Los Angeles Animal Services announced new policies at a routine Commissioners Board Meeting on Tuesday following a brutal attack on one of their employees at their Harbor Shelter in San Pedro.
LA Animal Services kennel supervisor Leslie Corea was left critically injured on May 31 after Brie, a 63-pound shelter dog, mauled her while she went to take her out of her kennel.
Corea had more than two decades of experience with the shelter. As of June 5, she has undergone three surgeries for injuries she suffered during the attack.
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In response to the attack, LA Animal Services has replaced their “red list” — which gave dogs a three week timeline to be euthanized if they had medical or behavioral issues — with a new “72 hour” list. Now, shelter dogs have 72 hours to be rescued from an authorized rescue group if they present dangerous behaviors — before being euthanized.
Staycee Dains, general manager of LA Animal Services, said that this is a temporary policy until shelters can return to a state of safe operation.
According to shelter notes, Brie had exhibited signs of fear, stress and anxiety, and was, overall, not doing well with the conditions of her kennel.
Dains says that the attack demonstrated the dangers of the shelters’ overcrowding crisis, pointing to an understaffing issue at their six city-run shelters that prevented staff at the Harbor location from providing adequate care.
“The overcrowding in the shelter meant less time for volunteers and staff to provide Brie with out-of-kennel enrichment that could have kept her calm and satisfied in her kennel,” Dains said.
“There are so many people that have been bit and mauled at the shelters and it needs to stop because we’re overcrowding and we’re not euthanizing the animals that need to be euthanized in a timely manner,” Corea said.
It is unclear how many staff members and volunteers have been bit and mauled by animals at LA Animal Services.
Animal advocates and LA Animal Services volunteers have already expressed strong dissatisfaction with the new policies.
According to animal advocate Whitney Smith, the new rule decreases the shelter’s ability to ensure that healthy dogs get adopted, while failing to adequately address issues of overcrowding and volunteer safety.
LA Animal services volunteers have since sent their concerns to LA Mayor Karen Bass, calling for an emergency meeting.
NBCLA has made several requests for an interview with Dains' office. NBCLA also reached out to the mayor's office for comment.
