CAN ANIMAL ACTIVISTS BE TAMED? NEW AGENCY BOSS HOPES FOR COOLER HEADS.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

For now, it is all wining and dining, private meetings with top city officials and elegant soirees with local activists for Edward Boks.

But perhaps sooner than he would like, the 54-year-old Boks will be thrust into the heart of a high-profile job, perennially controversial, that will greatly test him despite his years of experience.

As the fifth director of the Animal Services Department in five years, Boks will step into an agency beset by an activist community, demanding an immediate change in how many animals are killed at city shelters, as head of a staff divided over the firing of its most recent director.

``What I hope I can do is get people on the same page and try to get away from some of the emotion,'' said Boks, who will begin his job Jan. 3. ``I recognize how sensitive a job this is politically. Animal welfare is such a passionate issue.

``People recognize that animals have no voices, and I think the city is looking for someone who can be responsive to the needs of both the city and the animal constituency.''

Boks was nominated for the post by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who said he conducted his own search and also talked with experts in the animal-rights community.

The Boks nomination was announced the day the mayor removed Guerdon Stuckey from the $154,000-a-year post. Stuckey has appealed his firing to the City Council.

Boks said he is not paying attention to that but is looking ahead to what he can accomplish.

He already has met with 14 of the 15 City Council members and with the five members of the Animal Services Commission. Commission President Kathleen Riordan hosted a party at her home Thursday night for him to meet members of the local animal-rights community.

The event, which lasted more than four hours, brought together about 40 representatives from different activist groups to hear Boks' plans.

In addition, recognizing the split among the agency's workers, he has already visited two of the city's six animal shelters to meet with staff.

Boks is optimistic about his prospects of holding onto a job with such a high turnover rate historically.

``I think we can make some immediate dramatic improvements, but to get to where we want to be - to have a low-kill policy - will take five years,'' Boks said.

The city's shelters take in more than 55,000 animals each year. Last year, more than 26,000 were destroyed because they could not be placed in homes.

``I am confident we can get there,'' he said of his low-kill goal. ``All I hear from the people I have met is their support for this. That is very rare.''

He aims to increase the number of pets adopted, offer spay and neuter services and hold public-education programs on the treatment of animals.

He has had successes in the past. Boks has more than two decades experience in animal welfare and, before being chosen by Villaraigosa, headed the New York City Animal Care and Control Department.

Villaraigosa has said Boks reduced euthanasia rates in New York City by 20 percent and increased pet adoption by 30 percent. Boks left after two years when his contract was not renewed, but he was widely credited with a dramatic drop in the euthanasia rate.

``Ed is committed to my goals of making L.A. a more animal-friendly city, increasing adoption and spay/neuter, reducing euthanasia of abandoned and unwanted pets, and forging strong public-private relationships,'' Villaraigosa said in announcing the nomination.

Before that, Boks worked for three years in Phoenix as head of the Maricopa County animal services agency. A native of Michigan, Boks said he views his work in animal care as a calling.

``Growing up, when other kids had baseball players as heroes, mine was St. Francis of Assisi,'' Boks said. ``I think it was just the affinity for animals that attracted me. When I was in the eighth grade, I applied for a job at a veterinary hospital.''

Animal Services Commission members hope he will be able to bring a new direction to the department, but are waiting to see what policies are implemented.

``In the end, the proof will be in what kind of job he does,'' Commissioner Deborah Knaan said.

And so far the workers - who had supported Stuckey - are open to whatever Boks can do.

``In the end, we want him to succeed,'' said Julie Butcher, business manager of Service Employees International Union, Local 347, which represents the workers.

``We will work with him, but we have a work force that has been hit with a high turnover of general managers,'' she said. ``We would like to see some stability and someone who cares about this department.''

Boks, who owns two boxers that are now being raised by his son in Arizona, said he brings a simple philosophy to the job.

``I look at this as if all of the animals are my pets,'' Boks said. ``I think all people want to do what's best for their pets and make sure they are cared for well. That's what I want this department to do.''

Officials with the Animal Defense League, which targeted Stuckey and several department employees for action, did not return telephone calls about Boks.

Boks said he is open to meeting with them and hopes to reduce tension between the group and city workers.

``They should not target workers for doing their jobs,'' Boks said. ``What we have to do is elevate the level of discussion.''

Others in the humane community are taking a wait-and-see approach.

``My hope is that he will be able to resolve a lot of the conflicts going on,'' said Phyllis Dougherty of the Animal Issues Movement. ``I think he has a realistic view of what animal control can do.

``He has quite a challenge ahead of him with the suspicions of the staff and the animal community. It will be a question of whether he can get everyone's trust.''

Scott Sorrentino of the Rescue and Humane Alliance-Los Angeles, said Boks will have to convince the humane community of his sincerity.

``We all think he will be better than what we've had, but the proof will be what he does,'' Sorrentino said. ``It will become clear as we see the policies he puts in effect and we see what his vision is.''

Rick Orlov, [phone]

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com