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.