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Two years and five months ago, Council charged Ed Boks with establishing an emergency preparedness program and animal database to aid in rescue, fostering, owner reclamation or rehoming of displaced animals.
Yesterday, because Boks brought exactly nothing to Council or the AS Commission, it died.
The Motion was:
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File Number
06-0351
Last Changed Date
07/16/2008
Title
DISASTER-RESCUE OPERATION FOR animal RESIDENTS
Initiated by
Cardenas Mover 2006 / Padilla / Parks
Motion - In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many serious and tragic issues arose regarding the rescue, care, veterinary attention, evacuation, short- and long-term of fostering and/or re-homing of animals in the geographic areas affected by the disaster. Many owners were not able to take their pets with them because there was no preparation for evacuating them in the event of a catastrophic emergency. Louisiana city officials were criticized by both emergency response experts and the media for failing to have an effective evacuation plan in place. There are many issues involved in attempting to evacuate animals, including handling, transporting, sanitation, communicable and zoonotic diseases and other factors which can affect both animals and humans.
The City of Los Angeles could experience a major earthquake, terrorist or bio-chemical attack or numerous other unexpected and unpredictable disasters that would affect millions of humans and animals. Any of these situations could warrant immediate evacuation of City residents. It is necessary to have an animal Emergency Preparedness Plan which includes governmental agencies, surrounding shelters, and partnerships with volunteer humane/rescue groups. An integral part of such a plan would be data relating to the number and types of animals within City boundaries. The City of Los Angeles must take advantage of the opportunity to put preemptive measures in place to assure that we do not repeat the recent tragedies of other cities.
THEREFORE MOVE that the Department of animal Services report back to the Public Safety Committee within 30 days on the creation of a disaster-rescue operation for our animal residents. The department is also instructed to study methods developed by other jurisdictions throughout the state and country to determine what mutual-aid partnerships would be available to the City for emergency animal rescue during a disaster.
FURTHER MOVE that the Department of animal Services report on the feasibility and resources needed to complete an animal census for both companion and farm animals maintained in the City of Los Angeles, with such statistics to be updated at least biannually and maintained by LAAS and other emergency-response departments and/or agencies that would be involved in disaster-rescue operations of our human and animal residents.
Date Received
02/15/2006
File History
2-15-06 - This day's Council session
2-15-06 - Ref to Public Safety Committee
2-15-06 - File to Public Safety Committee Clerk
7-16-08 - Communication from the City Clerk, dated July 11, 2008, relative to the expiration of Council File 06-0351, inasmuch as the file has not been placed on a Council or Committee agenda for consideration for a period of two years or more and, pursuant to Council policy, the file is deemed received and filed.
7-16-08 - File in files
Well, we do know that some Pierce students/LAAS employees may already have a farm animal preparedness plan worked out as part of a "student project." By the way, I do have more information on Pierce "Student Projects" that I'll post in a while, including boarding fees.
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2 comments:
So many animal motions are made and they all die after two years of no action. Remember Hahn's motion to let people take illegal animals to the shelter instead of setting them free so we don't get another Reggie the alligator? She was all over the news with that motion, and she let it die. It's still illegal to dump illegal animals at the shelter. It's legal in the county. They'd rather have a dangerous illegal animal dropped off at the shelter than dumped in a park.
There are many motions made by city council in which they instructed Boks to give them a report, which he never did. He would look the councilmembers in the face and say "yes, I'll write a report right now!" then do nothing. He knows how this city works. Don't do what you're told, let time pass, everyone forgets, job well done.
Fun fact:
American Humane Association held a "BASIC Animal Emergency Services" class 7/18 - 7/19 in Pasadena. Present (for at least part of it)? Many staff members currently employed at LAAS and LACDACC.
This was a very basic overview of emergency services, an introduction, nothing more. Great class for beginners, volunteers, etc.
Included in the class, sort of, was one Derek Brown, lately Captain at West L.A. LAAS, currently bootlicking Marcia Mayeda at LACDACC. (also Danny Ubario and some others) When I say Captain Brown was there, I mean he was there on day one. By day two he had disappeared, although when the sign-in sheet was passed around mid-morning his name magically appeared -- TWICE! (we said they were frauds, we didn't say they were good at it).
At the end of the second day the AHA people running the class called out "Derek"'s name to give him his certificate of completion and were told he had left. They, understandably, were concerned because he hadn't said anything to them about it... So it will be interesting if Captain Brown starts saying he's taken an Emergency Services class, because to my certain knowledge he's taken half a beginner class.
And let's be clear, this was an EXTREMELY beginner class. If you're getting paid to run a city, and now a county shelter, in a county that experiences wildfires, earthquakes, major hoarding busts, and which has more than its share of puppy mills (all emergencies this class is relevant to) you would think you would have had this class YEARS ago. It certainly explains why LACDACC had to foist the Ivan Callais seizure off onto Gentle Barn and other private rescues. Not only don't they enforce the law, they have NO IDEA how to run a major disaster/emergency - and Derek Brown still doesn't.
Seriously people, get your quake/fire disaster-preparedness kits together. Because I guarantee you the L.A. City and County people have NO training on how to competently and authoritatively handle your animals' sheltering needs in a disaster. If something happens, wait until American Humane is on the scene, because those people really do seem to know what they're doing.
But not "Captain" Brown, even though I bet he has his certificate by now.
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