Chick Finds Animal Services “Ill-Prepared”

This week, Controller Laura Chick issued another brutally sharp audit on the shelter’s failure to prepare the city for the upcoming mandatory spay & neuter law. Just two months ago, she issued a severe assessment of the shelter’s fiscal problems.

Mr. Ed Boks is the shelter General Manager who wrote a long reply challenging Chick's conclusions on the city blog.

He also says that the new $16 million shelter in Councilman Richard Alarcon's district is loaded with animals, but not open to the public. There are also supposed to be free spay & neuter clinics at the shelters, but they still haven't opened years after Prop F funds were given to the city.

This link goes to an article by former City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, who wrote, "The Animal Services portion of the bond, $154.1 million, will be used to replace three existing animal shelters, build two new shelters, and expand and renovate three others, provide more kennel space to reduce pet overcrowding in shelters, create more spay and neuter clinics to help reduce overpopulation on the streets, and increase adoption opportunities."

This was written all the way back in 2000.

Mr. Boks blames the problems on staff & budgetary cuts, but if those cuts haven't yet been made, and he has been given hundreds of millions of dollars, how can he blame these problems on the cuts?

A blogging dog rescuer named Ed Musika has some interesting views on related matters.