Overhaul LA County animal control after they “mistakenly” killed scared Puppy Bowie
The Issue
The tragic untimely death of scared puppy Bowie
On December 4, 2022, Baldwin Park Animal Care Center killed Bowie a 4-month-old Terrier mix puppy, ID number A5516375, for showing fearful behavior. Approximately 5 hours later, Underdog Heroes Rescue emailed the Baldwin Park shelter leadership in an attempt to save Bowie’s life, but tragically he was already dead. Although little Bowie was classified as "Un-adoptable", he could have been easily rehabilitated by a willing rescue group. This innocent frightened puppy, according to his impound records, was so afraid that he “defecated as he ran around the kennel” when LA County shelter staff tried to leash him. Does Bowie sound like a threat to public safety to you?! Following 24 fearful days spent in the custody of LA County Department of Animal Care and Control ("LAC DACC"), Puppy Bowie did not deserve to die unjustly labelled as a “dangerous” or “vicious” dog.
Outraged ensued as rescue groups, shelter volunteers, and community leaders demanded accountability and shared Bowie's story with the media.
December 20, 22, LA County Board Supervisors Hahn and Solis demanded an investigation into Bowie’s death, but unfortunately they allowed Marcia Mayeda, the Director of LA County DACC, to investigate herself.
A lack of accountability from Marcia Mayeda
On January 18, 2023, Director Mayeda reported to the Board in a memo that she conducted a "full investigation" into the circumstances around Bowie’s death. However, true to form, Mayeda has failed to take accountability.
In her response, Mayeda lied and said that there was no "interest" from a rescue group about Bowie. She only admits that there was no proactive outreach to rescue groups by her Department before Bowie was killed. Bowie was euthanized at 10:32 AM on December 4, 2022. NOT referenced by Mayeda in her report, is that Underdog Heroes’ email to the Department came in at 3:40 PM on the same day, and finally received a response 2 days later at 4:06 PM. All About the Animals and the LA Times verified information as to when Underdog Heroes inquired about Bowie and when Bowie was killed, but Mayeda withheld this information from her report to the Board. Effectively, she also withheld this information from LA County taxpayers. It calls into question the transparency and diligence (or lack thereof), of the supposed investigation by Mayeda.
Mayeda also claims in her report to the BOS that as part of a plan to prevent similar incidents, that two members of her team should authorize euthanasia. However, as public records shared by Nathan Winograd show, this did indeed happen in Bowie’s case. So how will following this already in place policy prevent another untimely death like Bowie’s?
A flawed policy on pets deemed "aggressive"
Mayeda's report to the Board also neglects to explain why Bowie was assessed and treated as an aggressive dog in her pound, when he was simply a scared puppy. The reason this happened is because the Department’s policies and practices around (supposed) assessment of behavioral issues in dogs and cats has been flawed for many years.
In 2019, Mr. Pickles, a tame pet cat was assessed by Mayeda’s Downey pound as a feral and he was put in a room with unsocialized cats off-limits to the public, and then killed. Mr. Pickles was in fact so friendly that volunteers were able to place glasses on him as pictured here. This issue was previously brought to the attention of the Board of Supervisors by Rebecca Arvizu, one of the co-plaintiffs in the Nguyen vs. LA County lawsuit brought to address the poor treatment of animals in Mayeda’s pounds in 2007. Read Arvizu’s March 10, 2023 memo to the Board here regarding Bowie’s death and her experiences with LA County Animal Control. Clearly more drastic action is needed; as exemplified in Bowie’s case, the unjustified killing of scared animals continues.
Finally, Mayeda has brought in some expertise in this area for dogs, but why would it have taken over 20 years in power for her to identify this need, which coincidentally has only been effected after the public shaming of Bowie’s death?! And what about the cats? Why hasn’t Mayeda been able to implement reasonable protocols for assessing cat behavior?
Mayeda’s history of abuse of power
This is not the first time that Mayeda has failed to take accountability for the failures of her department. Back in 2015, Mayeda blamed staffing issues, and a lack of funding from the Board of Supervisors, on the feces filled conditions reported by All About the Animals at the Downey Animal Care Center kennels.
Mayeda’s reign of terror on the LA County animal shelters must end. She has been in power since 2001, and we have consistently seen abuses of that power.
Another lawsuit levied against Mayeda more recently was filed in 2021 by the Santa Paula Animal Rescue Center and Lucky Pup, alleging that the Agoura pound killed two dogs Gunnar and Winston for “behavior” when they should have been released to rescue groups under the current state law known as the Hayden Act. The premise of this lawsuit is very similar to what happened to Bowie; Mayeda continues to put up barriers against saving the lives of homeless pets.
A brighter future for LA County shelter animals?
Enough is enough. Bowie was not the first scared puppy, kitten, cat or dog, that the LAC DACC has killed under the guise of behavioral issues, and he won’t be the last, while Mayeda continues at the helm.
Assembly member Bill Essayli has recognized the failures in Bowie’s case, and has introduced Bill AB 595 to mandate California animal shelters to give 72 hours of notice to the public before euthanasia. How is it that Bowie’s case has been recognized at the State level, while it is being swept under the rug at the local LA County level? Mayeda’s 1-18-2023 report to the Board of Supervisors has not been discussed in public, so we must ask ourselves, is the Board complicit with Mayeda’s attempted cover up of the facts that could have saved Bowie's life?
[Sidenote: Please write to your local Assemblymember to vote YES on AB 595, more details here].
Our petition demands:
1. Urgently put Mayeda’s 1-18-2023 report on the agenda for the LAC Board of Supervisors’ meetings; give the public the opportunity to comment on Mayeda’s pathetic response to Bowie’s tragic and untimely death
2. Commission a long overdue independent investigation of the LAC DACC policies, processes, and leadership. Mayeda should not continually be allowed to investigate herself against her own misdeeds, as the Board has allowed for over 20 years. The Board has many options to consider including the American Humane Society, who were similarly appointed at the Santa Barbara shelters for an independent audit. As well as the No Kill Advocacy Center, as called for by Rebecca Arvizu; Arviza advocates that Rescue groups, shelter volunteers, and the animal-loving community should have a seat at the table to provide input.
3. Appoint a new Director of the LAC DACC, who embodies a culture of lifesaving, transparency, accountability, and collaboration with rescue groups, shelter volunteers, and the local animal-loving communities.
We demand justice for Bowie, and all of the thousands of other animals like Bowie, who were unnecessarily killed after they were branded as aggressive, when they are simply afraid.
1,305
The Issue
The tragic untimely death of scared puppy Bowie
On December 4, 2022, Baldwin Park Animal Care Center killed Bowie a 4-month-old Terrier mix puppy, ID number A5516375, for showing fearful behavior. Approximately 5 hours later, Underdog Heroes Rescue emailed the Baldwin Park shelter leadership in an attempt to save Bowie’s life, but tragically he was already dead. Although little Bowie was classified as "Un-adoptable", he could have been easily rehabilitated by a willing rescue group. This innocent frightened puppy, according to his impound records, was so afraid that he “defecated as he ran around the kennel” when LA County shelter staff tried to leash him. Does Bowie sound like a threat to public safety to you?! Following 24 fearful days spent in the custody of LA County Department of Animal Care and Control ("LAC DACC"), Puppy Bowie did not deserve to die unjustly labelled as a “dangerous” or “vicious” dog.
Outraged ensued as rescue groups, shelter volunteers, and community leaders demanded accountability and shared Bowie's story with the media.
December 20, 22, LA County Board Supervisors Hahn and Solis demanded an investigation into Bowie’s death, but unfortunately they allowed Marcia Mayeda, the Director of LA County DACC, to investigate herself.
A lack of accountability from Marcia Mayeda
On January 18, 2023, Director Mayeda reported to the Board in a memo that she conducted a "full investigation" into the circumstances around Bowie’s death. However, true to form, Mayeda has failed to take accountability.
In her response, Mayeda lied and said that there was no "interest" from a rescue group about Bowie. She only admits that there was no proactive outreach to rescue groups by her Department before Bowie was killed. Bowie was euthanized at 10:32 AM on December 4, 2022. NOT referenced by Mayeda in her report, is that Underdog Heroes’ email to the Department came in at 3:40 PM on the same day, and finally received a response 2 days later at 4:06 PM. All About the Animals and the LA Times verified information as to when Underdog Heroes inquired about Bowie and when Bowie was killed, but Mayeda withheld this information from her report to the Board. Effectively, she also withheld this information from LA County taxpayers. It calls into question the transparency and diligence (or lack thereof), of the supposed investigation by Mayeda.
Mayeda also claims in her report to the BOS that as part of a plan to prevent similar incidents, that two members of her team should authorize euthanasia. However, as public records shared by Nathan Winograd show, this did indeed happen in Bowie’s case. So how will following this already in place policy prevent another untimely death like Bowie’s?
A flawed policy on pets deemed "aggressive"
Mayeda's report to the Board also neglects to explain why Bowie was assessed and treated as an aggressive dog in her pound, when he was simply a scared puppy. The reason this happened is because the Department’s policies and practices around (supposed) assessment of behavioral issues in dogs and cats has been flawed for many years.
In 2019, Mr. Pickles, a tame pet cat was assessed by Mayeda’s Downey pound as a feral and he was put in a room with unsocialized cats off-limits to the public, and then killed. Mr. Pickles was in fact so friendly that volunteers were able to place glasses on him as pictured here. This issue was previously brought to the attention of the Board of Supervisors by Rebecca Arvizu, one of the co-plaintiffs in the Nguyen vs. LA County lawsuit brought to address the poor treatment of animals in Mayeda’s pounds in 2007. Read Arvizu’s March 10, 2023 memo to the Board here regarding Bowie’s death and her experiences with LA County Animal Control. Clearly more drastic action is needed; as exemplified in Bowie’s case, the unjustified killing of scared animals continues.
Finally, Mayeda has brought in some expertise in this area for dogs, but why would it have taken over 20 years in power for her to identify this need, which coincidentally has only been effected after the public shaming of Bowie’s death?! And what about the cats? Why hasn’t Mayeda been able to implement reasonable protocols for assessing cat behavior?
Mayeda’s history of abuse of power
This is not the first time that Mayeda has failed to take accountability for the failures of her department. Back in 2015, Mayeda blamed staffing issues, and a lack of funding from the Board of Supervisors, on the feces filled conditions reported by All About the Animals at the Downey Animal Care Center kennels.
Mayeda’s reign of terror on the LA County animal shelters must end. She has been in power since 2001, and we have consistently seen abuses of that power.
Another lawsuit levied against Mayeda more recently was filed in 2021 by the Santa Paula Animal Rescue Center and Lucky Pup, alleging that the Agoura pound killed two dogs Gunnar and Winston for “behavior” when they should have been released to rescue groups under the current state law known as the Hayden Act. The premise of this lawsuit is very similar to what happened to Bowie; Mayeda continues to put up barriers against saving the lives of homeless pets.
A brighter future for LA County shelter animals?
Enough is enough. Bowie was not the first scared puppy, kitten, cat or dog, that the LAC DACC has killed under the guise of behavioral issues, and he won’t be the last, while Mayeda continues at the helm.
Assembly member Bill Essayli has recognized the failures in Bowie’s case, and has introduced Bill AB 595 to mandate California animal shelters to give 72 hours of notice to the public before euthanasia. How is it that Bowie’s case has been recognized at the State level, while it is being swept under the rug at the local LA County level? Mayeda’s 1-18-2023 report to the Board of Supervisors has not been discussed in public, so we must ask ourselves, is the Board complicit with Mayeda’s attempted cover up of the facts that could have saved Bowie's life?
[Sidenote: Please write to your local Assemblymember to vote YES on AB 595, more details here].
Our petition demands:
1. Urgently put Mayeda’s 1-18-2023 report on the agenda for the LAC Board of Supervisors’ meetings; give the public the opportunity to comment on Mayeda’s pathetic response to Bowie’s tragic and untimely death
2. Commission a long overdue independent investigation of the LAC DACC policies, processes, and leadership. Mayeda should not continually be allowed to investigate herself against her own misdeeds, as the Board has allowed for over 20 years. The Board has many options to consider including the American Humane Society, who were similarly appointed at the Santa Barbara shelters for an independent audit. As well as the No Kill Advocacy Center, as called for by Rebecca Arvizu; Arviza advocates that Rescue groups, shelter volunteers, and the animal-loving community should have a seat at the table to provide input.
3. Appoint a new Director of the LAC DACC, who embodies a culture of lifesaving, transparency, accountability, and collaboration with rescue groups, shelter volunteers, and the local animal-loving communities.
We demand justice for Bowie, and all of the thousands of other animals like Bowie, who were unnecessarily killed after they were branded as aggressive, when they are simply afraid.
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Petition created on March 13, 2023