LAAS is NOT 95% No-Kill

The GM of LA Animal Services, Ed Boks, is claiming that LAAS is 95.75% no-kill, in spite of the fact that Boks admits that killing at LAAS is up 37% in 2008.

Here is the link to Ed Boks’ blog in which he claims that LAAS is 95% no-kill, despite the 37% increase in killing in 2008.
http://laanimalservices.blogspot.com/2008/08/boks-provides-instructive-responses-to.html

The text below is from Boks’ blog. You have to scroll down to get to this part:


“ED: The recent increase in animal impounds has led to an increase in the number of animals euthanized. This is the first increase in pet euthanasia in the past six years. The Department successfully reduced pet euthanasia over 50% in the past six years, and 22% in 2007. YTD 2008 has seen a 37.38% increase in euthanasia (10,217) compared to 2007 YTD (7,437). However, when the numbers are normalized to account for the increase in impounds, the euthanasia rate is up only 3.49%.

So, what does that mean to achieving No-Kill?

Phase I of No-Kill is achieved when no healthy animal is killed due to a lack of space or resources.

Phase II is achieved when we end the killing of animals in need of medical treatment.

YTD 118 cats and 384 dogs were killed due to insufficient holding space and/or resources. These healthy pets represent the challenge to achieving Phase I of the City’s “No-Kill” Goal.

YTD, the Department is over 95% on its way to achieving Phase I of No-Kill.”


We all know how Ed Boks achieves a “95% no-kill rate”, in spite of a 37% increase in euthanasia. Mislabeling the animals that Boks does kill, allows Boks to present the illusion that he has achieved no-kill, when in reality all Boks has done is cheat the taxpayers and the animals by driving LAAS deep into debt and failing to enforce the animal related laws of Los Angeles.

Does Ed Boks really expect us to believe that over 40% of the animals entering LAAS are sick or vicious?

If by sick, Boks is referring to kennel cough or upper respiratory infections (e.g. a common doggy or kitty cold) which the animals contract from the shelter environment, then perhaps I could believe that 40% of the animals in LAAS are sick. We all know however, that kennel cough is easily curable and does not justify death. Imagine what the human population would look like if we killed everyone who got a cold.

Los Angeles Animal Services does not have an animal behaviorist, or even an animal trainer, on staff. Who, then, is labeling the dogs as vicious? Could it possibly be Ed himself, AFTER the dogs have been euthanized?

It is clear, from both City Comptroller Laura Chick’s audits of the Department, that not only is Ed Boks incapable of running a no-kill shelter, Ed Boks is incapable of running a successful kill shelter. LAAS is deep in debt and the taxpayers, as well as the animals, of Los Angeles are being cheated, all while Boks pats himself on the back in his blog and to the media.

LAAS is nowhere near 95% no-kill. The only truth in Boks’ blog is that killing at LAAS is higher in 2008 under Boks, than it was in 2005 under Stuckey, and Boks has newer, larger shelters, and an increased staff as compared to Stuckey.

Boks needs to be replaced with someone who knows how to run a municipal animal shelter, who cares about the animals, and who will enforce the animal related laws of Los Angeles. Honesty and accuracy in the reporting of the quarterly numbers would be nice as well.