The recommendations are meant to improve the way the animal control agents serve the public and improve the aging animal shelters.
There have been several vicious dog attacks recently, but the incident that brought it all to a head was the fatal mauling in the Antelope Valley last month. A 63-year-old woman was mauled to death by a pack of pit bulls while she was walking in her Littlerock community. The owner of the dogs is now facing a murder charge.
After the death, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors requested recommendations to better the Department of Animal Care and Control. Six recommendations will be made, including the following:
- Increase number of animal control field officers
- Increase protective equipment for officers
- Purchase more animal control trucks
- Expand communications center or create new center
The issue with the recommendation to expand or create a new communications center is that the current center can only house a maximum of 13 agents. The recommendation says they need at least 26 agents to run the center properly during the peak hours of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The recommendations are expected to cost $2.4 million, $1.6 million of which will be ongoing funding. The rest will be a one-time payment.
