Try to wrap your brain around these numbers: it is estimated that 12,000 feral cats are roaming the streets of the ZIP code 90037 — a two-square mile of South Los Angeles that's roughly centered on Vermont Avenue and Vernon Avenue. more ›

Does your four-legged canine companion like to express him or herself? As in, does your dog bark...a lot? If so, you may want to start stashing some extra cash in your piggy bank, because the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously yesterday to impose fines "on the owners of dogs that bark excessively — even if the canines are not licensed by the city." more ›

In August, about 120 guns were seized from the city's animal control officers and facilities as part of a department audit conducted by City Controller Wendy Greuel. Thursday, officials announced the audit determined that all of the department's weapons were accounted for, though there had been previous concerns some weapons had gone missing. more ›

Are animals being cared for in shelters run by L.A.'s Animal Services Department actually being stolen and sold for profit? It's possible, and City Controller Wendy Greuel has announced today her intention to conduct an audit aimed at uncovering just what is going on behind the scenes there. more ›

I can has naptime? An Irvine man was surprised to discover a baby bobcat asleep under a barbecue on the fourth floor balcony of his apartment in a complex near UC Irvine on Friday, reports KTLA more ›

The City Council is expected to vote today on the appointment of Brenda Barnette as the head of the Animal Services Department, according to the Daily News. The vote follows yesterday's Public Safety Committee hearing, during which she continued to provoke concerns among animal rights activists regarding her stance on issues and her plan to handle the challenging role of heading up a department that has seen five previous directors in just the last decade. more ›

One of L.A.'s toughest jobs is expected to be filled soon. Brenda Barnette of the Seattle Humane Society will reportedly be named as the city's Animal Services General Manager by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, according to the LA Times. The job, which faces a lot pressure from animal advocates about euthanasia rates, has been vacant for about a year. Los Angeles took in about 54,000 dogs and cats last year -- a quarter of the dogs and half of the cats were put down for a variety of reasons, including a lack of space at the city's six shelters. more ›

Los Angeles is pretty soft when it comes to animal enforcement. Got a neighbor with a barking dog that won't stop? Good luck getting that taken care of. But under a new directive from city council yesterday, that could change. City staff have been instructed to develop an administrative citation program that could give Animal Service officers the power to write citations. And with that power, the city stands the chance to bring in some dough. more ›

The LA Weekly says "Councilman Tom LaBonge registered his own dog this week after voicing an objection to a successful City Council motion to have animal services workers go after unregistered canines in the city." For LaBonge, it is a civil liberties issue. The motion at hand lets the Department of Animal Services work with the Department of Water and Power, which "maintains a customer database of households with dogs so that meter readers and other DWP personnel can be aware of any animal issues when they are visiting a property." With the information from DWP, Animal Services employees can cross check records to see if people are paying their license fees. The move is expected to garner $3.6 million for city coffers. more ›

With a $98-million deficit still on the books for this fiscal year--a $408 million shortfall is predicted next year--Los Angeles city officials are likely going to be looking at more ways to balance the budget. In the past, we've all experienced these cuts with higher parking meter rates, more expensive parking tickets and the continuing loss of city services as 2,400 employees retire early with positions not being replaced, to name a few. more ›

Amid controversy over canceling a spay and neuter fee waiver program, LA's Department of Animal Service's General Manager has resigned. “I thank Ed Boks for his years of service," said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in a statement. "Under his leadership, this City has revamped the way we treat and care for our pets and animals. The ‘no kill’ policy has become a central component of our animal services strategy. Pet adoptions are up and shelters have expanded at a rapid rate. And ‘spay and neuter’ has become more than just a call to action; it is the law in Los Angeles." more ›

Spaying and neutering vouchers for low-income residents are back and it didn't come without controversy. The vouchers were cut a few weeks ago because of citywide budget cuts. Animal Services General Manager Ed Boks had a choice where to cut his budget, unfortunately for him, he chose one of the most hot-button issues. Councilman Dennis Zine, who slammed Animal Services' Ed Boks about blogging last week, has asked for him to step down or be fired. "I think it's time for Mr. Boks to find another place to work," Zine said. "It's been a continuing saga of him and his mismanagement." To that, Boks responds: "I stand ready and willing to meet with Dennis Zine any time, any place to help move the department forward. This has been an open invitation for well over a year." more ›

When Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa asked Department Heads to cut their budgets, Ed Boks of Animal Services snipped away what many say was the wrong budget line item. The department last week announced that they would no longer be able to offer spay/neuter services vouchers for discounted or complimentary service, despite the fact that just a year ago the City made spaying and neutering mandatory--a law that went into effect last October. more ›

Budget cuts recently led to the Los Angeles Animal Services Department announcing they would no longer be able to offer low-cost spay/neuter services, despite the fact that just a year ago the City made spaying and neutering mandatory--a law that went into effect last October. more ›

Animal Services sent out a warning to residents this weekend telling them to keep an eye out and maybe keep their pets inside a little more often. "Many animals that are driven out by fire may appear more frequently around homes. We ask the public to exercise caution when seeing wild animals as they may be frightened, distressed or injured. Some of these animals may have suffered burns from the fire and some may have a condition known as Mange which leaves open sores and bald patches that resemble burns." So far, the spooky images of dead animals seen after the Griffith Park Fire have yet to be documented in the latest fires. Oh, and watch out for those coyotes. more ›

Ed Boks, the seventh General Manager in ten years at the city's Animal Services department, is now the focus of the latest animal controversy regarding the department heading towards a no-kill animal shelter policy, something that everyone wants except the dwindling city budget. A large group of employees gathered last week at city council asking for him to be removed from his post. "In the past we were divided about past general managers. Today we are united," one employee said during public comment last Tuesday. more ›

The 11-part no-kill animal shelter workshop series has gotten quite a buzz around town already, so we decided to talk to the man who is helping to facilitate the dialogue at these workshops, Rabbi Allen Freehling. For a little background, Rabbi Freehling was first asked to serve as the Director of the Human Relations Commission by then-Mayor Jim Hahn in 2002 and was asked to remain in this position by existing Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Rabbi Freehling said that the role of the Human Relations Commission is to try to bring different viewpoints to the same table. more ›

We just spoke to Ed Boks, the general manager of the Los Angeles Animal Services Department. He said that the department's Wildlife Manager identified the injured bird in the Venice Beach rescue post as a Night Heron (congrats to Will Campbell for being the closest to guessing what it was in the comments section). more ›

In the latest of bulldog audits by City Controller Laura Chick, she finds that the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services is "struggling to move forward." With an nearly a million dogs estimated in the city, the department only has 123,000 dogs licensed. "The largest source of revenue for the department is dog-license fees and, yet, the department tells us that it is not their top priority," quoted the Daily News. more ›

There are many ways to handle a tough break-up with a girlfriend, but torturing and injuring a little puppy isn't one of them. The Daily News reports that a 22-year old Encino man, Steven William Butcher, was arrested yesterday in the 6400 block of Bertrand Avenue for animal cruelty. more ›

A reader submitted a question last week about pigeons in Downtown:

pigeons droppings are a major nuisance and a health hazard here in downtown LA, where people keep feeding the birds. Please let me know if there is an ordinance against that, and as a private citizen where does one go to enforce it. Thank you.

After LA Animal Services released their latest statistics, The Daily News ran a story with this headline: "Animal Deaths Rise in L.A. Shelters". Yet, the number of animals euthanized in Los Angeles has dropped by 20% this year - a hard-won statistic for Ed Boks, general manager for LA Animal Services. Since Los Angeles adopted a no-kill policy 10 years ago, the number of euthanized animals has dropped from 65,000 to 15,000 a year.... more ›

CityWatch is reporting that Gloria Jeff, fired Los Angeles Department of Transportation General Manager, wants her job back. "She says the Mayor … who did the firing … did not give her an annual performance evaluation, gave her no explanation for the firing and demanded that she resign within 21 hours." A spokesman for the Mayor, Matt Szabo, countered: “Gloria Jeff received numerous indications from the mayor’s office that her management of the Department... more ›

more ›

Dear LAist, Lordy, lord, lord. Today I called 311 about a issue: a noise complaint about a neighbor's dog that had been barking for 2 straight hours. The 311 lady asked me my zip code than transferred me to the LAPD. The annoyed LAPD operator explained to me that the police didn't handle barking dog noise complaints. I explained that this was where the 311 operator had transferred me. The LAPD operator then transferred... more ›

Good thing: Ed Boks of LA Animal Services declared many months ago that he would like Los Angeles to be the first city to truly reach No-Kill status. What does this mean? It means NO animals are put down because we have enough room in shelters and enough caring pet owners to adopt them. more ›

Moorpark man who owned tiger gets house arrest - Daily News more ›

Carolyn Kellogg, previous editor of LAist, heads up Metroblogging Pittsburgh while she works on her MFA 19,215 dogs and cats were euthanized last year by the Department of Animal Services. It was a drop from the previous year, but General Manager Ed Boks is dreaming of a no-kill city Purple Line, Purple Line, Purple Line! Until the Purple Line takes us from 3rd St. Promenade to LACMA in 14 whole minutes, maybe this site will... more ›

True Football David Beckham to join the Los Angeles soccer scene? Vote Tomorrow There's some confusion over voter trouble tomorrow. CBS2 helps you prepare. Over at City Hall Zuma Dogg over at Mayor Sam is following the medical marijuana dispensary story. The City disses their own Godfather of blogging. The City also disses the killing of animals for a weekend: In an demonstration of commitment to lifesaving for the homeless animals of Los Angeles,... more ›

sign of the times - Long time Los Angeles signmaker Wayne Heath has died at age 87. Among his innovative, glorious creations are the Felix Chevrolet sign at Figueroa and Jefferson and the signage at the Flamingo Hilton in Las Vegas. more ›