The resignation last year of Ed Boks as L.A. Department of Animal Services general manager left the organization without an official leader. Last month, the city took a step toward finding Boks’ replacement. What are the qualifications required of applicants for a job perhaps as precarious as drumming for Spınal Tap? Our colleague Carla Hall has the details; here’s an excerpt:
The successful candidate must be compassionate but business-minded, able to inspire the army of staffers who care for the city’s abandoned animals and lost pets; to survive interrogation by the L.A. City Council; and to appease the legions of devoted volunteers, rescuers and advocates in the city’s humane community.
The new steward of the city’s Department of Animal Services should be steeled for the fact that one of the "services" the agency offers is euthanizing animals. But the new manager must also be ready to devise a plan to transform the shelter system into a "no-kill" program that will pledge to euthanize no healthy animal for lack of space.
Warning: The man who last held the job tried hard but satisfied no constituency. He endured criticism from animal welfare advocates, a public upbraiding from a city councilman and near-mutiny by department staffers before he quit last June. His predecessor, who lasted only 13 months, was fired by the mayor and targeted by animal rights activists who smoke-bombed the lobby of his apartment building.
"Francis of Assisi would have trouble in this town," said Bill Dyer, a veteran animal welfare advocate who invoked the patron saint of animals more than once when speaking of the general manager’s job.
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Photo: A 3-month-old female Chinese shar-pei/shepherd mix puppy (ID# A1089957) available for adoption at the L.A. Department of Animal Services’ Harbor animal shelter in San Pedro.