Brown brings to the job background in animal control, personnel management, and law enforcement, knows Los Angeles, & is bilingual LOS ANGELES––Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti on June 24, 2021 nominated Dana Brown, 57, to become the next Los Angeles Animal Services general manager, succeeding Brenda Barnette, 72, who retired on May 7, 2021 after […]
Los Angeles Animal Services chief Brenda Barnette to retire in May 2021
Took L.A. to “no kill” at cost of soaring pit bull attacks LOS ANGELES, California––Brenda Barnette, the third-longest-serving general manager of Los Angeles Animal Services since World War II, has announced her retirement, effective in mid-May 2021. The City of Los Angeles has officially not yet begun what is expected to become a nationwide […]
Indiana ruling may help L.A. woman now in critical from adopted pit bull
Indiana Court of Appeals reinforces shelter duty to inform adopters of dogs’ past attacks LOS ANGELES, INDIANAPOLIS––Reports from Los Angeles indicate that a recent Indiana appellate decision could have a multi-million dollar impact on a yet-to-be filed case in which a 70-year-old woman is reportedly in critical condition from an attack by a pit […]
Pit bull advocate Steffen Baldwin could get 81 years for killing dogs & fraud
Bond of $200,000 set for “The hot dog man,” allegedly caught hot dogging a few times too often MARYSVILLE, Ohio––Bond of $200,000 was set on August 5, 2020 for high-profile pit bull advocate Steffen Baldwin by Judge Mark O’Connor of the Common Pleas Court in Union County, Ohio. Arrested on July 23, 2020 in Acton, […]
Deaths by pit bull: will new California law slow the mayhem?
Prosecuting shelters for withholding bite history might be a start DAYTON, Ohio; CONWAY, Kentucky; LOS ANGELES, California––The first two U.S. dog attack fatalities to be reported in 2020, both involving pit bulls, upstaged the possibly more indicative resignations of two strong pit bull advocates from senior positions with Los Angeles Animal Services and Orange […]
Pit Bull Federation of South Africa rips rescuer denial of what a pit bull is
Contradicts rhetoric of trend toward removing breed-specific labels from shelter cage cards LOS ANGELES, PRETORIA––Few voices anywhere might be considered more rabidly pro-pit bull than the Pit Bull Federation of South Africa, a self-described “breed-specific show organization” whose declared “main goal is always to portray the American Pit Bull Terrier in a positive light.” […]
“Buffalo Bill” Dyer, 83, led animal rescues from Santa Catalina Island
Career in show biz led to more than 35 years in animal advocacy Bill Dyer, 83, who sought stardom in show business, but made his most enduring mark in animal advocacy, died on July 11, 2017 in Venice, California, his home for most of his life. Born to immigrant parents in San Diego, a short […]
No-kill pioneer Richard Avanzino to retire after dispensing $153 million in Maddie’s Fund grants
Founding president of Maddie’s Fund after long tenure as president of the San Francisco SPCA PLEASANTON, California––Maddie’s Fund on March 25, 2015 announced that founding president Richard Avanzino is to retire in June, at the end of the current fiscal year. Said David Duffield, who cofounded Maddie’s Fund with his wife […]
L.A. shelter deal transfers cash crunch to Best Friends
LOS ANGELES–“There is progress in Los Angeles!” exulted City of Los Angeles Animal Services general manager Brenda Barnette on January 5, 2012, anticipating the imminent transition of the idle Northeast Animal Care Center from a costly liability to an operating asset, run by the Best Friends Animal Society. “The contract between the city and […]
Aftershocks ripple from SF/SPCA (December 2000)
And are still rippling, 20 years later SAN FRANCISCO, PHILADELPHIA, KNOXVILLE––The San Francisco SPCA and San Francisco Animal Care & Control in calendar year 2000 together killed fewer than 2,000 cats and dogs. That was under 2.6 cats and dogs per 1,000 human residents, 15.6% of the national average, 1,001 fewer than the 1999 previous […]