L.A. Animal Services Investigated for Missing Dogs and Fraudulent Time Cards

During the past two months, Los Angeles Animal Services has been under scrutiny due to the disappearance of dozens of animals from its six city shelters.

Now the investigation by the city’s police and personnel departments has expanded, based on allegations that some animal services employees were compensated for work they didn’t complete.

The initial investigation began in May, when 39 animals went missing from the North Central shelter. In a KABC-TV news report, Animal Services Department Manager Brenda Barnette, who requested the investigation, said a total of about 64 animals – mostly dogs – had vanished from the city’s shelters during the previous year.

“It’s hard to tell whether the situation was so lax that the public could come in take animals out without us knowing it, or whether there was assistance from staff or volunteers, which I would doubt,” Barnette said.

While Barnette said it was possible that some of the animals were incorrectly listed as missing due to clerical errors, she acknowledged that others may have “simply been taken.” She told the Los Angeles Times that most of the missing animals were young and cute. “They were ones that would have been likely to have been sold or be a nice gift for someone,” she said.

Additional locks were installed at the North Central Shelter, and some of the personnel were reassigned.

On Thursday the Los Angeles Times reported that more than 10 employees of the animal services department are currently under investigation by the personnel department for fraudulently filling out their time cards.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told the Times that city officials are investigating “a range of personnel issues that could include theft and fraud.”

Because of budget cuts, the city has been struggling to keep its shelters open. The Northeast Valley Animal Center, a new shelter for abused animals in the San Fernando Valley, has not yet opened to the public due to city budget constraints.

PHOTO: spotreporting