More than 300 animals were found starving, dehydrated, and injured on a Lake Hughes property last March — after Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control (DACC) had already issued the rescue's operator years of citations and warnings that went unheeded.

Christine De Anda ran an operation called Rock 'N' Pawz that took in an ever-growing number of dogs, cats, and other animals — including a pig, a rabbit, a goose, and two goats — long after she could no longer properly care for them. When investigators finally executed a search warrant on the property, they found animals living in their own waste, with untreated injuries and dangerously low body weight. One cat had already died of starvation and dehydration.

De Anda now faces 35 felony and misdemeanor counts, including cruelty to an animal and code violations for operating an unlicensed kennel with unpermitted construction. "For someone who calls herself an animal rescuer, there's a fundamental responsibility to protect and care for the animals entrusted to her," said Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman, according to a DA's office statement.

This case shows what happens when warnings aren't enough. We're calling on LA County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman to pursue the full weight of these charges, and on the LA County Board of Supervisors to close the gap that let a repeatedly cited, unlicensed operation keep taking in animals for years. Rescues exist to protect animals — not to become the next site of the same neglect they claim to fight.

Sign the petition to demand full accountability for De Anda and stronger oversight of LA County animal rescues — before more animals suffer the same fate.