No Room at the Refuges

By the time his family turned the corner and walked out the door, Shadow was beyond bewildered and going a little berserk.

About 18 months old, he is a brown bundle of sinewy muscle and live-wire energy. But owner Jose Avalos said Shadow had less endearing traits--he constantly dug holes in the yard of his Sylmar home and tried to run off.

For Avalos and his children who came to a North Hollywood shelter to give Shadow up, the parting was sad but quick.

Shadow, a hearty Staffordshire terrier-Labrador mix, was left alone in a cage to be processed into the shelter’s general population. Because of his age and aggressiveness, he is not a good candidate for adoption and thus may have a limited time left on this Earth.

Such is the cycle of truncated life and summary death at animal shelters in Southern California.

There are, of course, heartening stories of people rallying around abandoned animals or of owners going to extraordinary lengths to find or save a pet. But the shelter system for the most part is a mess, trapped within a welter of contradictory impulses.

As a society, Americans profess to love their animals, but the shelters run by cities and counties are perennially underfunded and understaffed. The fault does not lie just with government, however.

Irresponsible breeders end up with thousands of sick, underdeveloped puppies and kittens that are quickly abandoned. And although spaying and neutering pets would help to check overpopulation, many owners, for both personal and cultural reasons, are skittish about the procedure.

The problems are dumped on animal shelters, which most often are located in out-of-the-way industrial areas that are not very inviting for people wanting to adopt.

As a result, more than 100,000 dogs and cats are euthanized each year in Los Angeles County, while 600,000 are put to death statewide, according to state and local officials. Of animals that enter the state’s shelter system, from Eureka to San Diego, 60% of dogs and nearly 80% of cats are put to death, some at the request of owners.

A new law that extends the amount of time shelters must hold animals before they can be killed, though well-intentioned, is exacerbating the problem, say shelter administrators. That is because the law, which took effect July 1, also applies to animals that are not considered adoptable; instead of being immediately euthanized, they are now crowded into cages that would normally house adoptable pets.

If there is one positive aspect in the morass, say experts, it is that attention has finally been focused on a system much in need of care.

“The good news is that all of the turmoil surrounding the legislation has put the issue of unwanted animals front and center in the state,” said Madeline Bernstein, president of SPCA Los Angeles.

System Has Been Neglected

Why the animal shelter system has been so neglected is more difficult to explain. Bernstein, who is also vice president of the California Humane Society, surmises that many people have become desensitized to conditions.

“The shelters are usually overcrowded; they smell,” said Bernstein, who frequently appears in the media to promote pet adoptions. “The dogs and cats have runny noses, droopy eyes. You’re upping the tolerance level. And then the numbers are so staggering that most people feel overwhelmed. If I’m on the air with one dog, it has impact; people feel they can deal with that. But if I stood there and said I have 600 dogs, no one would call.”

Additionally, most large shelters are run by cities or counties that have suffered years of under-investment, as have other public services, said Jennifer Wolch, a USC professor of geography and urban planning.

“There haven’t been any real advocates on the City Council or Board of Supervisors to make animal services a budget priority,” said Wolch. “That means there hasn’t been enough public education and outreach services.” The consequences are evident all over Southern California.

At the city-run North Hollywood shelter, a small black cat has been shaking in the rear of a cage surrounded by barking dogs, while attendants try to find a spot for it. The cat house is full, in some cases with four or five cats to a cage, and some will have to be shifted to accommodate the newest arrival, found that morning in a parking lot.

It is only midweek and the intake room is hopping with activity. Someone has brought in a litter of six abandoned pit bull puppies that are squiggling to escape from a large cardboard box.

Then there is the Shih Tzu, with long, black and white hair that is knotted and smelly. A woman is explaining that her husband found it wandering the night before.

“He smells bad and I think he’s sick,” the woman tells shelter attendant Fred Colon. “My daughter was like, ‘Let’s keep it.’ But no, I don’t think so.”

The fur around the mouth of the dog is stained a garish pink.

“A lot of people--and I don’t know if these people did it--but for some reason if they find a sick dog [they] try to give it Pepto Bismol,” Colon said.

Colon, a 10-year veteran of the shelter, has heard and seen just about everything.

“People get these dogs when they’re cute and small but they don’t realize they will get to be too big for them,” he said, after managing to reinstall a reluctant Rottweiler in a cage. “This dog, Shadow, that was digging, there are ways to deal with that. Sometimes when a dog is not fixed they are going to dig and run away. But a lot of people don’t want to do that. They want the kids to experience the miracle of birth.”

And there are other reasons, said Wolch, who has studied attitudes toward animals. Some men, for example, are reluctant to have their male dogs neutered. People from rural areas may be more hesitant than those from big cities, and cultural groups may have a utilitarian view of animals that affects attitudes toward neutering and spaying.

“Especially in Los Angeles, we have a rapidly changing population to deal with,” said Wolch. “Animal services has not had the ability to figure out how to approach public education toward these different communities, and that would make a difference.”

Before leaving the North Hollywood shelter, 10-year-old Jennifer Avalos expresses the hope that maybe someone will adopt Shadow.

“It’s kind of sad,” she says, holding Wendy, the family’s small beagle, who’s been brought to bid farewell to her companion.

But Colon is doubtful. “It would take a special person. He’s already used to that family.”

In Downey, Frank R. Andrews, director of the county’s Department of Animal Care and Control, points to some of the residents of his overcrowded kennels. There is Cookie, a 1-year-old mixed-breed female turned in by her owner. The reason: “no time,” according to the notation affixed to the cage. Tito, a white cocker spaniel, was handed over because he is “too vocal.” The note next to a young Dalmatian says: “a really sweet dog,” but offers no other clues as to its owner’s mind-set.

“They never tell us the truth, that they just don’t want it anymore,” said Andrews.

The Downey shelter, one of six operated by Los Angeles County, dates from the late 1930s, and some of the kennels look every minute of their age. The buildings are white cinder block with blue trim. The cages are pocked and paint is peeling.

A few years ago, when the roofs were leaking, the staff pitched in with money to make repairs. And they have never been busier. The county contracts with 52 cities to provide animal control services, and total animal impoundments each year average more than 100,000. In June, the department logged 50,000 service calls and Andrews thinks it may top that number this month.

Each year the department conducts a door-to-door census in cities under its jurisdiction to ensure that dogs are licensed and vaccinated for rabies. And there is a special squad of animal wranglers charged with picking up especially dangerous animals on the loose.

Some neighborhoods have a chronic dog problem. The Firestone/Florence area, Whittier Narrows Park and Kenneth Hahn Park seem to be dumping grounds, Andrews said. Countywide, 44,000 stray dogs roam the streets. And though the number of cat impoundments is decreasing, dog impoundments are soaring, topping 61,000 last year. Of that, more than 45,000--or 74%--were euthanized within the county-run system, a rate that is consistent with large government shelters in other cities statewide.

An Emotional Toll on Shelter Staff

The euthanasia procedure--animals are injected intravenously with phenobarbital and die instantly--can take a toll on staffers.

“When we have to put animals to sleep, it becomes emotionally draining,” said Josie Zavala, a veterinarian at the Downey shelter.

In Orange County shelters last year, about 39% of dogs and 69% of cats were killed, according to California Department of Health Services statistics. But conditions and euthanasia rates can vary dramatically. Municipal shelters must take any abandoned pet, but privately run shelters can pick and choose, avoiding dangerous or sick animals.

At one end of the spectrum are shelters like the Irvine Animal Care Center, where pets are safe for well beyond 45 days, where aggressive adoption efforts are made and only 6% of animals are killed.

“We’re so lucky,” said shelter program coordinator Eliza Rubenstein. “These are things that most shelters would like to do, but aren’t able to if they don’t have the money.”

By contrast, 59% of dogs and cats brought in are killed at the Orange County Animal Shelter in Orange, which serves 21 cities and unincorporated areas of the county. Of those animals, about half are destroyed at the request of their owners, officials say.

Perhaps the Versailles of pet shelters is that run by the Pasadena Humane Society and SPCA, which has the verdant look of a Spanish-style hacienda. Executive Director Steve McNall says that people come to eat lunch at the facility because of its park-like landscaping.

The society contracts to provide services for Pasadena and five other San Gabriel Valley cities and handles about 10,000 animals each year. Each of its 165 dog kennels has heated slabs underfoot and a mister for warm days.

There is an animal psychologist, special make-over rooms and a socialization yard, where rambunctious strays can learn the finer ways of life. People who adopt pets are required to bring every family member, including other pets, so that the entire clan can become a cohesive unit. There are virtually no returns.

Legislation Lengthens Holding Period

Since the society remodeled its facility in 1994, the adoption rate has tripled, McNall said. That success has not been lost on other shelter administrators, who are moving to establish more aggressive adoption programs and to make their facilities more hospitable.

They have been aided somewhat by passage of legislation sponsored by state Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles), which lengthens the former three-day holding period for strays. Now, they must be held for at least four days in shelters that have evening or weekend hours and at least six days in shelters that operate during normal business hours. The law also bars shelters from immediately killing feral--or wild--cats, or animals brought in by their owners.

In Los Angeles, $2 million has been added to the animal care budget to hire staff and improve facilities. City officials are considering a crackdown on owners who fail to sterilize their pets. The proposal calls for dog and cat owners to spay or neuter the animals before they are 5 months old. Owners of unsterilized pets would have to pay a $100 annual fee. In addition, those who intend to breed their animals would have to pay $200 annually.

The Board of Supervisors handed county shelters an extra $400,000 to increase medical services.

Andrews is excited because, after more than 60 years, the Downey shelter is scheduled for upgrading sometime next year. The county is also creating a Web site showing its entire shelter population and installing an automated phone system, which will allow pet owners to run through a database to search for lost animals.

And despite their many problems, shelters do produce many a story with a happy ending.

Nina Madrid and her three children thought they had lost their beloved Lucky after he disappeared through a hole he dug under the fence last week.

It had happened before, about seven months ago. The mischievous chow-terrier mix was gone for five days, with no tags to help identify him, while the family searched frantically. They found him at the North Hollywood shelter--on the day before he would have been put up for adoption.

And there they were again after his latest escape. This time he had tags and the shelter was able to contact the family

Madrid, Yvette, 11, Erin, 12, and Ivan, 7, waited to retrieve him while paperwork was being completed. They thought after the last time that reinforcing the fence would solve the problem, Madrid said. But it seems Lucky has been stepping out to visit a lady friend.

“He definitely needs to be fixed,” she said, laughing.

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Times staff writer Ioana Patringenaru contributed to this report.

More Information

For more information on pet ownership, spaying and neutering and pet adoption, call:

* SPCA Los Angeles, (888) SPCA-LA1

* Pasadena Humane Society and SPCA, (626) 792-7151

* Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control, (562) 940-8871 or (562) 940-8909

* Los Angeles Animal Services, (888) 452-7381