{"id":1898,"date":"2016-05-19T23:20:18","date_gmt":"2016-05-19T23:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/life\/pets\/nursing-a-concern-animal-advocates-cry-out-for-change-in-spcala-practices\/"},"modified":"2016-05-19T23:20:18","modified_gmt":"2016-05-19T23:20:18","slug":"nursing-a-concern-animal-advocates-cry-out-for-change-in-spcala-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/pets\/nursing-a-concern-animal-advocates-cry-out-for-change-in-spcala-practices","title":{"rendered":"Nursing a Concern: Animal Advocates Cry Out for Change in spcaLA Practices"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Melody<\/strong><\/p>\n

Photo couresty of Live Love.
<\/em><\/p>\n

In late April, Emily Haden, founder of Live Love Animal Rescue<\/a>, was contacted by Animal Care Services (ACS)<\/a> about a mother dog with eight puppies who was reportedly being unusually aggressive and could possibly be a danger to her puppies.<\/p>\n

Haden located a foster ready to take both mother and babies. When she arrived at ACS, however, she was informed that one of the puppies had died, two more were unaccounted for, and spcaLA<\/a>\u00a0had already pulled the remaining five for fostering. The mother, named Melody, remained in the shelter.<\/p>\n

Haden was angry and worried. Puppies, she said, should not be separated from their mother until they\u2019re 8 weeks old, and these babies were less than 4 weeks old. She was also concerned about the possibility of Melody developing mastitis<\/i>, a bacterial mammary-gland infection that breasts filled with unused milk could cause by clogging the glands. Furthermore, Melody could face euthanasia at ACS if a home wasn\u2019t found for her. Haden added that spcaLA has enough resources to have been able to work out a way to take mother and babies.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a shame that an organization with so much community support and funding and resources won\u2019t take on the most challenging cases in rescue,\u201d Haden said. \u201cspcaLA is constantly taking these highly \u2018adoptable\u2019 pets and leaving the rest to die. Any animal that has excessive medical issues, is shy and shut down, they pass on them. If they\u2019re lucky, they get pulled or privately adopted [from ACS]. And the shelter isn\u2019t empowered to change anything. There has to be a better situation for nursing mothers.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Haden, this wasn\u2019t the first time spcaLA has separated mothers and offspring, both cats and dogs, but Melody\u2019s situation struck a chord and a nerve because it occurred close to Mother\u2019s Day. \u201cPuppies are highly adoptable\u2014the parents aren\u2019t,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople want a young dog.\u201d<\/p>\n

ACS and spcaLA: Not the Same Entity<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even after 15 years of dual occupancy at the P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village<\/a>, the physical setup and adoption procedures of ACS and spcaLA still cause some confusion. spcaLA leases the land from the city for $120 a year. The organization made improvements to the facility such as detached cat cottages, indoor\/outdoor dog kennels, an education center and bacteria-resistant flooring. As specified in a contract signed by both parties in 1998, to expire May 31, 2053. ACS pays spcaLA $60 a year to lease a portion of the building. Operating expenses are split 50\/50.<\/p>\n

\"sPitchford\"<\/p>\n

The entrance shown leads to the admissions area for ACS, and there are other entrances for spcaLA. Photo courtesy of ACS.<\/i><\/p>\n

ACS\u2019s revenues reported in this year\u2019s budget totaled $2,250,389; expenditures amounted to $4,653,556, with overage paid by the city\u2019s general fund<\/a>. Compared to the privately funded spcaLA\u2019s yearly revenue of over $7,000,000 and management expenses of around $6.5 million, with net assets totaling over $26 million<\/a>,\u00a0there are differences in what services can be provided for pets.<\/p>\n

Two \u2018Sides\u2019 to the Issue<\/strong><\/p>\n

Adoptable pets are housed at both ACS and spcaLA. As one of the conditions of the contract, spcaLA can medically and behaviorally evaluate available animals at ACS and bring them to their section of the Village for potential adoption. ACS Manager Ted Stevens said that any animals not pulled by spcaLA will still be held for adoption by ACS staff and will be featured on the shelter\u2019s website, their smartphone app on their website, and social media. ACS has staff and community partners dedicated to finding homes for the pets housed in their kennels, but the reality is that there are space and time limitations and any of the animals may face euthanasia.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnimals continue to come into the shelter on a daily basis,\u201d Stevens said. \u201cWe hold adoptable animals as long as humanely possible, so it’s more a space issue and not necessarily a time issue. \u00a0The time issue concerns are more about the health and well-being of the animal. Longer stays usually correlate with illness and behavior issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

spcaLA President Madeleine Bernstein said that there actually was nothing unusual about the organization\u2019s decision to take the puppies. Selection, she said, is done on a case-by-case basis. The puppies were evaluated and judged to be ready to take to spcaLA\u2019s kennels.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery decision we make is in the best interests of our residents,\u201d Bernstein said. \u201cWe rely on the best medical advice and the best behavioral advice. In this case, it was better for both the mother and the puppies. Some wean at four weeks, some wean later. The point is, these puppies weaned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Members of the animal community didn\u2019t agree. A number of them took spcaLA to task for the separation as well as for what some referred to as cherry picking younger pets and leaving behind the seniors and animals with medical issues. Since May 14, spcaLA\u2019s Facebook reviews page<\/a>\u00a0has been filled with posts expressing anger and disappointment for \u201c choosing the most adoptable animals from the adjacent public shelter, leaving the rest to die or let small rescues scramble to save,\u201d as one post read.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Claudia Hoffmann is the founder of Fix Long Beach<\/a>, an all-volunteer-led effort to provide spay\/neuter procedures to Long Beach residents who cannot otherwise afford them. She underscored the need for organizations with resources like spcaLA\u2019s to step up their practices.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal is to bring change about the cherry picking of the spcaLA,\u201d Hoffmann said in a separate interview. \u201cThe rescues are always the ones to pick up the pieces that they leave behind. spcaLA has such a reputation of being low kill, but that\u2019s easy when they pick the adoptable animals. If a group of \u2018nobodies\u2019 [Fix Long Beach] can help reduce impound and euthanasia rates by 60 percent, imagine what a large organization like the spcaLA could accomplish.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cI understand that people react differently to different things and may tend to anthropomorphize animals,\u201d Bernstein said. \u201cHere, it was the best interests of the mother and puppies to let the mother rest and recover. The puppies are being socialized until they\u2019re ready for adoption.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bernstein added that there\u2019s no real \u201cside\u201d to the Village, because pets can be adopted from either section and spcaLA processes all the adoptions. They\u2019re actually all at the Village, she said, and that Melody can be adopted right now at ACS.<\/p>\n

Happily for Melody, Haden pulled her from the shelter on May 18 after the dog was spayed at ACS. Haden and her volunteers transported her, cone of shame and all, to her new foster home (watch her \u201cfreedom ride\u201d here). Melody seems to have gotten over her protective rage and it seems that she\u2019ll make someone a fine friend.<\/p>\n