I just came in from walking my dogs for the night and it is about 48 degrees Fahrenheit out there. I think about the animals sitting at the LA County shelters with no heat, no blanket, nothing to provide comfort. The night must be long for them. I know it is long for me when I think about how cold they must be. I do know there are young day-old puppies as well as senior dogs who have been abandoned by their human families because of their age - all are very cold.
I have asked the people in Administration today about getting heaters for the kennels and was told that there are two bids for this week. Well, what happens while the County is seeking bids to get a heating system in place? The weather does not let up and the animals are suffering in the cold. It will be another long night not just for them but for me too.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
LACACC's priority
It is safe for me to conclude that the priority of the LA County Animal Care and Control department has nothing to do with the animals.
Tomorrow will be the 10th day that the website is down. The administration staff put out emails stating that it's their "top priority" and they are working "around the clock" to fix the problem with "no estimated time of repair". If any other departmental site goes down - I am sure the problem would be addressed right away.
The animals sitting in all six shelters need help from the public and rescuers to put pressure on the people who are supposedly in the position to run the department - otherwise, they absolutely NOTHING will get accomplished. Why? because these people simply do not care.
The staff members (both at the shelters and in Admin) who cared have all left the department out of frustration and the blatant absence of compassionate leadership on the part of the director and her deputy directors. It is truly a travesty leadership.
Tomorrow will be the 10th day that the website is down. The administration staff put out emails stating that it's their "top priority" and they are working "around the clock" to fix the problem with "no estimated time of repair". If any other departmental site goes down - I am sure the problem would be addressed right away.
The animals sitting in all six shelters need help from the public and rescuers to put pressure on the people who are supposedly in the position to run the department - otherwise, they absolutely NOTHING will get accomplished. Why? because these people simply do not care.
The staff members (both at the shelters and in Admin) who cared have all left the department out of frustration and the blatant absence of compassionate leadership on the part of the director and her deputy directors. It is truly a travesty leadership.
From the Director of LACACC today
After three email requests and help from some other people who also wrote to her - she finally responded.
Here is her reply:
Cathy,
We are aware the website is not working and are doing everything possible to get it fixed as soon as possible. Staff have been working on this nonstop since last week. We do not have an estimated repair date yet, but rest assured it is a top priority.
We will make every effort to extend animals’ due out dates as long as possible, considering overcrowding and other concerns.
Marcia Mayeda, CAWA
Director
County of Los Angeles
Department of Animal Care and Control
5898 Cherry Avenue
Long Beach, CA 90805
telephone (562) 728-4610
fax (562) 422-3478
www.animalcare.lacounty.gov
www.lacountyanimals.org
Here is her reply:
Cathy,
We are aware the website is not working and are doing everything possible to get it fixed as soon as possible. Staff have been working on this nonstop since last week. We do not have an estimated repair date yet, but rest assured it is a top priority.
We will make every effort to extend animals’ due out dates as long as possible, considering overcrowding and other concerns.
Marcia Mayeda, CAWA
Director
County of Los Angeles
Department of Animal Care and Control
5898 Cherry Avenue
Long Beach, CA 90805
telephone (562) 728-4610
fax (562) 422-3478
www.animalcare.lacounty.gov
www.lacountyanimals.org
Sunday, November 11, 2007
LA County Shelter website - still down
Tomorrow is Veteran's Day - the shelters will be closed. Website is not working. I've sent a request to Marcia Mayeda to as for extension on time for the animals impounded on the date that the website stopped working properly. I have yet to hear back from her.
I look at my dogs content and sleeping on the couch behind me and I can't help but
think about the dogs sitting in the kennels at the LA county shelters. Some probably have families looking for them but their families don't know that they are there at the shelter. Another long day and night of waiting - waiting for an uncertain and unknown fate. Life is hard for the living beings who do not have a voice.
I look at my dogs content and sleeping on the couch behind me and I can't help but
think about the dogs sitting in the kennels at the LA county shelters. Some probably have families looking for them but their families don't know that they are there at the shelter. Another long day and night of waiting - waiting for an uncertain and unknown fate. Life is hard for the living beings who do not have a voice.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
LA County's website is down and... no heaters
The LA County shelter website http://animalcare.lacounty.gov/ has been down for the last three days. No new animals were added since 11/5/07. Which means if you lost your dog or cat and you were looking to see if your pet showed up on the lost & found, you won't find him or her there - even though he or she might physically be at the shelter and is waiting for you to come bring him or her home.
The people at Admin have been notified and the answer is that they are working on it. Top priority but no estimated time of repair. It's Friday tomorrow and usually people at Admin don't have to work on Fridays, however, I was told that they will be there working to resolve the problem with the website.
It took several people emailing all day today to finally get them to post this message up on the website:
"We are experiencing technical difficulties and cannot retrieve current data at this time. We are aware of the problem and are working to resolve it as soon as possible."
The last time the website was down, many animals lost their lives. People who lost their pets count on the website to see if their pets showed up as strays; rescuers rely on the website being updated regularly so they know what dogs are there that they can help. Many highly adoptable animals were euthanized as the result. Hopefully, this time they will get the site up and running by tomorrow. I am being overly optimistic.
The other issue is the weather. It has been very cold at night the last couple of weeks. The animals at the LA County shelters are without any heat. For the very young and the very old - the cold is quite unforgiving. I've been asking to have heaters installed for a while but have been told that they are working on getting bids in. Well, that's great and all, but what about the animals freezing their butts off right now? What about the ones who are either coming down with upper-respiratory infection or are currently suffering from uri - do they just wait to develop pneumonia?
I have no idea how long or what it will take to change things at the LA County shelter system, but I am not going to give up. I will keep pushing Marcia Mayeda and her two deputy directors until they get off their duffs and DO something about the state of the shelters under their "leadership".
The people at Admin have been notified and the answer is that they are working on it. Top priority but no estimated time of repair. It's Friday tomorrow and usually people at Admin don't have to work on Fridays, however, I was told that they will be there working to resolve the problem with the website.
It took several people emailing all day today to finally get them to post this message up on the website:
"We are experiencing technical difficulties and cannot retrieve current data at this time. We are aware of the problem and are working to resolve it as soon as possible."
The last time the website was down, many animals lost their lives. People who lost their pets count on the website to see if their pets showed up as strays; rescuers rely on the website being updated regularly so they know what dogs are there that they can help. Many highly adoptable animals were euthanized as the result. Hopefully, this time they will get the site up and running by tomorrow. I am being overly optimistic.
The other issue is the weather. It has been very cold at night the last couple of weeks. The animals at the LA County shelters are without any heat. For the very young and the very old - the cold is quite unforgiving. I've been asking to have heaters installed for a while but have been told that they are working on getting bids in. Well, that's great and all, but what about the animals freezing their butts off right now? What about the ones who are either coming down with upper-respiratory infection or are currently suffering from uri - do they just wait to develop pneumonia?
I have no idea how long or what it will take to change things at the LA County shelter system, but I am not going to give up. I will keep pushing Marcia Mayeda and her two deputy directors until they get off their duffs and DO something about the state of the shelters under their "leadership".
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