Charlene DeLeon walks into her local animal shelter every week with hope. Hope that this time, Phoebe might be there.
DeLeon adopted Phoebe from the shelter six years ago. At only three months old, the tiny poodle-mix stood out to her.
“She’s just the sweetest dog,” DeLeon said, “Always happy to see me, smart…just great with everyone.”
A month ago, on November 4, DeLeon let Phoebe out in the back to play, like she had done hundreds of times before. That was the last time she saw her.
“We found a tiny four inch hole in the fence between my house, and the freeway,” said DeLeon. “She’s so tiny, it would have been no problem for her to squeeze through.”
Cages of cats in the "cat room" of SEAACA.
While most owners would have given up within the week, DeLeon continues searching for little Phoebe, convinced she is still alive. Perusing each cage and animal within it, DeLeon says she can feel her heart beating out of her chest.
“Sometimes I think I see her,” she said, “and I catch my breath. But then I look closer and it’s not her.”
DeLeon thinks it is far more likely that a family has taken Phoebe in, than her having passed away.
“If some family found her,” she said. “They probably just kept her, she’s so sweet and perfect. Anyone would immediately fall in love with her and not want to give her up. There would be no reason to take her to the shelter.”
And while that thought is bittersweet, DeLeon still worries about her “little girl.”
“I just hope she’s somewhere warm. She’s got such a thin coat, I don’t think she could survive this kind of weather,” she said.
If Phoebe is still alive, the weather isn’t her only obstacle. Even if she were put in a shelter, her chances of survival are slim. Due to fierce budget cutting, shelter animals are only allowed to sit on death row for three days, down from six. Shelters and animal activists are protesting that 72 hours is not long enough to track down the owner of a lost or runaway pet with no identification.
Captain Aaron Reyes has worked at the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority (SEAACA) for 20 years. He’s seen everything from loose ponies in Norwalk, to boxers with football-sized tumors tied up and left to die.
“We still keep our animals for at least five days,” said Reyes. “We’re at our max, but we’re full by choice. Sometimes we get ridiculously full, but we think it’s better than sticking a needle in them.”
Three older dogs curled up in the runs.
SEAACA is a joint powers animal control agency that serves 14 cities, and over 860,000 people. They offer housing, adoption, veterinary services, animal law enforcement, and a special operations team. Run by a paid staff and an army of volunteers, SEACCA is an animal’s best chance in this economy. Funded by its three contract cities, SEAACA wasn’t as affected by California budget cuts as most other city shelters.
Los Angeles Animal Services has six care centers. Anna Tamawinograd has volunteered for the East Valley Care Center for 13 years. She can’t have dogs because of her small apartment, so volunteering helps her get her dog fix. She used to work directly in the shelter, but now prefers to help with outside events only.
“It’s just so depressing in there,” she said. “It’s a really sad environment.”
Animal welfare groups say shelters and pounds were already in crisis before the recession, and the situation has turned from bad to critical. According to L.A. County Department of Health Services, animal control agencies are already processing over 500,000 homeless pets each year. Only 25 percent of these animals are adopted or placed in a safe environment. The rest are euthanized.
Puppies are usually adopted within 2 days of their arrival.
“Most of the city shelters have had to turn into catch and kill centers,” said Reyes. “They bring them in, wait the three days, and then put them down.”
They don’t exactly have a choice. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reports that the number of family pets dumped at shelters or pounds on a daily basis in California alone has spiked by as much as 12 percent in certain areas.
According to Reyes, this is the biggest issue: pet overpopulation. Animals who haven’t been spayed or neutered continue having babies, who then are usually tossed out on the street. With foreclosures at a high, more and more animals are being “rescued” only to then go to a pound and wait.
“I see these poor little guys come in, and after one day, three days, five days, no one is adopting them,” he said. “Time is all they have, and I swear shelter animals know they’re shelter animals.”
Walking into SEAACA’s runs, it’s easy to see what he means. Each cage is filled (most to the brim) with animals staring at you eagerly, practically begging for a home. The puppy and kitten rooms are separate from the rest of the center. The atmosphere within them is light; everyone fawns over their size and cuteness. They will all be adopted within the next two days. Leaving those rooms and walking into the runs there is an immediate difference. The desperation is practically visible. These are the dogs who know their time is running out.
This lab has been at SEAACA for 5 days. He needs to be adopted soon.
“No one wants an older dog,” said Reyes. “They’re usually the first to be put down.”
Student volunteer Sky Torres tries not to get too attached to the animals she cares for.
“It’s really hard getting to know them,” she said, “and then have to watch them go. Whether it’s to a new home, or to be put down.”
Torres says it’s helpful that SEACCA sticks to a pretty strict rule of only euthanizing those animals that are either very vicious, or very sick.
“Euthanasia is the most difficult issue we have to deal with,” said Reyes. “But it’s necessary in this society. The intake door just keeps spinning.”
In this business, supply always exceeds demand. SEACCA is one of many shelters that have begun to implement low cost veterinary services like spaying, neutering, and inserting the microchip that allows shelters to identify the animal, and its owner. For SEAACA, every animal they can spay/neuter is a victory: now that animal’s children can’t be abandoned or abused, and end up right back in a shelter. Every pet adopted from SEACCA is spayed or neutered.
Though economists are hopeful the nation’s recession is nearing an end, there is no end in sight for California’s budget problems. And these animals don’t have the time to wait.
Animal groups across the state are now pressing lawmakers to enact temporary incentives aimed at giving owners constructive reasons to keep their pets during the recession. Proposals currently being written include implementing state-funded adoption, identification and spay/neutering campaigns until the job market picks up. Other animal welfare advocates say soft-style solutions fall short.
These kittens were brought in with their brother on Wednesday, December 9, 2009.
Actor and animal activist Leo Grillo is the founder of D.E.L.T.A. (Dedication and Everlasting Love to Animals) Rescue, the largest no-kill, care-for-life sanctuary in the world. It has two hospitals and over 150 acres of sanctuaries in Acton, CA, and is funded solely by private donations of over $5.5 million a year.
Grillo has introduced a bill that is already on the floor of Congress, called the HAPPY Act (Humanity and Pets Partnered through the Years). Grillo’s bill allows owners to deduct as much as $3,500 of pet-related expenses from their tax returns. It was introduced by Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) back in July. Since then, the initiative has attracted the appeal of millions of American voters and taxpayers because it addresses the crucial needs of both animals and humans.
Grillo’s initiative is backed by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, as well as the Humane Society of the United States. This is a powerful coalition of animal welfare advocates, and many hope passing the Happy Act will ebb the flow of animals to shelters, and in turn, animals to euthanasia.
Meanwhile, DeLeon leaves her local shelter empty-handed again. She raises a feeble hand to say goodbye to the receptionist, who now knows her by name.
“They tell me to keep the faith,” DeLeon said. “I heard one woman waited three years before finding her dog again. I know Phoebe is still out there.”
