Troubled Animal Shelter Changing

The Glendale Humane Society shelter hasn’t always been the kindest place this year.

A city audit and follow-up investigation found that dogs were crammed into soiled cages, fed moldy food, injured by bleach and other cleaning solvents, and in some cases euthanized before a state-mandated holding period elapsed. The city contracts with the society to care for an estimated 3,300 lost and abandoned animals each year.

The audit also led to an embezzlement charge against Gerald Gracian, a pet-adoption counselor at the shelter who is accused of taking nearly $4,000. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for today in Los Angeles Superior Court.

In recent months, at least half a dozen shelter employees and board members, including Executive Director Leslie Eppick, have left.

And it was learned that the Ivy Street shelter lacked a kennel permit.

Now, while the city decides whether to continue its relationship with the nonprofit organization, animal welfare activists say the Glendale shelter’s troubles reflect a lack of stringent regulation and oversight of the state’s humane societies, kennels and other animal control operations. They say no agency other than local police departments enforces state laws on the proper treatment of animals.

“There’s a flaw in the whole system,” said Steve McNall, executive director of the Pasadena Humane Society and board member of the State Humane Assn. of California in Sacramento.

McNall favors a bureau that would monitor incidents of abuse or neglect, which are not tracked on a statewide basis. “Something has to be changed,” he said. “Someone has to be held accountable.”

The Glendale audit in part faulted the city, which for decades has contracted with the 77-year-old society.

“A level of trust had been developed due to the long-standing contractual relationship,” the 68-page audit report stated. “This resulted in complacency on the part of the city of Glendale.”

Council to Consider Contract Next Year

The last annual contract--for $540,000--expired in June, according to auditor Bill Fox. Since then, the society has operated the shelter under a month-to-month arrangement. The City Council will decide early next year whether to sign another yearly contract.

“I think progress is being made,” Fox said. “There’s been an attempt to correct the problems.”

Interim shelter director Nicholas Gilman said he has made several changes. The shelter has applied for a kennel permit, provided more staff training and organized and updated its records.

Workers clean the dog cages regularly with nontoxic detergents and euthanize fewer animals, Gilman said. They use injections that end lives faster than the old ones did, she said.

“I didn’t see any cruelty when I got here,” said Gilman, a vice president for Animal Care Equipment & Services in Crestline, Calif., a for-profit consulting and sales company that works with shelters. “I saw sloppiness.”

Earlier this month, the city named a new director, Fred DeLange, the head of the Burbank Animal Shelter. He starts Jan. 2.

Mayor Admits City Was Lax

Glendale Mayor Gus Gomez said he wants a detailed presentation before he votes to renew the contract. “No doubt, the Humane Society is making some improvements,” Gomez said. “But it depends on whether the trust and confidence is there.”

Gomez acknowledged that the city was lax in its regulation. “It’s a matter of having more frequent oversight,” he said.

Animal activists remained unconvinced. Glendale resident Chrissi Fernandez said the city took no action when she reported shelter problems during council meetings early this year.

“Who’s going to enforce a violation?” she asked.

Fernandez says she’s lobbying state lawmakers to create a regulatory agency for animal welfare.

“Look at what happens when there is not one,” she said. “Glendale was a breeding ground for inappropriate activity. It can happen anywhere.”