HEARTBREAK HOTELS JAMMED SHELTERS IMPERIL DOGS, WORKERS.

Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer

At the South Central Animal Shelter, crowding forced workers to place an 11-year-old blind Akita into a kennel where six other dogs vied for food and water.

Two pit bulls attacked a German shepherd in another kennel there when the three dogs were caged together this fall.

And workers at the West Valley Shelter in Chatsworth report dog fights break out as many as three times a day because of crowding.

These are only a few examples of what animal rescue groups and city officials say are a sad result of severely crowded shelters - a problem passage of Measure F could help solve with $154 million for shelter construction and expansion.

``The severe overcrowding not only endangers the animals themselves, but, as consequence, leads to a higher rate of having to terminate animals,'' said City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, chairwoman of the council's Public Safety Committee.

``It is also an extreme situation for animal control workers to separate the dogs that are fighting. If I had to put myself in the place of the workers, it would be unconscionable.''

Crowding at the South Central Shelter prompted an official there to concede they have no choice but to break state laws. Nearly 200 dogs are impounded there every day, but the shelter has only 46 kennels.

In an April 20 department memorandum obtained by the Daily News, a South Central shelter supervisor warned department General Manger Dan Knapp that the problem is worsening.

``Due to a lack of space, we are unable to comply with the state laws,'' the memo stated. ``We have no choice but to put breeds together that should otherwise be caged separately.''

Fights are common; workers have seen up to four fights a day, sometimes simultaneously. Occasionally it has taken four workers, using brooms, sticks and hands, just to break up some fights. Workers, the memo stated, ``are at risk of being injured on a daily basis.''

Relief could be imminent, however.

Passage of Measure F earmarks $154 million in bond money for the expansion of shelters and addition of five more, including two in the Valley.

The measure, which sailed through in the Nov. 7 election by a 3-to-1 margin, also includes $378 million for 19 new fire/paramedic stations and an emergency helicopter. The cost of repaying the bond with interest could cost the average homeowner an additional $33.60 annually in property taxes over 25 years.

Some animal activists - including Lois Newman - opposed the measure because they wonder how the city can afford to run new shelters.

``Would you please tell me where the city is going to find the additional $12 million to $17 million a year to run the shelters? They're not going to find it,'' she said.

City officials also kicked off a sweeping new spay and neuter ordinance Nov. 15 with the hopes of reducing the stray animal population by penalizing dog owners with unaltered pets.

Under the city law, officials have hiked license fees from $30 to $100 a year licenses, and have added a five-team task force of animal control officers to canvass neighborhoods to encourage residents to comply with the law.

By February, officials plan to open a new South Central shelter with 76 kennels, 30 more than the current 1920s-vintage facility.

But, until then, animal shelters must continue to face crowded conditions.

The animal regulation department does not keep track of the numbers of dogs injured from fights at shelters, but officials said only .1 percent have died as a result of injuries and disease.

Officials said the cost of veterinary care for all health problems has risen from $31,590 in 1996 to $49,693 through June of this year.

Knapp and city chief veterinarian Cassandria Smith declined to be interviewed.

But in a statement, Knapp defended how the shelters handle dogs, saying, ``Only humane methods have been approved to break up dog fights.''

And he said the crowding has worsened largely because of a new state law requiring that dogs be held longer and treated for injuries before they are put up for adoption.

He said kennel worker safety is a key concern.

``The department has evaluated ways to break up fights and protect employee safety,'' he wrote.

The city only has 386 kennels at six shelters across the city, but the city takes in about 71,000 dogs a year, and euthanizes about 51,000, Knapp said.

Animal shelter officials concede they already face enormous budget problems as a result of a new state law that requires shelters to hold dogs an extra day. The law also requires them to treat all medical problems.

SB 1785, sponsored by Sen. Tom Hayden, D-Los Angeles, and put into legislation July 1, 1999, is an effort to reduce the numbers of dogs that are killed.

``We kill way too many lost dogs and cats, and the legislation opened a new day by extending the holding periods and creating incentives to look for the owners or work with animal welfare activists to adopt them out,'' said Hayden, who is a City Council candidate. ``It's nonsense that the law exacerbates overcrowding. The city doesn't allocate enough resources to expand the shelters.''

Animal activists have opposed the law, and the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Regulation and other small city shelters across the state are seeking reimbursement.

The Commission on State Mandates adopted the test claim Thursday, and concluded, among other things, that shelters can become eligible for reimbursement from the state to help comply with certain aspects of the new law, which required added staff time to care for sick and injured animals for longer periods. The commission is expected to issue a final decision in January. ``We will do anything the state mandates us to do. All we want the state to do is pay for the costs of doing whatever is they want us to do,'' said county shelter spokesman Bob Ballenger.

The county impounded 59,642 dogs between July 1, 1999, and June 30, 2000. Of that number, 41,592 dogs were euthanized. The county has 144 dog kennels.

Officials have been working with humane groups to rescue dogs and find ways to make space, but they don't seem to be working fast enough. The result is clear.

``When you put four to five pit bulls and rottweilers in one small area, they are going to tear each other to pieces,'' said Phyllis Daugherty, the director of Animal Issues Movement.

``I primarily blame the city shelter problems on SB 1785,'' she said. ``The shelter should have the right to humanely euthanize those animals which pose a

threat or a danger to animals or to people.''

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(color) Often, many dogs are crowded into shelter cages because of lack of space partly caused by a new law animal that is surrounded in controversy. These particular dogs may not still be available.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer