Woman Cited in Missing Pets Case : Owners Say Dogs, Cats Abandoned, Not Given Homes

Margarita Sorzano, a 58-year-old West Los Angeles woman, performed an ostensibly civic-minded duty: For between $20 and $50, she advertised, she would pick up your unwanted dog or cat and find it a good home. She’d even make sure she took along the animal’s favorite blanket or toy, according to those who dealt with her.

But according to charges filed by the district attorney’s office, Sorzano was doing nothing more than pocketing the money and then immediately driving the dogs to a park and abandoning them.

In a misdemeanor complaint filed in Whittier Municipal Court this week, Sorzano was charged with four counts of abandoning domesticated animals and petty theft after prosecutors completed a “sting” operation that was initiated last summer by members of an animal protection organization, who hired a private investigator in an attempt to catch Sorzano in the act.

Sorzano, who was informed of the charges against her in a letter mailed by the district attorney, was unavailable for comment Friday. She is to be arraigned Feb. 18.

Cause for Celebration

Animal rights advocates, who said they believed that Sorzano had been running the scam for years but who were never able to obtain proof, were jubilant.

“I am so relieved to know she will no longer ply her fiendish trade on this community,” said Gretchen Wyler, an actress who is vice chairman of the Fund For Animals, which began the investigation. “I’d hate to tell you what we’ve spent on PIs (private investigators), but it’s worth it.”

Michael Giannelli, another member of the group, said its investigation provided “a terrible peek into the worst that human nature can sink to.”

Wyler said a donation made earlier last year to her organization by actress Lily Tomlin was used to employ a private investigator, Earl Siddall, who helped members of the group set up Sorzano.

Participants in the sting operation telephoned Sorzano in response to flyers she distributed throughout Los Angeles, including the offices of some veterinarians. The callers asked Sorzano to pick up dogs that they said they were no longer able to house.

Various Communities

On four nights between July and January, according to the criminal charges against Sorzano, Siddall followed Sorzano after she had picked up the dogs at homes in Whittier, East Los Angeles, Monterey Park and La Mirada. Each time, he said, he watched her dispose of them at parks either in the area or near her home.

On the third and fourth occasions, Siddall was accompanied by investigators from the district attorney’s office, and the animal owners carried concealed devices to tape-record conversations, investigators said.

The dogs that were given to Sorzano during the sting were dusted with a powder that glowed in the dark when it was exposed to light in order to make it easier for participants to recover the animals after they were abandoned, according to the criminal complaint.

Giannelli said those who had dealt with Sorzano in the past said she often called them back to report that she had placed their dogs or cats in good homes, and “in some cases she sent cards to people,” he said.

Wouldn’t Say Who

Wyler said one woman who paid Sorzano to take her cat changed her mind overnight and telephoned the next day to request the animal back, but was refused by Sorzano, who allegedly told the woman that she had a policy of never disclosing the names of the new owners she found for pets.

Dr. Pat Sevedge, co-owner of the West Los Angeles Veterinary Medical Group, who said he had known Sorzano for years, said he was “flabbergasted” by the charges.

He said Sorzano brought several sick or injured abandoned animals to the clinic each month, paid for their treatment and picked them up when they were well.

“I assumed she was finding homes for them,” he said.

According to the criminal complaint, Sorzano asked one of the four pet owners to pay her by writing a check to Sevedge’s group. Sevedge said he presumed Sorzano did that in order to use the check to pay a bill she owed to the group.

Dr. John Winters, a veterinarian at Beverly Hills Small Animal Hospital, said Sorzano had distributed “tremendous volumes” of her handwritten flyers in the office. While he “wondered about where she kept the animals and the funding,” Winters said, “she seemed to be very caring. . . . I always thought she was reputable.”

Giannelli said that while the Fund For Animals can do little to find abandoned animals, it is attempting to compile a list of pet owners who feel they might have been victimized by Sorzano. Those interested may call (818) 789-1190, he said.

Times Staff Writer Steve Churm contributed to this report.