Westside Current Editor Jamie Page visited the South-Central Animal shelter on April 5 and was brought to tears with the overcrowding and the filth.
“I have never seen conditions so bad,” Paige wrote. “I ended up fostering a senior dog, who has been in a kennel for two years. He was in pain, and I couldn’t leave him behind.”
Paige had toured the facility with other animal lovers and was shocked to find a number of animals, sometimes as many as four, stuffed into a single kennel.
The kennels had not been cleaned and were full of feces. Many had mold.
The L.A. City Council approved a temporary moratorium on dog breeding permits on April 9 in an attempt to address overpopulation. The moratorium will affect dogs specifically, not cats or rabbits, because the shelters are reporting an influx of purebred dogs being dropped off.
Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez, who chairs L.A.’s Neighborhoods and Community Enrichment Committee said prior to the moratorium vote that not enough animals are being adopted or fostered “shelters are overwhelmed with animals and the conditions are completely unacceptable.”
Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who chairs the budget committee, said the moratorium would serve as a cost cutting measure, because it “costs money to house these animals and even more to put them down.”
While Paige was at the shelter, she gave out treats to the dogs. One dog, Perdito, who had not been taken out of the kennel for almost two years lay on the floor. “He wouldn’t even look up,” Paige said. “He seemed to be in pain.”
Although she has three small dogs, she brought Perdito, who weighed 50 pounds, home. Initially, the seven-year-old canine needed to be carried down the steps: he walked with difficulty. He had a limp. She took him to a vet, who said he had arthritis and that he should be on bed rest temporarily.
The canine promptly tried all the small dog beds in the house, trying to get comfortable. “He’s so sweet,” Paige said, and although out of the shelter for only a few days, one day he played with dog toys.
Perdito sleeping on a small dog bed.
Every day he makes progress and no longer limps.
On Sunday, while many were watching the Master’s Golf Tournament, Perdito was excitedly watching a television show on how to train dogs.
If Paige had not taken him home, most likely he would have died on the cement kennel floors.
People to call on the Neighborhoods and Community Enrichment Committee, that oversees the shelters:
Chair Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez (213) 473-7001 or Councilmember.Hernandez@lacity.org
Councilmember John Lee (213) 473-7012 or Councilmember.Lee@lacity.org
Councilmember Heather Hutt (213) 473-7010 or heather.hutt@lacity.org
Mayor Karen Bass. (213) 978-0600 or mayor.helpdesk@lacity.org (and if it bounces back resend or try http://mayor.lacity.gov/Contact)