By now—EVERYBODY on planet earth should know to rescue…not buy when choosing a pet. The day of the ‘Animal Shelter’ is long gone as newandmodern LosAngelesAnimal Care Centers take on the task of not only helping pets in need, but offering assistance to people in finding solutions to their pet needs. With passage of L.A.’s Proposition F, the Fire andAnimal Facilities Bond, in 2000, LosAngeles signaled its support formodern and expanded animal care/ human interaction facilities. In 2007, the building program came to fulfillment with seven newfacilities, all with a top notch veterinary staffwho look after the health of the animals; animal Control Officers who respond to calls picking up stray, injured animals and wildlife or animals in danger of inhumane treatment; representatives to locatemissing pets; observation spaces within each Care Center including get-acquainted rooms for cats and outdoor yards for an adopter to get to know dogs and other animals; spay and neuter clinics and new Animal Care Centers keep animals comfortablewith radiant heating in the concrete for the winter and misting systems for hot days.
I spokewith Ed Boks, GeneralManager of Los Angeles Animal Services. Boks has for years stood far above other animal care representatives lobbying to upgrade facilities and further the legislation that protects animals.
“L.A.Animal Service is the largest pet adoption agency in the world. We adopted out 26,200-plus animals in 2008,” stated Boks. “We also partner with more than 100 rescue organizations in the area who help augment our adoption and place in the neighborhood of 4,000 to 5,000 animals each year. We have one of the highest return rates of lost pets to their owners any where in the country, and return some where in the area of 5,000 pets to frantic owners every year. One thing owners can do if they love their animals is to license and micro-chip their pets. Then, when we find the pet we can return it to them immediately. One hundred percent of the animals that come to our shelters with proper identification go home. A big problem is that the majority of lost pets that do come into our shelters have no identification and they never go home again.” Although there is much work to be done, Boks motto: create happiness by bringing pets and people together, has pushed Los Angeles on to become a ‘NO KILL’Animal Care state. This is no easy task as L.A. Animal Services rescues about 50,000 companion animals and nearly 10,000 exotic, wild and farm animals each year, and accepts lost or homeless pets (about 135 animals each day) and all are given shelter, vaccinated,medically evaluated, treated, housed and fed until they are reunited with owners or adopted.
“Most folks have fears and concerns about micro-chipping pets, but when I see the numbers of animals killed in United States shelters for no reason than we can’t find their owners, that is a national tragedy. Micro-chipping is away to ensure that if your pet is lost and found by local animal control— L.A. Animal Services—we can return the pet to you. Micro-chipping is an injection that takes about 10 seconds once the pet is with the veterinarian.”
Residents can be proud that L.A. Animal Services is dedicated to eliminating euthanasia as a tool for controlling its pet overpopulation.
:::Suzanne Takowsky
The Los Angeles Department of
Animal Services
888-4LAPET1 or 888-452-7381
North Central, South L.A,West Valley
East Valley, West L.A, Harbor
www.laanimalservices.com
