Some animal advocates decry LA shelter crisis; city approves motion aimed at increasing staffing

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Animal advocates gathered outside and inside Los Angeles City Hall Friday morning, saying a crisis is what brought them there.

"I feel let down by this council and by all of these empty chairs. The conditions of our city animal shelters are deplorable," said Jacqueline Piñol of The Canine Condition.

According to the latest available City Controller data, as of late February, all shelters have a higher dog population than kennels or cages available.

"The solutions are enforcing our mandatory spay and neuter law, banning breeders right now," said Haze Lynn of Take me Home Rescue. "You have too many animals being born, and there's not enough homes for them."

Since 2022, the reported monthly intake of dogs is consistently over 1,000 across L.A. City animal shelters. This January registered the highest intake since August 2023 at nearly 1,600.

Advocates and shelter officials are also at odds over the animals the city has euthanized. The city stresses it has a "no-kill" policy and does not euthanize "healthy and friendly animals."

Officials said they have been able to save animals on the euthanization list by working with rescues and extending how long animals are on that list.

In statement to Eyewitness News, a public relations specialist with L.A. Animal Services said in part, "Since General Manager Dains was appointed, overcrowding has been nearly cut in half in less than a year because of creative new policies to protect animals," adding in part, "A small minority of 'advocates' and certain rescue organizations, who are not actively engaged in our shelters, continue to distort and fabricate an untrue narrative about the department."

"No kill is a lie. It's not real. We do kill animals, we just disguise it under other names," said Lynn.

Danielle Fajardo, an attorney who has studied animal law, said she identified a dog that was set to be euthanized because of a condition known as a "head tilt."

Fajardo said she advocated for that dog who is now in a foster home.

"I still speak to the person that was able to foster her, and she's completely healthy," said Fajardo. "I think she was euth-listed at like 14 days of being at the shelter. I think that's a big issue, because healthy dogs are being euthanized," she added.

Among the data published by the L.A. City Controller, a chart categorized by "outcomes" since 2022 shows there was record high of 929 euthanizations reported in June 2023. There has since been a decrease from 758 in September 2023 to 277 in January 2024.

Other findings show:

• Across L.A. City shelters, 51 dogs had not been walked in about a month. No reason was listed.

• Since February 2024, there were 43 staffing vacancies, including 18 animal control officers. About a year ago, there were only 10 vacancies for animal control officers.

Los Angeles Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez introduced a motion underscoring that staffing shortages are a major contributing factor to the crisis in the shelter system.

It calls for exploring funding options for nearly $3 million to fill about 100 as-need positions. The city council approved the motion Friday.

In statement to Eyewitness News, Hernandez said the Department of Animal Services has been chronically understaffed and underfunded for years, adding that the crisis requires a comprehensive approach, including removing barriers to adopting and fostering, increasing spay and neuter rates, adding staff, and halting the issuance of breeding permits.

"Today, I introduced a motion that asks for a report back from the Department of Animal Services on methods to offer monetary stipends to incentivize participation in the city's foster program. This is the latest legislation we've introduced in Council to address the issues in our shelters," said Hernandez.