BREAK FOR `BEST FRIENDS'? L.A. SEEKS FUNDS TO OBEY NEW ANIMAL-CARE LAW.

Byline: Phillip W. Browne Daily News Staff Writer

Los Angeles is scrambling to find $5.5 million to comply with a new state law requiring better medical care for cats and dogs and postponement of euthanasia for six days, or twice as long as now, officials said Tuesday.

State Sen. Tom Hayden, D-Los Angeles, drafted the law specifically to correct what he called the city's ``mismanagement and abysmal record on euthanizing animals,'' a spokesman said.

The city euthanizes 60,000 animals a year and has been dubbed the nation's ground zero for animal shelter problems, which include chronic overcrowding and underfunding, said Gini Barrett, director of the American Humane Association in Los Angeles.

``Essentially, we are behind the eight ball right now,'' Barrett said. ``The city doesn't meet the mandated standards right now, and with the increasing standards, we will never make true compliance.''

Dan C. Knapp, general manager of the city's Department of Animal Regulation, said he is working with the City Council to find a solution.

``Our department has been so underresourced for a number of years that compliance with the mandates will be very challenging,'' Knapp said.

According to Barrett, the department has been neglected by the Los Angeles City Council for at least 20 years. Funding and support are much better in cities such as Burbank and San Fernando, as well as in unincorporated territory in Los Angeles County, activists said.

The new law, sponsored by Hayden, will take effect July 1. It requires that shelters keep animals for at least six days before they can be euthanized, up from the current 72 hours.

``I think the problem in part is that some local governments cannot fathom the level of killing happening in the shelters, so they ignore it,'' said Darryl Young, Hayden's counsel on the Senate's Natural Relations Committee.

``We're saying now it's the policy of the state that any animal that is adoptable shall not be euthanized,'' he said.

The law also requires shelters to give medical attention to any treatable animal and make reasonable efforts to contact the owner of an animal. It was not immediately clear what more shelter workers should do to reunite pets with their owners.

Just to bring the department up to compliance will cost the city a minimum of $5.5 million in new funds during the next two fiscal years, Barrett said. The department this year operated on an $8.2 million budget.

Mayor Richard Riordan hasn't made any promises to find the funding. Ultimately, the City Council must decide the department's budget.

``We're still in the process of analyzing the bill,'' said Deane Leavenworth, a Riordan spokesman. ``With the complexities and ambiguities in the bill, it's premature to make any budget decisions at this time.''

In a perfect world, the law would be a great idea, Barrett said. But she said there just aren't enough resources to handle an increased load in the city's Department of Animal Regulation, which takes in an average of 91,000 animals per year and keeps its six shelters bulging at 150 percent of intended capacity.

She said the loose-animal problem also is out of control in Los Angeles. On any given day there are 44,000 loose dogs and more than 3 million cats on the streets, she said.

``You would need to go to Puerto Rico or Taiwan to see conditions like this. It's bigger here than any problem in the nation, and it's a significant health threat,'' Barrett said.

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PHOTO (color) Dogs wait four and five to a cell to be claimed or killed at the West Valley Animal Care and Control Center.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Special to the Daily News