Police captain to supervise shelter

Ryan Carter

Citing the need for more supervision, a Burbank Police captain has

taken over day-to-day management of the Burbank Animal Shelter, at

least for a little while.

Capt. Gordon Bowers will spend most of his time there for a few

weeks while other police captains cover his duties at the department,

he said.

“I became aware of a number of administrative inefficiencies,

which I felt needed attention,” Bowers said.

As captain of the department’s Special Operations Division, Bowers

oversees the shelter. But this is the first time since the

resignation of longtime shelter Supt. Fred DeLange a year ago that

Bowers has worked daily at the shelter. DeLange went on to work for

the Glendale Humane Society, which at the time was being investigated

for employee embezzlement and euthanizing cats without authorization.

The city has not filled the Burbank spot since his departure.

In lieu of a full-time superinten- dent, veteran animal-control

officers Claudia Madrid and Florante Pagador have rotated

superintendent duties.

Bowers said the inefficiencies involved duplication of documents

and an archaic record-keeping system. He also said without a

full-time supervisor, the workload on Pagador and Madrid is

overwhelming.

Bowers said animal care was not affected because of the

administrative inefficiencies.

Management Services Director John Nicoll said although there was

some outside interest in the superintendent spot, no one was

qualified to run a shelter of Burbank’s size.

The shelter has 50 dog kennels and space for about 30 cats, which

are cared for by six animal-control officers, two kennel assistants

and a clerk.

Officials are looking to further loosen the superintendent’s job

experience requirements to allow for someone with management

experience but less animal shelter knowledge, Bowers said.