The Dog Whisperer sheds tears at City Hall

The Dog Whisperer was in the house. And he was weeping.

Cesar Millan was in City Hall a couple of weeks ago to be honored by Councilman Tony Cardenas for his work in helping people get along better with problem pets.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, Millan has his own television show on the National Geographic Channel, a best-selling book and was recently profiled in the New Yorker. His Dog Psychology Center in South L.A. has become so popular that Millan needs more land.

Before the main event in front of the full City Council, Cardenas introduced Millan at a private ceremony atop City Hall and Millan quickly choked up in epic fashion.

Why? Despite all of his success, what really got to Millan -- a Mexican immigrant -- was the notion that he had performed a public service.

Cardenas is hoping to work with Millan on a program to teach students to treat animals with respect.

And before rolling your eyeballs....

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How big of a problem is animal cruelty in Los Angeles?

It is difficult to say, because for years no one kept track.

Shortly after taking office in 2003, Cardenas learned that major cruelty cases were often not being pursued as felony crimes. So he introduced legislation that ultimately led to the creation of the city’s Animal Cruelty Task Force, consisting of four Los Angeles Police Department officers and five investigators from the city’s animal services agency.

“We were a city about protecting people from animals but not animals from people,” Cardenas said.

The task force has scored nine felony convictions since fall 2005, and several defendants have been sent to prison for their crimes.

Among those convicted was a gang member sentenced to three years for using a Taser gun on and scalding his girlfriend’s dog during an argument with her (the dog survived); and a heroin addict who beat his roommate’s dog to death. Police caught him taking the dog’s body to a trash container. He got a 16-month sentence.

A woman is also awaiting trial for allegedly killing a kitten as a way to teach her sons to listen to her.

“One of the reasons I wanted to come on here is because people could commit crimes against animals in the city, and by and large it wasn’t considered a very big deal,” said Det. Sue Brumagin, a member of the unit. “What I tell people now is that if you do this, you’re going to state prison.”

Not everyone believes the task force is living up to its potential. Marie Atake, an animal services commissioner, said she wants the unit to respond more to everyday abuses of animals, such as illegally tethering dogs in yards or leaving them out in the hot sun. Brumagin agrees, but said the unit must first deal with the most egregious cases.

The task force can be reached at (213) 847-1417. Officials ask that callers please be judicious about reporting problems.

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How did the rest of the council treat the Dog Whisperer?

Councilman Bill Rosendahl suggested to Millan that he needed help with his two dogs who won’t listen to him.

Millan nodded sympathetically and said, “You know, I can do a whole show from here.”

And anyone who watches the program knows the Dog Whisperer spends as much time dealing with problem people as he does problem dogs.

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How much does County Supervisor Mike Antonovich like the idea of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa possibly asking for a tax increase to finish the subway to the sea?

As we reported last week, the mayor is in the very early stages of deciding whether he wants to ask voters for an increase next year. If he eventually decides to do it, the mayor would be asking them to reverse what they did in 1998 when they approved a ballot measure by Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky to block tapping sales taxes for subways. Two-thirds of Westsiders voted for it.

Tony Bell, communications bulldog for Antonovich, said his boss still believes that the 1998 ban -- which he endorsed -- was a good idea.

“The supervisor understands -- as do most county residents -- that we have a regional transportation crisis, not just a city of Los Angeles transportation crisis,” Bell said. “By sinking the lion’s share of the funding into a project that only serves three cities” -- L.A., Beverly Hills and Santa Monica -- “we’re shortchanging the rest of the region.”

And, Bell added, light rail down one of the major east-west streets on the Westside might be the better solution. “The subway is an outmoded type of transportation,” he said.

As it happens, Villaraigosa is exploring the idea of going only to city voters rather than pushing for a countywide measure. The benefit: The subway would be pricey and keep him from having to promise the moon and stars to voters outside the Westside.

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If subways are indeed “outmoded,” how many cities have them?

In no particular order: San Francisco; New York; Philadelphia; Washington; Toronto; Atlanta; Montreal; London; Paris; Budapest, Hungary; Moscow; Rome; Beijing; Lisbon; Barcelona, Spain; Tehran; Berlin; New Delhi; Singapore; Cairo; Istanbul, Turkey; Hong Kong; Copenhagen; Mexico City; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Prague, Czech Republic; Pyongyang, North Korea; Tokyo; Seoul; Stockholm; Athens; Vienna; Brussels; Algiers; and Buenos Aires.

To name a few.

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Is it possible to win an appeal of a parking ticket against the city of Los Angeles?

During the last three years, about 52% of tickets that went through the appeals process in Los Angeles were dismissed, according to data supplied by the city. On average, about 6% of the 3.1 million tickets issued by the city in each of the last three years have been appealed.

Other interesting news on the Metergate front: City parking chief Amir Sedadi says enforcement officers can now figure out if a failed meter has reset. That hopefully means no more tickets for people who parked at meters reading “failed.”

More next week.

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Is City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo looking for another job?

Two sources said last week that they had been contacted by Delgadillo chief advisor Ann D’Amato to see if they would support her boss in a run against Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley in 2008.

Both sources have contributed to Delgadillo in the past. One suggested that Delgadillo take a pass. Delgadillo lost last year in the Democratic primary for attorney general against Jerry Brown and is due to be forced from office by term limits in 2009.

Delgadillo declined last week to discuss any future ambitions.

“I’m focused exclusively on being the best city attorney the city has ever had,” Delgadillo said.

Told that people have said they were called by one of his aides, Delgadillo said, “I’m not aware of it.”

We looked up “I’m not aware of it” in our politics-to-English dictionary, and it said: “See deniability.”

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And next week in this space?

An intervention on behalf of L.A.’s Rose Bowl float. The parade’s theme is world celebrations. Feel free to share your ideas.

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steve.hymon@latimes.com

Times staff writer Patrick McGreevy contributed to this report.