Mayor Daniel: I speak for Boo-Boo

I am deeply troubled by the ongoing problems at LA Animal Services (LAAS) and its new general manager, Ed Boks.

Mayor Sam has given me a platform to address the blown opportunities, and the tragic (in)humane consequences of the Boks era. I will not resort to name calling, but will be clear with the dissatisfaction, and use adjectives, like incompetence.

Meet Boo Boo, a severely injured dog who my charity was to save from Boks' E. Valley shelter last Saturday.

"He's doing well and has been off of pain medications for days," the Animal Care Technician (ACT) told me as she handed me the dog with blood pouring from the gaping hole in his left shoulder.

Doing okay?

How about that kiddie pool of blood gathering at his feet (see the photo).

Doing okay?

The dog could barely walk, as the ACT pulled him on the filthy, frayed rope leash that was digging into the MASSIVE open wound on Boo Boo's back, which measured roughly 15" x 7".

No pain medication for days?

What about the massive open scars between his eyes, on his right temple and right jaw.

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This site is dedicated to Boo Boo, but will be used (thanks to Mayor Sam) as a platform for all of the preventable tragedies at LA Animal Services, including the blown opportunities to take advantage of MAJOR funding opportunities.

Or, to address the litter of days-old puppies that drowned in a freezing rain three weeks ago when Boks' officers botched a rescue -- then lied about it -- then did a 180 when they realized that they were caught in a lie.

Boks, has promised "transparency," but has delivered "obfuscation."

Go back and see the pool of blood at Boo Boo's feet. This is no time for obfuscation.

Neither was it time two weeks ago when puppies drowned in a watery grave when Boks' people botched a "slam dunk" of a rescue because they "took a break" in the middle of a rescue and the pups' mom broke free from the control that they had on her.

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Saturday started when indifferent front desk employees became annoyed when I pointed out to them that their parking lot was jammed with cars being worked on by the adjacent repair garages. They said the "could" cite or two them. But they didn't. No citations on the windshield. No tow trucks being called.

And no parking spaces for those who were driving to the shelter to adopt.

They circled around the driveway, saw no place to park, and drove away.

The front desk employees were annoyed. I probably interfered with their breakfast.

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When my rescue colleague and I saw the gravity of Boo Boo's substantial bleeding, which the Veterinary Techs could not control, chaos ensued. We concluded that the dog was in severe pain and appeared to be bleeding to death.

With great pain, we asked for him to be euthanized.

But the shelter was unprepared, as their controversial veterinarian on duty (who was not welcome in the County facility) called in sick.

So, we have severe medical conditions. No vet. No plan to get a vet. No plan for anything.
No nothing for a severely injured dog whose bleeding wasn't stopping.

If you don't know, Boks has NINE veterinarian openings. He blames it on activists, but fails to acknowledge that the salaries he's offering are roughly 2/3rds of what vets make at other shelters and are even further less than what a vet makes in private practice.

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Ultimately, I called Boks and told him that we had a medical emergency and that his people were unprepared to deal with it. When the staffers saw that I called Ed, they finally called a local vet to get an approval for a euthanasia.

The Officer in Charge, the ACT and the Vet Techs appeared to agree that Boo Boo was in extreme condition and needed to be euthanized.

As I held him, I cried on Boo Boo's back and apologized for the shitty treatment he received at LAAS. I told him that I would bring this sickening situation to public light, as there are other LAAS stories that need to be shared, but are hidden behind the locked doors that Boks promised to open and deal with fairly and with transparency.

I felt his body release its tension and held Boo Boo for another 10 minutes. I kissed him on his scarred, but peaceful face, and walked out of the shelter.

Boo Boo, according to several shelter employees, should never have been kept alive. I concur.

The problem is, LAAS failed to take advantage of a local psychologist's offer of free emergency veterinary care.

"We don't have enough money (for pain killers)" the ACT said. Boo Boo lingered in a cold, cement-floored shelter with massive head and bleeding body injuries when the offer of free, emergency, private veterinary care was available.

10 long days of suffering.....unnecessarily....with insufficient care from a controversial veterinarian.

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Now Boks is forcing me to submit a public information request for Boo Boo's medical records, even though my charity legally owns him.

On a day when there is controversy about whether what the ACT told me is correct or not, Boks is again obfuscating, rather than providing clarity.

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This page on Mayor Sam is dedicated to Boo Boo and will serve to address situations like this, and the other controversies swirling around Boks, including blown funding opportunities, drowned puppies, and how things in the Boks tenure at LAAS have devolved so quickly.

So preventable.

And without pain medication or taking advantage of free, private veterinary care for a dog with massive bleeding injuries.

Boo Boo was NOT doing okay.

He suffered and lingered in pain. Unnecessarily.

To me, that is CRIMINAL.
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