a surprise to us, after all we went through."
The Shick's ordeal has caught the attention of Culver City
animal rights activists, who have been re-energized in the wake of the
death of a puppy
retrieved in Culver City last October. Zephyr, a 10
month old mixed breed was taken to the shelter, where she was allegedly
left alone for days
on a cold concrete floor. A subsequent necropsy revealed
that the puppy died of pneumoma.
Deborah Weinrauch, the director of the Friends of
the Culver City Animals, was dismayed to learn of the Shicks plight "I think that it is absolutely
shocking that they were forced to take such measures to keep their pet
alive," said Weinrauch, who has spoken with the Shicks about their
experience at the Carson shelter and with the county. "But unfortunately,
it's not the first time that I've heard a story like theirs."
Weinrauch and others, including City Councilman Gary Silbiger, have
lobbied for years for an animal control officer in Culver City. Since
the county investigation into the Carson facility, they are hoping that
a new council, which will elect three new memQers in April, will agree
to reconsider the current council's refusal to authorize funding for
an animal control officer.
Last weekend, Weinrauch, Silbigier and other Culver City residents attended
a protest outside the Carson shelter. Carson City Councilman Mike Gipson
spoke forcefully about the need for further investigation of the activities
at the Carson shelter after hearing about the Shick's experience with
Mowai.
Gipson is not surprised that families from Westside communities have
begun to tell their stories about their experiences at the Carson shelter.
He also believes that it is up to legislative bodies like his to take
stronger action to alleviate the problems at the shelter.
"I believe that there is motivation on the part of the Carson City
Council to terminate our contract with this shelter," Gipson said
to loud applause. He also told the crowd that he would join one of the
lawsuits that are being levied against the county. "I'm not ashamed
of it, I stand by it, and we are going to make sure that taxpayers receive
the service and justice that they deserve.
"We're the policymakers," the councilman continued. "We
need to make sure that taxpayer dollars are not being misused, and right
now, I'm convinced that they are being misused, and we're not getting
what we're paying for."
Gipson said that Mayeda, who spoke before the Carson
City Council on January 15, did not convince him that the allegations
against the shelter
were untrue. "I was unenthused by the comments that she made," he
said. "She had to read from a script, which told me that she was
unprepared for the questions that the council members asked her."
Ryan Olshan, an animal rights advocate who traveled
from Orange County to participate in the protest, called for the Mayeda's
resignation. "It's
time to put the care back into Animal Control and Care," he said.
The protesters, after hearing about Mowai's stint
in Carson were very sympathetic. "I truly feel for the Shicks," said Weinrauch. "What
they went through is an animal lover's worst nightmare."
The County shelter and its beleaguered director, Mayeda, have come under
fire from animals rights advocates throughout the county and more recently
from the Carson City Council.
Among many animal activists who have been staging protests at the Carson
shelter and what they call inhumane and unsanitary conditions at the
county facility, Mowai has become somewhat of a canine celebrity, a survivor
of an animal care center that has been hit by a barrage of bad publicity
since last November.
In December, around the same time that the Shicks were preparing for
court, an animal advocacy organization filed a lawsuit on behalf of volunteer
animal rescue worker Cathy Nguyen against the shelter and Mayeda. The
suit accuses county officials of operating an inhumane and unsanitary
facility, breaking state laws pertaining to animal adoption shelters,
and retaliating against Nguyen for speaking out publicly against what
she alleges are conditions that are cruel and unsafe to the animals.
Since Nguyen filed her lawsuit in December, two other legal actions
have been filed against the shelter, Mayeda, and also names the Board
of Supervisors as defendants.
The Shicks greatest fear was that Mowai could be
accidentally adopted or even euthanized during the time he was at the
Carson shelter. They
have heard stories about other dogs that have suffered that fate. "Had
the shelter followed procedure, he would have not been adopted," said
Meg Schick. "But it's hard to say, because no one seemed to know
what they were doing."
Shick believes that his persistence in fighting to
bring his dog home was instrumental in Mowai's survival. "I think that he could have
very easily fallen through the cracks," he said soberly. "Because
we visited so often, the employees were aware that there were people
who cared about him and who worried about him. So, I think that kind
of kept it at the forefront of their minds that he wasn't just another
abandoned dog."
His wife agrees, especially after she says that she
saw a photograph with a dead dog placed on top of a live dog's cage
while the live dog
was waiting to be processed into the facility. "I thought, holy
cow, this could happen to anyone's pet," she said.
The Shicks commended the Carson shelter's employees,
who were very friendly and showed compassion to their plight. "They were so nice, and they
loved Mowai," said Meg Shick.
Like many Culver City animal rights activists who
have spoken to the News recently, the Shicks feel that city officials
should no longer transport
lost and abandoned animals to the Carson shelter. "I'm distressed
by the fact that Culver City renewed its contract with the county," said
Meg Shick. "I don't know why we don't contract with the Los Angeles
Animal Services on Pico Boulevard, because it's closer and so much nicer."
Asked if they also believe that Culver City should
switch from the county shelter in Carson, Meg Shick replied, "Absolutely.
No question."
During Mowai's time way from home, the Shicks adopted another dog, bringing
their total to three. And now with Mowai back in the fold, it's one big,
happy family again.
"He's so happy to be I home," said Meg Shick. "He's
back running around with our other dogs. He seems like he's adapting
very
quickly to being back I home."
"He's happy to be alive," added Rick Shick. "He
gets along well with our new dog, and the children love the fact that
he's
back home."
Attempting to explain to their three young children why their family
pet could not come home was one of the most difficult aspects of the
ordeal with the Carson shelter. The children were allowed to visit at
him at the animal facility, but were not allowed to play with him.
"We told them that Mowai was in doggie jail," Meg Schick. "It
was hard for us to understand why he was there."
"The complete lack of care was astonishing," said Rick Shick. "In
our case, it was appauling to see how they actively pursued a destructive
path as opposed to a constructive path in figuring out and solving a
problem. I would like someone who actually cares about the animals and
wants to work with responsible people to make it nicer for everyone,
including the animals."
Dr. Dean Gebroe, a Culver City veterinarian, told
the News that Chlomacalm was typically prescribed for dogs that suffer
separation anxiety. "They
need to be weaned off the drug if they have been sedated with it for
a while," the doctor said. "Every dog is different, so one
may not suffer the same effects that another dog might."
Gebroe feels that a dog that has been taking Chlomacalm
should be seen by a medical professional. "The dog should probably see a veterinarian,
just to see if there are any side effects," he recommended.
"It was horrific, insane," said Shick. "That's
how I would describe our experience."
Their family pet suffered the most, he believes. "We can rationalize
it, I could talk to my wife and friends, but our dog didn't know what
was going on, just his family was gone," Shick said.
The couple is considering filing a legal action to
recoup the thousands of dollars that they have spent on trying to rescue
their pet from the
county. "This whole experience has just been insane," said
Rick Shick.
Calls to Mayeda were not returned as the News went to press.
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Culver City News
January 24, 2008
Letters to the Editor
Long List Against Carson Shelter
On Dec. 20, a lawsuit was filed against the Los Angeles County Department
of Animal Care and Control, its director Marcia Mayeda and Los Angeles
County by the national No Kill Advocacy Center and two highly respected
animal rescuers, Cathy Nuygen and Rebecca Arvizu. This long overdue lawsuit
was triggered by the suffering and death of a Culver City puppy named
Zephyr who died of starvation, untreated pneumonia and extremely cold
conditions. Medications were available but never properly given to the
dog.
The lengthy lawsuit and evidence reveal that animals
in the six county shelters regularly live and sleep on cold, wet concrete
in their own
feces and urine, that healthy and adoptable animals are killed before
the mandated holding period, that animals are misclassified as "ill" or "injured" in
order to justify killing them before their legally mandated holding periods
expire, and many, many more gruesome allegations that can be substantiated
by photographic evidence and eye witness reports.
In addition, there is evidence that drugs are possessed
and used by staff on county property, that animal records are "doctored," and
that employees and volunteers are fired and suspended in retaliation
for bringing up departmental misconduct.
If Culver City had its own, properly trained professional animal control
officer, as Friends of Culver City Animals has advocated for years, would
Zephyr and many other animals still be alive today? The answer is yes.
Following examples in other cities that currently have their own efficient
and humane animal control officers, Zephyr would have been scanned with
a working scanner for a microchip. There is evidence that county animal
control officers do not do this. Zephyr would have been checked for tags,
something that county animal control officers often overlook. Even if
the animal wears a proper collar and license tag, the County often fails
to contact the owner.
Assuming that Zephyr was a stray with no identification,
there are many options that a properly trained Culver City animal control
officer could
use to comply with the law and ensure the safety and health of the animal.
One is to hold the dog overnight or for a few days at a local boarding
facility. Culver City taxpayers already pay for "sheltering" at
the Carson shelter, and for approximately the same amount the animal
can be boarded locally. This would give the officer time to notify the
shelter that the dog has been picked up and to check lost/found flyers
and other local resources in the area in which the animal was found.
It would also give the pet owner time to find the dog or cat without
traveling all the way to Carson.
The dog or cat would be checked by one of Culver City's excellent vets
instead of a county vet, and if sick or injured, the animal would receive
the proper medication and be vaccinated. Culver City taxpayers already
pay for these services to be done by the county, but very often the county
fails to actually do what they are paid to do.
Friends of Culver City Animals (FCCA) would be notified each time an
animal like Zephyr is picked up, and thereafter work with other animal
rescue organizations to ensure that the owner or a foster/permanent home
for the animal is found. FCCA has an extensive list of excellent trainers
who would evaluate and work with a rescue dog. If a cat is picked up,
there are foster homes and outstanding local rescue groups that work
exclusively with cats that could help. There are also many wildlife rescue
groups to turn to when a rabbit, opossum, bird, bunny or other I form
of wildlife is picked up. Based on their own admission, L.A. County Department
of Animal Care and Control kills all wildlife picked up in Culver City.
With the help of a local properly training animal control officer, many
more humane options also exist that would benefit Culver City residents
and animals.
Culver City taxpayers already pay the LA County Department
of Animal Care and Control for expensive and appalling animal control
and sheltering "services" that
result in misery and death. With the current lawsuit, Culver City taxpayers
are also paying for the County's legal fees to defend themselves. Last
August, our City Council voted to extend the contract with L.A. County
Department of Animal Care and Control for five years. What a terrible
waste of our tax money!
Deborah Weinrauch
Friends of Culver City Animals
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Culver City News
January 24, 2008
Letters to the Editor
In Search of New Council Members
Hopefully the newly elected City Council members this spring will take
recommendations and opinions of its residents more seriously than current
members, who have responded dispassionately to residents' animal issues.
I for one will be looking for the candidates' positions on local animal
control and sheltering before casting my votes.
Anita Jaskol
Culver City
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Culver City News
January 24, 2008
Letters to the Editor
Boo to Service Contract
I commend the Culver City News for publishing the story of the death
of Zephyr, a Culver City dog who died of pneumonia due to the neglect
of the Carson Shelter. When I heard of her death, my immediate thoughts
turned back to the City Council session when it approved a service contract
with the Carson shelter for five years. I was at that meeting and was
very distressed at their decision to do a five year contract when one
year was an option - and now this!
Sandi Mineo-Rust
Culver City
Culver City News
February 7, 2008
Silberger Joins Demands for Multi-City Shelter Probe
by Gary Walker
City Councilman Gary Silbiger has joined Carson City
Councilman Mike Gipson in calling for a multi-city alliance of elected
municipal leaders
to supplement ongoing investigations into the alleged unlawful activities
at the Carson Animal Shelter, which has been the target of
several demonstrations and at least three lawsuits since December.
"I would like to create a coalition of elected officials to have
meetings with the [Board of County Supervisors] and the district
attorney to conduct a full investigation into the neglect, the misuse
and the mistreatment of the animals at this location," Gipson
said during a recent protest outside the Carson shelter.
"I think that's a good idea," said Silbiger in an interview
at his Culver City law practice Monday. "This is a county wide situation
with cities that are affected by the activities at the shelter, like
we are in Culver City.
"Some Issues go across city boundaries, and this is one of
them," Silbiger continued. "I continue to receive
letters and e-mails of our residents and others complaining
about the terribleble things that are going on at the Carson shelter."
Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke announced in December that
the board. would be looking into the numerous accusations leveled
against the county shelter and at the director of the Los Angeles
County Department of Animal Care and Control, Marcia Mayeda. Burke
toured the facility after hearing from hundreds of her constituents
in various cities about the conditions at the animal shelter.
"You get the impression from some reports that [the animals]
are outside, but they aren't," Burke said in an interview with the
News last month. Regarding the physical condition of the facility, Burke
stated, "It was not dilapidated at all, but it could use some upgrading. "
The county has appropriated $5 million in funding
for new medical
treatment and surgery wards at three county shelters, including
Carson. "We will be looking to see how many of the improvements
have been made," Burke asserted.
The Carson shelter, which is a Los Angeles County facility, has been
I accuse by animal rights activists andd pet owners of failing to provide
adequate and humane care to the animals that are housed at the facility,
of retaliating against volunteer rescue workers who have questioned the
county's practices and violating a state law that regulates animal shelters.
Senate Bill 1785. which was passed in 1999, expanded
the rights and duties of publicly funded animal shelters and pounds.
It updated portions
of the California Penal, Civil, Food and Agricultural Codes. Sponsored
by former Assemblyman Tom Hayden (DSanta.. Monica), it requires
shelters to maintain lost/found lists and to provide the names and addresses
of other shelters in the area, provides a list of records that must
be kept so that shelters will be able to track animal in the system,
allows nonprofit animal rescue and adoption groups to obtain shelter
animals who are abou to be pulled and requires shelters to use all reasonable
means of checking for owner identification on strays.
Abandoned and lost I animals in Culver City are taken
to the Carson shelter. The county probe was sparked by the death of
a female puppy
from Culver City that was transported to Carson last October. Zephyr,
a 10 month old mixed breed, died of pneumonia after she was allegedly
left unattended for several days. Since then, several Culver City animal
activists have jomed other organizations in protesting at the Carson
shelter and demanding Mayeda's resignation. They believe that the recent
events at the facility and the puppy's untimely death are grounds for
Culver City to hire its own animal control officer.
S.ilbiger had previously asked his coucil colleagues
to open an investigation into the shelter along with the county, but
was rebuffed: "Culver
City has a responsibility to ask for an investigation just
like the county has, because our animals go [to the Carson shelter]
too," the councilman pointed out. "If we had a department at
City Hall that had received these types of complaints, we would have
begun an investigation a long time ago."
Gipson also mentioned that if his council found I
evidence that there has been misconduct or improprieties at the shelter,
the body would move
to terminate the contract that it has with the shelter. "I'm concerned
about the lack of competency that this staff has as it related to the
accsations, especially people who rescue animals that are [allegedly]
being blackballed and not being allowed to rescue animals."
He has not been impressed by Mayeda, who gave a report
before the Carson City Council last month. "I was [uninspired] by the comments
that she made," he stated. "She had to read from a script,
which told me that she was unprepared for the questions that the council
members asked her."
The Carson city attorney is reviewing the contract in order to determine
if county workers have breached their contract with Carson, which 1 would
enable them to extricate themselves from the current contract with the
county shelter.
Culver City animal advocates are also proposing to ask the city
government to cease contracting with Carson and to utilize an animal
care facility that has a better reputation than the Carson facility.
Gipson said that he would also seek District Atty.
Steve Cooley's involvement if evidence of criminal acts are determined
to have taken place at the animal care facility.
Orly Degani, an attorney with the Los Angeles based law firm of
Eisenberg, Raiznian, Thurston & Wong represents rescue worker
Cathy Nguyen in her lawsuit against the county, called the conditions
at the Carson facility "deplorable." Volunteer rescue workers
have publicly claimed that the animals at the shelter are not given
the humane care that is mandated under SB 1785. Asked if the plaintiffs
in the case were alleging that the state law had been violated, Degani
replied, ''That is their contention."
The legal acl;ion accuses Mayeda of indefinitely
suspending the volunteer status of Janet Taylor, Nguyen's rescue partner,
and refusing to release
any animals to either rescue worker in their capacity as volunteers for
nonprofit animal rescue groups willing to care for those animals or as
members of the public, among other allegations.
"State law mandates that animal shelters maintain clean, humane
conditions instead of unsanitary, abusive conditions," said
Degani.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction against the shelter
that would force the county shelter to "follow the law and make every effort
to give human care and shelter to the animal there," said Degani.
The plaintiff, Nguyen, is not seeking monetary damages. "State law
mandates that animal shelters maintain clean, humane conditions
instead of unsanitary, abusive conditions," said Degani. In
addition, Degani contends that county officials have sought retribution
against Nguyen. "My client has been retaliated against because of
her speaking out on behalf of the unlawful conduct at the shelter," said
the attorney. Although the county is conducting a formal inqury into
the allegations at the Carson shelter. Silbiger believes that
more should be done on the local level. "I'm happy that Supervisor
Burke is looking into this, but that doesn't relieve us from conducting
our own investigation," he said, referring to his council colleagues.
He also feels that the ongoing reporting regarding the lawsuits
and alleged misdeeds at the shelter could very well play a role in Culver
City's upcoming municipal election in April. "Anyone who gets
elected should have services involving animals as a top priority," Silbiger
insisted. "This is not just about how we treat our animals; it's
about health and safety and a more humane approach to city government."
Dr. Anita Jaskol, a Culver City homeowner who is active in animal
rights causes, said that a candidate's stance on bringing in a local
animal official would greatly influence her decision in this year's campaign. "I
plan to vote for candidates who support having an animal control
officer in Culver City," she said.
The supervisors will hear from their chief executive
officer, William T. Fujioka, who will present the board with his findings
pertaining
to the Carson shelter probe at the Feb. 12 meeting. Fijioka was due to
brief the board last month, but requested more time to complete his investigation.
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Los Angeles Times
February 13, 2008
By Carla Hall
Times Staff Writer
L.A. County Animal Control Chief Defends Agency
After months of criticism -- and three lawsuits --
about the shelters operated by the Los Angeles County Department of
Animal Care & Control,
the agency's director appeared before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday
to defend her stewardship.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke had asked director Marcia
Mayeda, in December, to prepare a report on the Carson shelter, after
Burke's office was inundated with complaints.
After Mayeda delivered the report, Burke said in
an interview: "I
think she has responded to the issues we have inquired about. In terms
of other issues, we will continue to stay on top of it."
Mayeda and the shelter system have been under fire, with critics alleging
filthy conditions, overcrowding, mistreatment of animals, sloppy medical
treatment and the euthanasia of animals before their minimum four-day
stay had passed.
Civil lawsuits have been filed against the county by various rescue
groups, volunteers and animal advocates, who were particularly outraged
about the death in December of a 10-month-old puppy at the Carson shelter.
On Tuesday, Mayeda told the supervisors that the dog, Zeyphr, did not
freeze to death, as some had contended, but was felled by an upper respiratory
infection, according to an independent necropsy.
"We also reviewed all the heating systems at the facility and found
them to be operational at all times," said Mayeda, who added that
the dog got sick and languished in the shelter while waiting for a volunteer,
who had put a hold on the animal, to pick it up.
The volunteer, Janet Taylor, has denied putting a hold on the dog. What
she did, she said, was leave a note asking the shelter to call if the
dog was in danger of being euthanized. She said the shelter never called.
Mayeda acknowledged that Zeyphr had missed a couple
of doses of antibiotics when she was ill but got most of them. She
said her department had added
new antibiotics that required only one dose a day. "It means it's
easier on staff time."
The director said the Carson shelter would be undergoing extensive upgrading.
And $5 million has been allocated from the county to upgrade medical
facilities ,at three shelters, icluding Carson.
Mayeda said the shelter system was generally short
on staff. "It's
unfortunately a high turnover field... for lower wages. We're continuously
hiring. I don't think there's an excessive number of vacancies."
Burke's approval of Mayeda's report is unlikely to quell the voices
of animal advocates, shelter volunteers and private rescuers who have
circulated volumes of e-mails saying they found conditions filthy at
the Carson shelter and sharing allegations of mistreatment, lackadaisical
medical treatment and failure to scan strays for microchips.
"I'm profoundly disappointed in their superficial dismissal of
the body of evidence that is constantly being presented to them, said
Deborah Weinrauch, director of Friends of CUlver City Animals, a grassroots
group that is trying to persuade CUlver City to stop contracting with
the county's shelter system and hire its own animal control officer. "From
the top down, there is incompetence, indifference, disregard of the law,
disregard of the animals."
Burke said she had visited the Carson shelter in December and, before
that, dispatched two staffers unannounced. She said she found it bustling
and maintained.
"It is not that filthy," she said Tuesday. She also "got
into one of the kennels to see how warm it was."
Burke says her office investigates every complaint she gets about shelters.
She said she had received a large number of complaints recently about
animal care staffers photographing dogs for the department's website
while the animals were restrained by a neck loop at the end of a pole,
which can be painful and frightening.
"I talked to [Mayeda] and she said she gave a directive not to
do it anymore. But that came from the top," Burke said. "You
still have to convince the animal worker who's scared of
the dog not to do it."
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Culver City News
February 21, 2008
by Gary Walker
Shelter Critics Not Swayed
Culver City animal rights advocates took exception
to a report by the director of the Los Angeles County Department of
Animal Care and Control
Marcia Mayeda to the Board of Supervisors last week regarding the
death of a puppy at the Carson Animal Control Shelter that was reportedly
taken to the shelter from Culver City last October.
Animal rights activists from several cities, including
Culver City, have called for Mayeda to resign since the death of a
10-month old mixed
breed puppy named Zephyr that was retrieved in Culver City in October
and transported to Carson. The puppy died in December after a six-week
stay at the shelter. That prompted Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke
to open an investigation into the incident and request that
Mayeda deliver a report on how the animal's death had been handled.
An independent necropsy indicated that the puppy died of pneumonia.
"I think [Mayeda] has been incredibly ineffective," said
Meg Schick, whose dog, Mowai, was held at the Carson facility for six
months last year after he was impounded by the animal control department.
Schick and her husband Rick believe that Mayeda was responsible
for holding their dog at the shelter indefinitely after an investigation
into an allegation that Mowai, an Alaskan husky, might have been
involved in the death of a neighborhood cat. Mowai was released
last month after nearly a year away from his family, and the Schicks
incurred several thousands of dollars in legal expenses after they had
two misdemeanor charges of community hazard and public muisance
filed against them. They are currently deciding if they will sue the
county for reimbursement of their legal fees.
Maydea told the supervisors that Zephyr had not frozen to death, as
some websites have claimed.
"We also reviewed all the heating systems at the facility and found
them to be operational at all times," she said.
"One of the challenges that we face in operating an animal
shelter is maintaining a healthy general population, as well as
the individual health of all of the animals," Mayeda told the board. "The
longer an animal is at an animal shelter, the greater the risk of them
contracting illness can occur, because they're
stressed...It's a stressful environment."
Deborah Weinrach, the president of Friends of the
Culver City Animals, did not give Mayeda or her report to the board
high marks. "I think
that what she said was an admission of everything that has been going
on [at Carson] for a very long time," said Weinrauch, who has
visited the Carson shelter several times.
Councilwoman Carol Gross says that she has visited
the Carson shelter and did not find it to be in the condition that
many pet advocates have
reported. "I went there on an unannounced visit in November," Gross
said in an interview last week. "The dogs in the cages that I saw
did not seem to be overcrowded, and it did not seem particularly unclean."
Rick Schick saw firsthand what the Carson facility looked like
on his frequent visits to Mowai last year. He noticed that often many
of the animals cages appeared to be unclean, and frequently
Mowai was found standing in a filthy cage in his own waste. "I thought
that was how the shelter was run, until I began hearing from different
people," said Shick.
Others also say that the shelter frequently has several
animals packed into one cage, where the dogs and cats often wait long
periods of time
to have their cages cleaned. They also accuse the county of gross mismanagement
of its facilities, especially at the Carson shelter, where they allege
that animals are frequently put down without any attempt to
contact the owners and are often not given proper medical care.
"There is a huge amount of negligence and suffering there," said
Weinrauch.
Mayeda sought to defend herself and her staff in
her report to the supervisors. "Change
doesn't happen overnight," she asserted. "I can put out great
new policies - and that's the first step - but then the next step is
getting everyone to buy into them." Mayeda did admit that at
many of the county shelters there are employee shortages.
"It's unfortunately a high turnover field because it's challenging
work for relatively lower wages," the director acknowledged. "And
unfortunately, it's often difficult to retain staff. We're continuously
hiring
"I don't believe that there's an excessive amount of vacancies
right now," she continued. "One of the challenges
is that we will have people off on industrial accidents or other
sorts of leaves that freeze that position until they come back."
Three civil lawsuits have been filed against the
county and Maydea in recent months, alleging that the county has retaliated against rescue
workers who publicize unlawful treatment of animals at county facilities.
One legal action filed by the No Kill Advocacy Center accuses Mayeda
of indefinitely suspending the volunteer status of animal rescue volunteer
Janet Taylor and refusing to release any animals to her or Cathy Nuygen,
another volunteer worker, in their capacity as volunteers for nonprofit
animal rescue groups willing to care for those animals or as members
of the public, among other allegations. "The Los Angeles
County animal control system is supposed to provide a reasonable safety
net for the care of lost and abandoned animals," said Nathan
J. Winograd, the executive director of the No Kill Advocacy Center. "Instead,
the system betrays the trust of the citizens of Los Angeles County by
failing to treat animals humanely and kindly.
One lawsuit seeks an injunction against the Carson
shelter that would force it to "follow [state] law and make every effort to give humane
care and shelter to the animals there," said Orly Degani, an attorney
who represents Nguyen.
The lawsuit does not seek any monetary damages.
Senate Bill 1785, which was passed in 1999, expanded
the rights and duties of publicly funded animal shelters and pounds.
Sponsored by former
assemblyman and state senator Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica), it requires
shelters to maintain lost and found lists and to provide the names
and addresses of other shelters in the area so that shelters will be
able to track animals in the system. It also allows nonprofit animal
rescue and adoption groups to obtain shelter animals who are about to
be killed and requires shelters to use all reasonable means of checking
for owner identification on strays.
Mayeda told the board that Zephyr became ill and remained at the shelter
while waiting for a volunteer - Taylor - who had put a hold on the animal,
to pick it up. Taylor has denied putting a hold on the dog. She said
that she left a note adking the shelter to call if the deog was in danger
of being euthanized.
Taylor said the shelter never called. Weinrach and
her supports are hopeful that when a new Cityh Council is seated in
Culver City in April,
they will consider hiring a local animal control officer and seek another
shelter locally where wildlife and lost and abandoned pets can be taken
and treated in a humane fashion. "This is not only about treating
animals in a kind and humane manner," she explained. "This
is about a city government looking after the health and safety of
its residents, and spending our tax dollars in a wise and humane
fashion."
"I'm distressed by the fact that Culver City renewed its contract
with the county," said Meg Shick. "I don't know why we don't
contract with the Los Angeles Animal Services facility on Pico Boulevard
in West Los Angeles, because it's closer and so much nicer."
Gross told the News that the current council, prior
to entering into a five-year agreement with the county for animal control
services, explored
other options with other cities, "but that [option] was not available
to us."
The Culver City Council, facing budget constraints
and an outcry on public notice, voted by a 3-2 margin Monday night to implement an animal control officer (ACO) for 24 months on a "pilot program.".
Culver City Observer
June 19 - 25, 2008
by Stephen Hadland
Animal Control Officer Approved for 24 Months
The Culver City Council, facing budget constraints and an outcry on public notice, voted by a 3-2 margin Monday night to implement an animal control officer (ACO) for 24 months on a "pilot program."
Councilmember Andy Weissman. expressed the view that proper public notice wasn't given and several members of the public noted that the staff report wasn't even available on the city's web site until late Friday evening.
Councilmember Christopher Armenta rejected the pleas from members of the public to hold off discussion on the ACO. Council member Mehaul O'Leary voted with Armenta to continue the hearing.
Armenta, in moving to add $129,000 to the city budget for one ACO, stated "It's the most important issue of the campaign" as well as his belief that it is "fundamental service" that the city should provide. In seconding the motion Silbiger said that in his campaigning "that every house has a dog" and that when we approve the ACO it will be "as important as starting our Martin Luther King Day Celebration." The Vice Mayor went on the say that there was too much financial information given in the report and found it unnecessary.
After close to 90 speakers, cards and emails were heard or read, the council was ready to debate the issue. The comments broke down into three general areas, those that were concemed with a lack of notice, those that wanted an animal shelter and those that wanted an ACO and shelter. Those that discussed the animal shelter were unaware that it since it was not on the agenda it could not be discussed or considered by the council.
Weissman said that the "report does not say what we do not know about the costs." He went on to list hidden costs that were not included in the report such as supervision, who is going to prosecute the citations, the increasing cost of fuel, and where would the temporary shelter be located.
Mayor Scott Malsin, like Weissman, mentioned that he and his family have pets and some were adopted as strays. He was the most vocal about not having an ACO because of the additional burdens on staff and costs. He also commented that the report did not make the case for a full time ACO. As a compromise motion he asked to fund a full time ACO from the Los Angeles County that failed to get a second.
Near the end of the four-hour debate O'Leary agenda offered a substitute motion that was virtually identical to the original motion except it referred to the new position as a "pilot program" which would last for two years beginning at the hiring of a person for the position. Silbiger queried O'Leary on his substitute motion answered in earlier questions for a pilot program. The motion passed by a 3-2 vote.
Several speakers spoke about the conditions at the Carson Animal Shelter where the county currently houses any animals picked up in Culver City. One speaker called the conditions an abomination, and deplorable. Unanswered was the question of where Culver City will house the dogs and cats the ACO picks up.
City Manager Jerry Fulwood citied nearby cities that had ACO's without a shelter and in all cases the costs to those communities exceeded $300,000.
Near the end of the council meeting with an almost empty chamber, the 2008-09 budget was presented for approval with minor corrections. Silbiger attempted to add an additional employee to the budget as a Council Staff Person to do research and errands for the council. This met with a comment by Armenta that it may not be the right time to discuss the issue. The three remaining council members sat in absolute stunned silence to the thought of someone else doing their work.
Culver City News
Oct. 16, 2008
by Gary Walker
Animal Officer OK'd
By a 3-2 vote Monday night, the City Council moved ahead with plans for a 24 month pilot program establishing an animal control officer to supplement the city's deal wiyth L.A. County for animal contyrol services.
The non-sworn officer will work under the direction of a CCPD sergeant in the Operations Bureau with a salary range of $42,000-$51,000.
Councilmen Gary Silbiger, Chnristopher Armenta and Mehaul O'Leary voted in favor.
The Front Page Online
Letters to the Editor
Oct. 21, 2008
From Greg Smith
‘Correcting’ Weissman and Netzel: He Says the Animal Control Officer Groundwork Has Been Done
Re: "A Laundry List of 28 Requirements Before a Culver City Animal Control Officer Is in Place," and "Backers of Animal Services Officer Have Not Made Any Progress, Weissman Says," both from Oct. 16.
Let me try to answers some of the questions that City Councilman Andy Weissman and activist Chip Netzel have about the Animal Services Officer for Culver City.
First of all, Mr. Weissman’s assessment of this large group of Culver City residents as aggressive and enthusiastic is very accurate. I have to disagree with Mr. Weissman that this group dropped the ball by not having a comprehensive blueprint and they haven’t done anything.
The citizens of Culver City are not expected to complete detailed reports for services that they are requesting for the taxes they pay. It is the City Council’s responsibility to direct city staff to complete these detailed blueprints for any city service. That is what they are paid to do. This group came to the city about four years ago with a very comprehensive survey that they compiled from cities with Animal Control Officers in Los Angeles County and the costs associated with these programs. This project was assigned to a member of City Manager Jerry Fulwood’s staff, and with the help of this group she completed a very comprehensive and complete report.
I worked with her on this project, and I completed a complete report on the Police Dept.’s role and all costs associated with an Animal Control Officer program. Our research showed that most cities in Los Angeles have their own animal control program, and the majority of these programs are run by the police departments or city code enforcement offices. Very few maintain their own shelters. Most agencies utilize the County’s animal shelter for dropoff.
I believe the completed reports answer Mr. Netzel’s very complete list of questions about the program with a few exceptions. As to the question of who will handle animal control calls when the animal control officer is not on duty, the answer to that question is, the same people who have done it for the past 32 years that I am aware of, the Culver City police officer on the street.
Contrary to what a lot of people believe, Los Angeles County Animal Control handles very few calls in the city. It is Culver City police officers who handle your barking dog complaints, dog bite reports, vicious animals, dead animals. The citizens of Culver City get very little followup by L. A. County on Animal Control complaints in the city. This is why most cities have their own Animal Control program. The training costs are very minimal for a program like this. Police departments are geared for this type of in-house training.
We also have access to numerous local police agencies that have similar programs and will assist with training needs at no cost. Also, community service officers and parking enforcement officers can be trained in-house to perform these animal control functions. The equipment that will be purchased for this program will not only be utilized by the Animal control officer but by all Culver City personnel in animal control situations. Officers will no longer have to find a piece of rope a belt or use their firearm to control a vicious animal. Or find a piece of cardboard to push a dead animal out of the roadway until L. A. County comes by to pick it up. This should also help with the cities possible exposure to liability. As any city that has an animal control program will tell you, it is not a revenue generating program. It is a taxpayer-provided service. From what I can recall of the report I assisted with three years ago, $129,000 is a reasonable figure for the first year. The Red Light Traffic program contract and the large executive raises that were given out two years ago are not revenue-generating programs.
So what aggressive and enthusiastic taxpayer groups are pushing these programs completed the blueprint for fiscal responsibility. Mr. Weissman is new to the Council, but he has been around long enough to know that if the program goes a little over budget, it can be funded like the other General Fund accounts that exceed their budget. Over-inflated costs are placed in certain line items of the General Fund budget each year in order to fund programs that staff knows will exceed their budgets.
It’s very clean. No need to revisit the budget for an amendment, and no four/fifths vote should be needed.
Culver City Observer
Oct. 13, 2008
Animal Control Officer Gets A Step Closer
Despite protests from Councilmember Andy Weissman and Mayor Scott Malsin the Culver City Council approved on a 3-2 vote the classification specifications for Culver City's Animal Control Officer at the October 13 meeting. Staff surveyed surrounding cities which have similar positions and projected a salary of $41,000 to $52,000 per year.
The council has budgeted $129,000 for the first year. Opponents criticized the amount claiming the expenses will far outrun that number. Weissman expressed frustration that the council should vote on the entire plan, not just one segment at a time.
The current plan calls for the non-swom officer to be placed under the supervision of the police department, working 40 hours per week. The officer would work in conjunction with the county and calls to the police department during the remaining 128 hours each week when the officer is not on duty.
Fulfilling their campaign commitments to fund the position, Councilmembers Mehaul O'Leary and Christopher Armenta joined with Councilmember Gary Silbiger voting in favor of the proposed classification.
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Culver City Observer
Nov. 13, 2008
by Stephan Hadland
Observer Publisher
Hawthorne Chosen to House Culver City Animals
The Culver City Council voted Monday night to authorize $29,000 for a contract with the SPCA-LA, located in Hawthorne, to house animals picked up by Culver City's new Animal Control Officer who has yet to be hired.
The audience was supportive of the addition of SPCA-LA in Hawthorne as a new animal shelter. The issue seemed to be a lack of communication between the council subcommittee, the Friends of Culver City Animals, and the rush of some councilmembers to circumvent the normal orderly process of the working of city government.
Vice Mayor Gary Silbiger felt the stafff report was personally critical of him and was offended by the report. He stated that the issue establishing a shelter for the animals was an issue of "life and death."
Staff reports were critical of this lack of communication. City Manager Jerry Fulwood spent a great deal of time explaining the staff report and the process. Ultimately Fulwood took full responsibility for all reports generated by staff.
"I don't believe it (staff report) criticized the subcommittee. But it did clearly explain that the staff would not be able to answer all the questions. This is first time staff has not had a chance to meet with each of the subcommittee members. What staff should have done was to let the full subcommittee know they needed to spend time with them. I didn't say the subcommittee was at fault. I said the process was," said Fulwood.
Fulwood also told councilmembers that Friends of Culver City Animals not only participated with the subcommittee but became a part of the decision making process.
Deborah Weinrauch presented photos of alleged abuses at the Carson Animal Shelter. She showed cages with filthy conditions and dead animals in and on top of cages. Photos were also presented of the Hawthorne SPCA facility with clean cages, toys, blankets and updated medical records.
The audience consistently applauded comments from their friends, even when Susan de Benedittis compared the Carson Shelter to the Holocaust. She reflected on the additional money needed for the shelter, "Since we are allocating money for the two year pilot, let's do the whole piece and allocate the money needed."
Roger Maxwell summed up the feeling about the Carson Animal shelter with "So much talk about something that is so simple, ABC - Anything But Carson."
The Friends of Culver City Animals have been politically active in the community and in the last election. They also endorsed candidates in the last council campaign.
Unanswered was if the county would go along with the proposal before the council. Councilmember Andy Weissman and Mayor Scott Malsin wanted to wait to see if the proposal was workable with the county.
Weissman attempted to strike an accommodation to find out more information for an appropriate decision. Silbiger was adamant and did not want to put off a vote. The issue was whether the Los Angeles County Animal Services Officers could be allowed to use the SPCA-LA facilities during hours when it was closed. Christopher Armenta and Silbiger were unwilling to wait and find out the appropriate answer.
Armenta stated, "I am prepared to go forward with this... even if it is not correct I am still willing to go forward with it."
Malsin charged that the two councilmembers wanted to push through the vote, "You could get a 5-0 vote tonight which would get the services to start on exactly the same day, but you have two people (councilmembers) who want to hold it up so they can vote on it tonight instead of having everybody vote together. That's politics at its worse."
Assistant City Manager and City Clerk Martin Cole came up with a compromise that seems to save the day to allow a 5-0 vote for the usage of the SPCA-LA facility on the presumption the county will go along with new terms presented on Monday night.
If the county does not agree with the new terms of the agreement the council will then revisit the issue next Monday.
In an ever increasing act of political correctness it was announced that the "animal control" officer should be changed to "animal services" officer because animals should not be controlled.
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Los Angeles Wave
Nov. 13, 2008
by Arin Mikailian
"Unanimous vote clears the way for stray pets to be housed at a Hawthorne facility"
To the satisfaction of the more than 110 local residents in attendarlce, . the. CuI ver City Council unanImously -approved to sfgn a contract with a new animal shelter on Monday, one council members and city staff agreed would be safer and more sanitary for local pets.
With a 5-0 vote in favor of the contract, SPCA-LA will now house all of the animal sheltering services that were once centralized in a facility owned an operated by Los Angeles County in Carson.
The SPCA-LA shelter Culver City will utilize is located in Hawthorne, which many local pet owners said is a welcomed change because the Carson shelter was too far away.
According to city staff reports, the cost of running animal shelter services out of SPCA-LA's Hawthorne site is estimated to cost $2,452 monthly, totaling $29,424 annually.
The funds will be drawn from the $129,000 set aside for the new animal control officer position created in June.
During the meeting, pet owner after pet owner spoke out against the Carson shelter, each sharing their own horror story of how the facility was unsanitary and not managed very well.
Local resident Debra Weinrauch presented a slide show that depicted dogs in cages full of feces and a dead dog lying on top of a cage occupied by a living dog.
Weinrauch then showed a picture of a dog named Zephyr laying dead in a cage at the Carson shelter, who she believes died as a result of poor care.
Zephyr's death resulted in a lawsuit against the Carson shelter on behalf of the dog's owners.
Then she showed pictures
of the spca-LA facility in Hathorne, which depicted larger and cleaner cages for stray animals.
"I ask each of you, if you lost your pets where would you prefer they go?" Weinrauch asked of the Council. "Where would you like your pets to be sheltered when they were lost and in need of help?"
Culver City resident and pet owner Roger Maxwell also criticized the Carson shelter and coined the phrase ABC, or "anything's better than Carson."
Although Culver City will no longer use Los Angeles County's facility, it will still use the control officer provided by the County to work alongside the city's own officer once a person is hired to assume the position.
Councilman Andrew Weissman said he was comforted by the fact that either the county's or Culver City's animal control officer will be able to drop off pets at anytime, especially after the SPCA-LA Hawthorne shelter is closed.
The animal control officer will be given a key to allow them to enter the shelter at anytime during the night and drop off an animal, according to city staff reports.
"As long as there is a gate clicker or a key and that the animal is going to be dropped off at Hawthorne resolves some of my concerns," he said.
An official from both Los Angeles County and SPCA-LA agreed to the late-night drop off idea, but Weissman said he would like the agreement to be made in writing so neither party would be able to back out.
Councilman Mehaul O'Leary agreed, saying that perhaps the item should be brought back as a consent calendar item next week, which would not require a discussion, to incorporate the agreement.
Then, council members entered a heated debate on whether the item should be approved that evening or the following week.
Vice Mayor Gary Silbiger and Councilman Christopher Armenta, who both sit on the animal control officer subcommittee, said they wanted the item to pass on Monday night and that signing with SPCA-LA was "long overdue.
""I want it tonight," Armenta said. "As I said, I have no idea why the county would want to go back on their word ... , The public deserves a decision on this issue tonight."
Silbiger added the issue had grown into "a matter of life and death."
Mayor Scott Malsin criticized Silbiger and Armenta for wanting things to go only their way, even though Malsin said he was confident the item would pass with five votes.
"This is politics at its worst," he said.
At one point City Clerk Martin Cole stepped in and offered a suggestion that the council unanimously agreed on.
Cole recommended that the contract be approved Monday night and that he himself would call both Los Angeles County and SPCA-LA to verify the agreement.
If either or both parties backed out, Cole said the item would be brought back next week for a discussion on other options the city could take.
"But the probability that we will have to return to you is very small," he said.
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