Boks Celebrates 100 Years of Killing Animals.

Yesterday, Animal Services General Manager Ed Boks posted his first not the "official position of the City of Los Angeles or LA Animal Services" entry for the new year. We still wonder why the City won't stand behind Boks's blathering or allow him to host the From the Desk of Ed Boks blog on the City's own website. Okay, we don't wonder.
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Without providing any references (except for a bunch of links to his own fudged numbers) for his 1200 word celebration of L.A. Animal Services' supposed Centennial, Boks heralds the great strides we have made since "rabid dogs" were gunned down in the streets. Boks takes us on on a lyrical sojourn through L.A.'s animal regulation history from 1909 to present, but we have no idea from whence he draws his "facts."

A Centennial seems an appropriate time to look back and review the path that got us to where we are today.

At its inception in the first decade of the 20th Century, LA Animal Services served an emerging urban community where dogs and cats were owned by families who were used to having pets because of what they contributed to a more rural lifestyle. Dogs, for the most part, were considered working animals earning their keep on a local farm or ranch, or were used for hunting to help put dinner on the table. Cats, and some small dogs, were used as mousers to help keep small rodents and rats out of home, barn, yard and business. Consequently, both cats and dogs were permitted to run free.

First, there was no "Animal Services" until 2002. Prior to that the Department was called "Animal Regulation."

Boks claims that it wasn't until the 1960s that we countrified Angelenos started to consider dogs and cats as anything more than "staff" used to hunt and control "vermin." Yes, that's right. Before the 60s, we Angelenos kept all of our dogs and cats outdoors. That's right. So primitive and backwards were residents of Los Angeles that they didn't let their pets into their homes until 30 years after Warren G. Harding permitted "Laddie Boy" to grace the carpets of the White House. To say nothing of Rin Tin Tin whose career of 30 films spanned 1922-1931; or Lassie Come Home in 1943.

Boks waxes on , basically telling us that for 60 years, Animal Regulation (not L.A. Animsl Services, Ed) was concerned mostly with controlling the spread of rabies, which is true. Now,in the modern era where former Neanderthal-like Angelenos have the benefit of those crazy inventions like electricity and running water-- and because of spay neuter programs and clinics (which are still not operational in LAAS) which he compares to his own invention "Big Fix" (Al Gore, anyone?) the "euthanasia" numbers have "plummeted" 86% since 1971. Is he taking credit for this?

Before this, Boks only claimed to be the biggest adoption agency in the country. Now he claims he's the biggest in "the world." We'll wait for that other shoe to drop.

In 2007, 15,009 animals were euthanized. Sadly, in 2008 the euthanasia rate increased to the 2006 level (Notice there is no number here.) due to an unprecedented housing foreclosure crisis leading to the number of animals taken in by LA Animal Services spiking to the 2002 level (How many killed in 2002, Ed?).

Yes, all the animals killed in excess of the 2007 numbers are because of foreclosures. How many is that, Ed?

The current economic downturn also led to the development of such programs as “A House is not a Home without a Pet” and “Operation Safety Net” to respond to aspects of this crisis.

Any stats on these snappily-named "programs?"

By transforming our animal shelters into places of hope and life, instead of despair and doom, we experienced over a 40% increase in our adoption rates over the past two years - despite the current economic downturn. LA Animal Services is the largest-volume pet adoption program in the world with over 25,000 live placements in 2008.

Ed has transformed our "shelters" into "places of hope and life." Anybody? By the way, East Valley shelter has no paper nor any bowls to feed the animals.

over a 40% increase in our adoption rates over the past two years

More playing with numbers, but I'll let Muzika comment on these.

Boks says we're "progressive" and links back to his critique of the "No Kill Solution" when he pat himself on the back for such an extensive network of fosters ( a key element of No Kill) for all of these unwanted animals. Here's a number for you , Ed. Number of dogs released to foster since 2005: 20. Yep, since Ed has graced our shores only 20 dogs have been released to "fosterers."

The sad thing--one of the sad things---is that Boks does not take this momentous opportunity to recognize the hard work of his employees. Not once.

We are always amazed how Boks, professing to be a vegetarian, is the City's largest purveyor of tripe.