For years the Baldwin Park Shelter worked hard to earn a well-deserved reputation as the most rescue-friendly shelter in Southern California. Staff and volunteers worked together, leaving no stone unturned in their efforts to find homes and rescues for the unfortunate pets impounded at the facility.   Sadly those days are gone, as Marcia Mayeda, the feckless head of the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control deliberately dismantled and destroyed the shelter, first by appointing Pat “Google Me” Claerbout as shelter manager despite her horrific record, and when Claerbout predictably violated the laws of morality as well as the laws of the State of California, replacing her with Sheri “Goldilocks” Koenig who was given the Baldwin Park job after the Lancaster shelter’s staff had risen up against her and demanded her removal.

Since Koenig’s arrival, the shelter has been wantonly killing pets for time rather than for kennel space or temperament. With 70 empty dog kennels staff were being ordered to kill. With 50 empty cat kennels, staff were being ordered to kill. Even though instructions have now been issued to reverse this heartless policy morale has plummeted to the point where Baldwin Park’s staff routinely call in sick and the shelter is understaffed, with workers frequently having to double shift just so the shelter can keep its doors open. Volunteers are angry because they are no longer allowed on the premises outside of the hours when the shelter is open to the public.   The shelter’s highly effective networking team has been ordered to limit their activities and told which pets they can and cannot help. Adding insult to injury, Baldwin Park’s staff will no longer will upload the professional photographs taken by volunteers onto the County’s website – photographs which have in the past greatly increased adoption/rescue traffic into the shelter.

Under former manager Lance Hunter, the philosophy was if people won’t come to the Baldwin Park shelter, let’s bring the shelter to them.   Baldwin Park staged an average of eight mobile pet adoptions each month throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan area. These MPAs are now few and far between – although we were gratified that Baldwin Park chose to participate in last weekend’s successful MPA at Pet Food Express’ new store in Long Beach. Not only did Baldwin Park adopt out nearly all the pets it brought to the event – the incredibly rescue friendly Pet Food Express company donated $50 for each pet brought to the event.

Shelters need to be innovative and responsive to be successful. Baldwin Park is neither and pets die as a result. Marcia Mayeda has lost all interest in managing the shelter system effectively; her primary concern seems to be remaining in place and collecting a salary for as long as possible . Mayeda will always be protected by her masters at the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors – who only respond to people who make large political donations. Pets don’t give money, they only give love – and therefore are useless to Supervisor Mike Antonovich and his colleagues.

 

This entry was posted in Dog Rescue