Adding TLC to Animal Services

A small but passionate band of animal welfare advocates is transforming the way Los Angeles City Hall deals with unwanted pets--and may soon be forcing pet owners to change their ways as well.

Appalled that more than 50,000 animals are put to death each year in city shelters, activists have already forced both the state and city to ease rules for pet adoptions. Animal rescue groups are now allowed to take dogs and cats from shelters to shopping malls and other venues in hopes of finding people to adopt them.

The city’s head of Animal Services, Dan Knapp, is a favorite of animal activists. He was appointed by Mayor Richard Riordan in 1998 after criticism that the city hadn’t done enough to save animals.

Under Knapp, volunteers now work side-by-side with city employees at animal shelters--helping to relieve the staff’s workload and guide potential adopters in selecting pets. When people show up at shelters with unwanted pets, the volunteers try to persuade them to keep the animals by offering help in solving problems such as pets chewing furniture.

The new direction is credited with helping reduce the number of animals euthanized by the city, which dropped to 51,637 last year, down from 59,663. The number of animals impounded also fell sharply, from 81,267 to 73,032, but that’s partly because in 1998 the city made a big push to round up strays.

“There is so much that can be done to save animals if we can just show people ways to solve problems so that they don’t have to get rid of their loved ones,” said Bobby Dorafshar, a volunteer who coordinates 13 rescue groups and more than 80 volunteers in a pilot project to reduce the euthanasia rate at the East Valley Animal Shelter in North Hollywood.

Rescuers Gain Lobbying Power

Because animals are considered personal property, laws for more than a century have protected the rights of owners and breeders to do what they please with them--so long as it does not constitute cruelty, said Susan Geranen, executive officer of the California Veterinary Medical Board.

But the pendulum appears to have swung, as rescuers have gained clout and lobbying savvy.

The Coalition for Pets and Public Safety, spearheaded by Teri Austin of the Amanda Foundation shelter rescue group, retains a public relations firm, Marathon Communications of Los Angeles, to promote its goals.

And a group called the Coalition to End Pet Overpopulation, representing an estimated 100 members and led by the Ark Trust of Encino, is credited with pushing tough new laws in Los Angeles that would levy a hefty surcharge on people who don’t have their pets spayed or neutered.

Under the ordinance, annual license fees in the city for unaltered dogs would increase from $30 to $100. In addition, anyone who owns an animal that has a litter would be required to purchase a $100 permit or face a fine of $500. The ordinance was unanimously recommended by the city Animal Regulation Commission last month and goes to a Los Angeles City Council committee for consideration March 6.

Knapp said the new rules are needed to “give the city the tools to affect the root cause” of overpopulation.

“Without addressing the cause, the problem and symptoms will continue unabated,” he said.

Opponents say it would penalize responsible breeders, while failing to thwart people who let their dogs and cats have litters without ensuring they have good homes.

Several cities have adopted similar rules, but there is no evidence they have been effective, said Dr. Gary Patronek, director of the Center for Animals and Public Policy at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine in Massachusetts.

“Enforcing these things can be very hard. The people who are contributing the least to the problem [responsible breeders], sometimes end up paying the highest price,” he said.

Some animal welfare advocates trace the current wave of activism to the 1994 Northridge earthquake. With shelters packed to four times capacity, volunteers came pouring in to help.

Dorafshar, the volunteer coordinator at East Valley, recalls the mayhem at the West Valley shelter in Chatsworth, besieged with an influx of more than 800 animals and a capacity for only 200.

“It was such a disaster,” said Dorafshar, who had gone there to search for a friend’s lost dog. “The animals were stressed, scared, injured with cuts and bruises. We called everyone we could. At least 25 people spent three days and nights, bringing in crates and boxes and trying to find owners.”

Dorafshar and others said they were astounded by the number of animals that had to be destroyed to relieve the overcrowding.

Adoptions Outside Shelters Approved

After months of talks, several volunteers persuaded former Animal Regulation chief Gary Olsen to allow them to take animals outside the shelters to find adopters at malls, shopping centers and pet stores.

Within the first year, a force of 200 volunteers was instrumental in placing about 5,000 animals, reducing the shelter euthanasia rate by about 9%, Dorafshar said.

But after several years, growing numbers of volunteers became increasingly critical of shelter practices and what they perceived as lax attitudes among the staff.

Many of the problems were attributed to budget and staffing issues in the shelters, “one of the lowest funded in the state, on a per capita basis,” said Gini Barrett, western regional director of the American Humane Assn. and a former city Animal Commission member.

By 1997, many of the volunteers quit and began to pressure the mayor’s office for reforms. Olsen was reassigned to other duties. About the same time, a lawsuit was filed against the Animal Regulation department, alleging extensive abuses and violations. The suit eventually was dismissed, but the charges prompted state Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles) to draft a bill, SB 1785, and call for public hearings in Sacramento.

The emotional testimony--including statements from people whose lost pets were mistakenly euthanized before they could claim them--gave impetus to passage of the bill, which expands holding periods for shelter animals, gives rescue groups greater access and power and sets new requirements for locating owners of strays.

New Name Signifies Changed Attitude

Attempts in the past to legislate animal control laws were typically defeated, Patronek said.

“The Hayden bill is a classic example of a small group of people being able to work with legislation and bypass the sheltering community,” he said.

With their newfound power, animal activists pushed for the selection of Knapp as the new general manager. The city also changed the department’s name from Animal Regulation to Animal Services in an attempt to reflect a more pro-animal attitude.

After his appointment in July 1998, Knapp, former executive director of the Sonoma County Humane Society, pledged to cut the slaughter and work for “100% adoption of adoptable animals.”

After a spate of dog attacks, including the mauling death of a child, Knapp warned that the city is facing a pet overpopulation crisis. That prompted the City Council last year to call for mandatory spay/neuter laws.

The ordinance now going to the City Council was first the subject of a series of hearings before the five-member Animal Regulation Commission. Commission members include Riordan’s daughter, Kathleen, a rescue volunteer with several organizations including the San Fernando Valley group, New Leash on Life.

Mayor Riordan on several occasions has pledged greater funds and resources to the animal services department. Current expenditures are expected to increase 32% over last year’s budget, and the department is seeking a 37% increase next year. Included are funds approved by the City Council for hiring five additional animal control officers to enforce the proposed new ordinance. Duties will include monitoring newspaper and handbill notices of puppies and kittens for sale, Knapp said.

The program will include a public education campaign and new volunteer efforts, such as the program at East Valley.

Called “Partners for Life,” the project launched last fall includes free dog training and vouchers for spay/neuter programs.

Volunteers Help in Pet Selection

One recent day at the East Valley shelter, a steady stream of people passed through the doors to the low-slung green brick building. A Van Nuys woman who works part time as a nanny was seeking a pup to adopt. So was a retired Burbank man, searching for a pound orphan to replace the 11-year companion he had just lost. A crew of volunteers was there to advise them on the proper selection and training of a pet.

Two young men led in a pair of mature dogs--an unaltered male Dalmatian with a festering skin disease and an obtruding abdominal tumor, along with his mate, a mixed retriever whose pups had just been whelped.

The men said that since they had a new pup, they wanted to get rid of the two older dogs.

Dorafshar just shook his head. “Sometimes, it doesn’t do any good to even talk to them,” he said. “We need to reach people, to educate them, before they come in here.”

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Rising Budget

The Department of Animal Services has requested $13.9 million for the 2000-2001 fiscal year, a $3.8 million increase from the 1999-2000 budget estimate.

Annual budget:

‘94-’95: $6.2

‘95-’96: $6.4

‘96-’97: $7.1

‘97-’98: $7.5

‘98-’99: $7.7

‘99-’00: $10.1 estimated

‘00-’01: $13.9 requested

Source: Department of Animal Services