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Culver City Observer
September 6 -12, 2007 Letters to the Editor Dear Ms. Gross, Mr. Malsin and Mr. Rose, I came to Culver City in 1977. I've moved three times and never left the city. I raised my two children in Culver City and they went to Culver City schools, camps and "Y". I work in Culver City. I know Culver City like the back of my hand. Before it was fashionable to say it I referred to my home city "as the best kept secret bedroom community on the Westside". I also remember when the city had an ACO (Animal Control Officer) and he did his job and did it quickly. I was present at last night's City Council meeting regarding the five-year contract for Carson County Animal Shelter. What I garnered from points made was that there is no financial gain in having a five-year contract versus a one-year contract. That point aside, there are benefits to having the one-year contract as it would support the framework of the proposed weaning off of the county to independence for Culver City's animals and would add a timely impetus to stay focused and do it sooner than later. Finally the people who voted you into office want it. Look at the signed petitions and the signatures keep coming! I have some points that I would like to take issue with: 1. How can it be that, you people who claim to have pets that you value have never once made a trip to Carson. Forget the sanctimonious statement made by Ms. Gross that, because she cares for her pets so well, they have never been taken to the shelter. Obviously Ms. Gross you have never extended that "excellent care" to include helping a rescued dog or cat. If you had, to pick up that animal, you would know the "hell" that is Carson. 2. I have been involved in the rescue of numerous dogs in Culver City, which through the assistance of local dog rescue groups, ultimately find homes. I and the others that come together to help these dogs will NOT call Carson for help. We go to extreme lengths to keep the dogs away from the shelter cause none of us wants to put a stray dog in the county shelter. We know what it is like… bit I would have a totally different opinion if the city had a dedicated ACO and local sheltering/boarding facility. 3. Go for a tour to Carson. Make that trip. It is a nightmare. The 405 crawls. If you map the trip via Google here is the note submitted with the Google directions: "17.1 mi - about 26 minutes up to 40 minutes in traffic" which in real time is an hour. Tour that facility and you will never forget it. You will never get the image of all those dogs and cats or their stench out of your mind. 4. Some animals may be euthanized because they are terminally ill or too dangerous to be re-homed, but mostly it is because they take up space. Carson houses them a finite length of time and then the animal is put to death. 5. Animals are not humanely euthanized. Humanely would mean without pain - not at Carson. To keep costs down animals are given the bare minimum dose needed to end their lives which means that many animals suffer agonizingly slow deaths before passing. 6.The offer by city vets to help with the housing of Culver City animals was summarily dismissed because there would have to be reimbursement to them for boarding. How short sighted is that? Don't you think that there is built into the county charges a reimbursement for housing animals? Of course local vets would need to be reimbursed but that would be covered by the fees charged to the pet owner. 7. Mr. Rose made a convoluted statement regarding work hours in the work year and came to the conclusion that the county is already supplying the city with close to the same amount of hours that a dedicated ACO would. I say fuzzy math! Additionally, using the statistics submitted by the county to ascertain if there is a need for an ACO is so ridiculous! Of course their statistics do not show what a dedicated ACO would do because their staff does the bare minimum for our city. 8. You wonder what a city dedicated ACO will do with his/her time: s/he will respond to and act upon all the calls that are never placed to Carson. Our citizens have been defeated by the lack of response from Carson. Over the years we have come to expect nothing and realize that there will be no response to a call for help for an injured bird, a trapped cat, a dead raccoon, an injured squirrel. Additionally ridiculous is the county's response time for calls about stray dogs and cats - by the time they show up, if they show up at all, the animal is long gone. The citizens of Culver City have given up on trying to obtain helpful and appropriate services from Carson, and signing a five-year contract with an incompetent service provider who supplies us, the citizens, with bare bones services is bad business. Sandi Mineo-Rust Pet Improvement |
