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 […]
How did Kumpf get elected top Detroit dogcatcher? Inside info raises questions
Editor’s note: The September 24, 2019 ANIMALS 24-7 article Mark Kumpf named Detroit animal control chief. Remember Klonda Richey? drew many responses, none more revealing than this one from Ed Boks, another applicant for the job, who formerly headed the animal control agencies serving Maricopa County, Arizona; New York City; and the city of Los […]
Neuter/return requires impact study, says Los Angeles judge
City support of feral cat population control program stopped by lawsuit brought by American Bird Conservancy LOS ANGELES––California municipal governments may not assist or promote neuter/return of feral cats without first completing an environmental impact report, ruled Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Thomas McKnew on December 4, 2009. McKnew ruled on behalf of five organizations […]
Time for a national conversation about pit bulls
Is it time for national animal welfare organizations to rethink their positions on pit bulls? Pushing bully behavior ANIMALS 24-7 recently published Beth’s open letter to Matthew Bershadker, president of the American SPCA; Julie Castle, president of Best Friends Animal Society; and Kitty Block, president of the Humane Society of the United States. (See Pushing bully behavior: the ASPCA, Best Friends, […]
When cyberspace ain’t big enough for sanctuarians & their critics
Texas apparently wasn’t big enough for them, either HOUSTON, Texas––Cyberspace ain’t big enough, apparently, for both Rowdy Girl Sanctuary founder Renee King-Sonnen and critics led by Dallas child psychiatrist and former Rowdy Girl Sanctuary donor Sujatha Ramakrishna, nor for Bat World Sanctuary founder Amanda Lollar and her vehement critic Mary Cummins. But when the […]
“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 […]
Robert Cabral: “The Malibu Dog Trainer”
A Cesar Millan salad with Catalina dressing Editor’s note: Robert Cabral, the self-described “Malibu dog trainer,” was formerly a martial arts instructor, film director, actor, cinematographer and motivational speaker according to his posted biography. This would appear to have left Cabral little time for training dogs, had he remained fully employed in any of these […]
How many other animals did pit bulls kill in 2013?
An attempt to find out How many other dogs, cats, and domestic hoofed animals do dogs kill or injure each year in the U.S.? How many are killed or seriously injured by pit bulls? Often asked, these questions have eluded answer because no agency systematically tracks dog attacks on other animals, and even if any […]