Excellent video of her stay in Texas.
Surprising Number of Positive Reviews of New GM
From Terri Macellaro:
BRENDA BARNETTE WILL!!
We are so pleased that the City of Los Angeles appointed a progressive leader of a successful shelter as the new General Manager of Animal Services. Please stay tuned for a "MEET AND GREET" hosted by Animals Anonymous, Much Love, Stray Cat Alliance, the Found Animals Foundation, PETCO Foundation, Voice for the Animals, Dawg Squad, In Defense of Animals, and many others, to welcome the new GM. Details with time, date and place to follow.
Sincerely, Terri Macellaro
Seattle Blog Praises Barnette
Seattle Humane Society CEO Brenda Barnette to Save Lives in the City of Angels
Animal welfare advocate departs to lead Los Angeles Animal Services, bringing life to city mandate to transform shelter system.The Seattle Humane Society board of directors today announced that Brenda Barnette will depart to become general manager for Los Angeles Animal Services, extending the mission of bringing people and pets together to thousands of families and furry friends in Southern California.
"The Seattle Humane Society, its remarkable staff and amazing volunteers are heroes who have saved countless lives and brought joy to so many people and families across the Pacific Northwest," said Barnette. "The organization is a model for animal welfare centers across the country, and I am excited to apply what I learned in Seattle to help carry out the Los Angeles city mandate to transform its shelter system into one that can pledge that no healthy animals will be euthanized for lack of space."
Brenda leaves the Seattle Humane Society with a remarkable record of success. Under her leadership, in 2009 the Seattle Humane Society had the best year in its 113-year history with the placement of 6,091 animals and a Live Save Rate of 91.4 percent. Much of this success was due to a robust Foster Care Program that allowed more than 4,300 animals to benefit from home care while they waited for homes of their own.
The Los Angeles City shelters serve more than 50,000 dogs and cats annually, and 36 percent of those animals were euthanized last year. The Seattle Humane Society has joined the effort to save animals in Los Angeles by transferring some of them to the Seattle Humane Society when life-saving space is available. Safe in Seattle, the animals from Los Angeles have been given as long as it takes for Seattle Humane to find them a home of their own, regardless of age, beauty or infirmity.
"The Seattle Humane Society is committed to making animal companionship a reality for everyone and now the mission is spreading south to Los Angeles," said Seattle Humane Society Board Chair Chuck Stempler. "Brenda's work in Seattle has been marked equally by her compassion and her outstanding achievements, and our staff, volunteers and supporters throughout the Puget Sound Region will continue to build on this record of success."
WOW! ADL CALLS OFF ATTACKS ON MAYOR AND LAAS!!!!
FROM ADL:
Yesterday the Mayor Announced his Choice for the
New LAAS General Manager as Brenda Barnette CEO of Seattle Humane Society
Obviously we were completely shocked (with pleasure) that the Mayor and Jim Bickhart finally did the right thing for the animals, and ADL-LA is going to go out on a limb here and say that not only must there have been progressive shelter leaders on Jim Bickhart's "secret committee" but one of these top notch leaders apparently decided to apply for the job!
Our cursory research we have done in the past twenty four hours shows Barnette as having a stellar track record of saving 92% of the animals that are impounded at Seattle Humane. We also found out that in her first year there, Barnette implemented programs that resulted in cutting the kill rate 22 % ! We were told by a volunteer in Seattle that the employees admire and respect her immensely, and that several volunteers and employees began to weep when they heard she's leaving!
BUT WAIT! No more pickets at the Mayoral mansion, Bickhart's neighborhood and other city officials?
It seems that if Barnette is as good as what our cursory search found, we will be officially suspending our six year campaign to Stop The Killing in LA city shelters for at least one full year. Our members and other picketers will move on to other campaigns like picketing stores that sell puppies from puppy mills or maybe some members might even decide to volunteer and rescue animals at LAAS once it's being led by Barnette whose history of implementing life saving measures in Seattle is going to now advance our city shelters out of the "catch and kill" 20th Century and into the 21st Century!
In the next 72 hours ADL-LA plans on doing the same type of in depth search of Barnette as we did on Ed Boks, Guerdon Stucky and Sharon Morris (all three who we found out were as bad as their previous job history proved.) We plan on doing the same thing with Brenda Barnette and hopefully by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week we can give you a full review of what we found out about her by those who actually work and/or have worked with her as well as those who volunteer and rescue from her shelter.
But suffice it to say that if she proves as good as our cursory check on her proves, ADL-LA and the three other plaintiffs will NOT file our law suit against the city for not disclosing the public records showing how the search was conducted and by whom. We will save our money, time and effort for more important things since the recruitment procedures and committee members must have conducted the search in a professional and state-of-the-art manner in order to hire someone with such a stellar life saving history for the lost and homeless animals in Seattle.
We may finally concede to the Mayor and Jim Bickhart that they have done their homework this time around and must sincerely want to reform our city shelters from the Death Camps they currently are into a shelter system the public can rally around and most important of all, animals' lives can begin to be saved and LA may be truly become a City of Angels to our lost and homeless animals.
ADL-LA
Mayor's Press Release
MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA APPOINTS NEW GM OF ANIMAL SERVICES
Ms. Brenda F. Barnette will bring to the City one of the nation’s strongest portfolios in the area of humane animal shelter management, effective pet adoption and public education programs, and successful community involvement efforts
LOS ANGELES - Mayor Villaraigosa today appointed Ms. Brenda F. Barnette as General Manager of the Los Angeles City Department of Animal Services. Ms. Barnette will bring to the City one of the nation’s strongest portfolios in the area of humane animal shelter management, effective pet adoption and public education programs, and successful community involvement efforts.
"Throughout her career, Ms. Barnette has emphasized educating the public on animal issues, using effective communication as a vehicle for promoting adoption and animal welfare issues, and involving the community in seeking solutions and increasing the financial resources available for use in saving animals," Mayor Villaraigosa said. "After an extensive, nation-wide search, I am confident that Ms. Barnette will do an outstanding job in service of the people and animals of the City of Los Angeles as General Manager of Animal Services."
“I am really looking forward to getting to know the community and working with them to make this a safe city for animals and the people who love them,” Brenda Barnette said. “I am going to start right away meeting with the stake-holders -- people who have pets, our staff, our volunteers, Councilmembers, people in special interest groups -- so that we can find a common ground to help animals.”
Ms. Barnette will be responsible for overseeing all operations of the Department of Animal Services including the budget, management of the staff, and administration of the animal shelters. She will also be making policy recommendations on the City’s animal shelters, spay and neuter education programs, and other animal-related issues.
Kathy Davis’ term as the interim General Manager expires on June 30, 2010.
Biography:
Brenda Barnette will be bringing over nineteen years of experience in developing financial and human resources to meet and exceed the needs of animal programs and services.
Ms. Barnette is a nationally recognized as a leader in progressive animal shelter management. She comes to the City of Los Angeles having served for the last four years as Chief Executive Officer for the Humane Society for Seattle/King County in the state of Washington. Under her leadership, the Seattle Humane Society has achieved notable “life-save” levels, with more than 90% of all animals impounded being adopted out to good homes or released to rescue organizations.
Prior to her work in Seattle, Ms. Barnette was CEO of Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation in Walnut Creek, California from 2003 until 2006. There she oversaw the professionalization of the organization and the creation of its animal shelter. Before that, she was Executive Director of Pets In Need in Redwood City, a leading Northern California animal welfare and adoption organization, from 1998 to 2003.
She got her start in the field as Client Services Manager and then Development Director of the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) which, in partnership with San Francisco Animal Care and Control, handles animal welfare and adoption programs for the City and County of San Francisco. There she nearly doubled the organization’s fundraising base, providing the fiscal foundation for the development of the nation’s first bonafide “no kill” animal shelter philosophy and operation.
She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science from Virginia Tech University.
Japan Accused of Whaling Bribery
| Japan accused of whaling bribery | |||
The Sunday Times said it had evidence suggesting that six countries including Grenada and Ivory Coast were willing to sell their votes at the International Whaling Commission (IWC), in return for favours. Japan has denied the claims, with its foreign ministry issuing a statement saying: "The government of Japan does not cover any cost of any other IWC member countries related to the IWC". The other countries named by the paper are St Kitts and Nevis, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati and Guinea. The newspaper said officials from these countries admitted they voted with the pro-whaling grouping because of the aid they received from Japan, or because they were given cash or call-girls. Sting operation The sting was conducted ahead of a meeting of the IWC in Morocco this month at which Japan is expected to push its case for allowing more whaling. Undercover reporters posing as representatives of a Swiss billionaire conservationist approached officials from pro-whaling countries and offered them an aid package to switch their vote. During their negotiations, the officials revealed the reasons for supporting Japan. The IWC proposal would allow Japan, Norway and Iceland to hunt a set quota of whales despite the 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling. Japan gets around the ban on commercial whaling by arguing that it harpoons hundreds of whales each year for scientific research. |
Animal Services Replies to Previous Post
An official from animal services sent the following to me regarding the complaint by the volunteer cited in the previous post:
Hi Ed,
I'm always reluctant to take an "anonymous" complaint at face value. Much of what is written comes straight out of the ADL handbook for fomenting more animosity towards us. That being said, I would be more than happy to meet with this volunteer if you can find out who it is.
As for the foster program, I have never heard an LAAS employee telling someone that they couldn't be a foster. We NEED fosters. The more the better. You can't imagine the number of kittens coming in. This last weekend alone was insane.
It is true that we will not foster out sick or injured kittens. We have more than enough healthy ones that need to be fostered first. Also, since we don't have enough fosters to take every kitten, we are often forced to choose between fostering out a 4 week old litter versus a very young litter. In these cases, we are always going to choose the older group first. They have a MUCH greater chance at reaching 8 weeks of age, they are easier for a foster (especially a new foster) to take care of, and it allows the foster to end up fostering a greater number of kittens over the same period of time.
In fact, I think it would be great if you would be so kind as to do a post stating that we are always in need of fosters and that anyone who is interested can go to our website (laanimalservices.com), fill out a foster application and bring it to the shelter of their choice. I guarantee you that they will get called within a week!
Volunteer Reports on Problems Within LAAS
I have no idea how credible is any information coming from ADL. I report the below because it is consistent with stories of several other volunteers. I will ask ADL for the name of this person since she has decided to quit.
However, if true, LAAS is in a bad way:
However, if true, LAAS is in a bad way:
Volunteer Writes Letter to Animal Defense League-Los Angeles
My Dear Animal Defense League,
I am or was I should say a volunteer at the department of Los Angeles Animal Services and have followed your campaign to stop the killing in our shelters for the past several years. I appreciate your tenacity and not giving up in your struggle to stop the killing of our city's homeless and lost animals. We're supposed to be a city of angels but instead we're a city of devils to homeless animals in Los Angeles. The reason I'm writing you now is because my pastor suggested I write down my feelings and so I decided to write them down in a letter and send it to you. Maybe my writing and your group posting my letter somehow could help the animals which I could not do as a volunteer, but also bring closure to my decision of not going back to any of the six shelters to volunteer ever again.
I must first tell you that for the past two weeks I've been dealing with what can only be called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I was volunteering approximately two weeks ago and the door to the bump room was slightly ajar. I know I wasn't supposed to go in or even look inside, these rooms are off limits to the volunteers but I just couldn't help myself because of a high screeching noise coming from the room. What I witnessed is something that I'll never be able to forget. I'll remember the sounds, the smells and the sight of what I witnessed until the day I die.
A mother cat was being clutched or a better word would be squeezed by a male wearing large gloves and the cat was crying out in a high pitch that was alarming; she was wriggling around her claws digging into the gloves of what appeared to be a male veterinarian technician. Her babies were right there watching and hearing all this. Then she was stuck (they didn't even look for a vein) but was forcibly stuck with a needle in her front leg and for five minutes I watched as her body went limp and she appeared to be dying. Her last breaths were agonizing to witness and I was so traumatized and shook up I literally could not move just stood and stared in disbelief. I've never seen an animal being injected and then dying before my eyes. She knew she was dying and was fighting it but eventually succumbed. The technician then grabbed one of her kittens and began doing the same thing. I watched the first baby being killed but I couldn't take it anymore and at that point I ran outside to my car physically trembling and crying. I couldn't drive but I also couldn't stand being parked outside a building that kills precious animals, God's animals everyday. So I drove to a park and just sat in my car crying for what seemed like hours. It was the most horrible thing I've ever witnessed as a volunteer at any shelter. I was numb for a week, very depressed and I finally went to see my pastor.
Believe me when I say I've tried to save animals inside the shelters. The current volunteer coordinator Jaren Sorkow who Mr. Boks appointed sits in his office all day with the door closed. I've attempted to leave him messages saying that I'd like to set up an appointment with him but never got a call back. Apparently from what I've learned from the volunteers that are left, Sorkow has no animal experience and never even volunteered in an animal shelter before. He appears not to even like animals, it's creepy cause the only time I ever saw him touch an animal he looked very uncomfortable. No wonder why the volunteer program has the lowest morale I've seen since I've been volunteering.
Presently most of the employees treat the volunteers with disdain and even when we attempt working with them giving them ideas or suggestions they seem to dislike us. Once a few volunteers got together and asked the shelter supervisor to start collecting names of volunteers and members of the public who were willing to foster cats and their unweaned kittens. He said that only staff could do that and there's not enough staff so instead they're killing them. We were floored by this. Here we were articulate intelligent volunteers who were willing to foster cat families and were told we weren't allowed! So we're not allowed to save lives? Why be a volunteer at the shelters then?
When I was at a different shelter, both under the department of LA animal services I asked if my friend, a wealthy caring woman who lives in Brentwood could be taught to bottle feed unweaned kittens. My friend not only has the time but is a retired nurse. I was told that no one in the public would ever be allowed to foster animals or bottle-feed unweaned kittens, it's against policy.
No wonder why when the shelters are over run with unweaned puppies or kittens there is not a list that an employee or volunteer is required to call to see if anyone on that list would be willing to foster these poor pups, kittens or family's. Many in the public like my friend would love to help save these kittens or just foster a dog or cat in need or even an entire family, but the shelter supervisor refused her offer to help. How can this be happening? There are volunteers and many LA residents who want to learn how to bottle-feed and take in unweaned babies or take in cats and dogs to foster but are told they CAN'T by the shelter supervisors.
I used to volunteer at a shelter in another state and they had three long lists, one for rescuers, one for volunteers and one for the public that showed an interest in fostering. This shelter even offered free classes to the public on how to bottle feed unweaned pups and kittens so that they could call for as much help as possible during puppy and kitten season. Every time the shelter began getting full the employees were required to call the lists from top to bottom and many animals were saved from being euthanized (I know your group doesn't like to use the word euthanize and you are correct because these are adoptable animals. They don't have an incurable disease or are unable to be rehabilitated. I know that we're told by Sorkow, Kathleen Davis and Linda Barth to never use the word destroy or killed. Only euthanize or put to sleep. The mother cat I witnessed two weeks ago in that awful room with her litter of kittens looking at their mother was not being euthanzied or put to sleep. She and her family were being executed, murdered and their faces showed their complete and overwhelming sense of panic and horror. I've never seen fear in the faces of animals like I did that day watching a mother and one of her babies being killed.
So there is my story. I don't want to tell you exactly how long I've been a volunteer or at what two LAAS shelters I've volunteered because that might give away my identity. And even though this may sound paranoid I'm afraid of some of the employees and supervisors at the shelters. Some come in smelling of alcohol, another employee is high on something everytime I saw him and most others, with some exceptions just have hostility towards volunteers that kind of scares me. I remember the days when the volunteers practically ran the shelters, we were allowed to drive the trucks to off site pet adoptions and choose great venues like Century City mall where we would adopt out dozens of animals in a morning. I don't think there was even a paid volunteer coordinator back then, it was run by volunteers and we did a fabulous job. But things have changed over the years and the staff allows us to do less and less and we're treated with more contempt by some of the employees and even the volunteer coordinator himself.
This is why I can't continue volunteering for the department. I struggled with this decision and as I told you I even went to my pastor to talk about these issues. My very wise pastor confirmed to me that I shouldn't feel guilty for not volunteering any longer because if I was not allowed to actually help save the lives of animals, I was actually enabling the death of animals inside these shelters.
I apologize for this rambling letter but I'm still so overwhelmed with a deep and profound depression at the way the department is being run. Your group used the analogy once to describe the shelters in LA being like the Nazi death camps but until I saw with my own eyes the look on that mother cat's face and her kittens lined up beside her, I didn't really grasp what you meant. Now I do. They have the same fear and terror of being killed as any human being and I simply can no longer be a part of a department that doesn't do some of the most basic things to save these animals.
I've been praying to God that our Mayor chooses someone who can help the department and start doing things that would save the lives of these beautiful wonderful animals. I've also been e-mailing faxing and I even called the contacts you sent out in your previous posts begging them to hire a genuinely sincere, smart and compassionate general manager. But I don't know if that did any good and I'm sick with a pain so deep I can't alleviate it right now. I'm doing a lot of praying and going to my pastor for counseling.
Rosenthal and Koretz Propose Raising Pet Limit to 5
Since the start of the recession, the rate of abandonment of dogs and cats has increased throughout the State as a result of the economy and home foreclosures. It was reported that in City shelters these factors have contributed to a 20% increase in the rate of animal impounds.
The City has undertaken efforts to reduce the rate of stray animals and increase pet adoptions. In February 2008, the City adopted a Spay and Neuter Ordinance that requires all cats and dogs in the City to be spayed or neutered after the age of four months. In addition, the City Council assists animal rescue organizations to facilitate pet adoptions through its "Adopt a Pet" Program.
However, there is one barrier that prevents animal adoptions - the City's limit on the number of animals a person may own. Currently, under the City's Municipal Code, a City resident may only own and register up to three catsand!or dogs. For a City resident to have more than three cats and!or dogs the resident must qualify as a kennel and have a kennel permit.
Clearly, this limitation is preventing stray cats and dogs from finding homes and potentially putting them at risk to be euthanized.
Raising the number of dogs and!or cats that a City resident may have from three to five would have several benefits. First, it would provide stray animals with homes and keep them from being euthanized in City shelters. Second, it could raise revenue for the City through additional animal registration fees. Therefore, appropriate steps should be taken to raise the number of dogs and/or cats that a City resident may own from three to five.
I THEREFORE MOVE that the City Attorney be requested to amend the Municipal Code to raise the number of dogs and/or cats that a City resident may own from three to five.
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