New director John Keisler: Once-troubled shelter will be among ‘best in the state’ in 2009. If only we could have said the same in 2008

PHOTO by JEFF GOULD

By Whitney Walker and Vy Pham

Eight months after Long Beach Animal Control—now named Animal Care Services—provoked widespread outrage with the accidental strangling of a pit bull in its custody—a long and bloody killing reported in sickening detail by an appalled employee who witnessed it—the beleaguered city agency says it’s cleaning up its act.

“This is going to be one of the best animal shelters in the state in 2009,” asserts John Keisler, whose appointment as bureau manager of Animal Care Services was announced by City Manager Pat West at the Nov. 11 city council meeting.

Keisler has largely overseen the bureau’s response to the bad practices that resulted in the pit bull’s atrocious death—and the resulting bad publicity. He had served as acting director after the resignation of Wesley Moore.

“We are in a rebuilding phase, and we are starting to see new resources, new programs, a reinvestment in our training and in clarifying [our] policies and procedures,” says Keisler in his eternally sunshiny tone, which is bound to be scrutinized for results by a public not likely to settle for empty promises anymore.

However, the selection of Keisler is an interesting one, inasmuch as he has no experience in the field—well, except for what he’s accumulated since he was rushed into service during the crisis last spring.

“I don’t have a background in animal control,” Keisler told The District Weekly then. “I wasn’t hired to bring operational experience to the job; I’m just hoping to settle down some of the administrative and management things.”

But West says Keisler’s on-the-job performance made him the consensus choice after a national independent search overseen by Kittleman Associates.

“John was brought in there to put his finger in the dike,” says West. “But he has grown tremendously in his knowledge and ability to understand animal-care issues. He just grew into this job, and that was recognized by everybody—the search firm, city officials and community groups that we reached out to for input.”

The Greater Long Beach Coalition for Humane Animal Care and Control—an assemblage of more than 60 animal welfare groups—is expressing tentative optimism.

“We haven’t seen any drastic change yet,” says coalition member Lorraine Fishman, “but Animal Control seems to be heading in the right direction.”

The death of the pit bull—which was dragged from its pen by a rope at the end of a long pole when it was choked until it bled from its eyes and mouth—epitomized the problems with Animal Control. The staffer who accidentally killed the dog was untrained, the agency was understaffed by 50 percent and there was no veterinarian on site. The shelter failed to follow proper protocol and euthanization procedures.

According to Animal Care Services Officer Rebecca Johnson, the incident was “a tragedy that could have been avoided, had management done the right thing and made sure that all those involved were safe and in control of the situation.” Victor Martinez, the man responsible for the death of the dog, was immediately suspended.

In the angry aftermath, a District Weekly story prompted 572 online comments, many from people with intimate and frustrating knowledge of the long and growing list of unaddressed shortcomings at Long Beach Animal Control.

West held a press conference, but Animal Control was in such a muddle that his most illuminating statement was this: “I can’t look you in the eye and tell you why this has happened.” But he started an outside investigation, promised reforms and committed to a transparent process.

Transparency was why Lt. Michelle Quigley of Animal Care Services attended a community outreach event a few weeks ago at Hof’s Hut restaurant on Bellflower Boulevard, where she gave a progress report and pledged more from the agency. “It’s an ongoing planning effort,” said Quigley. “Now is the time to revisit issues and hold people accountable.”

However, when The District Weekly contacted Quigley by telephone after the event on three separate occasions to ask for her response to the vehement criticism her work has received from bloggers, she refused to comment. Quigley referred the questions to her supervisors.

“There will always be criticism,” said Keisler when the issue was brought to him. “I’m confident we’ve got a great team here.”

Long Beach Animal Care Services houses between 200 and 220 animals on any given day—taking in approximately 12,400 per year—and a considerable number are abandoned. The amount, variety and condition of these animals put great demands on the staff.

Quigley told the community meeting that Animal Care Services may be at full-staffing strength for the first time in two years—almost doubling its personnel. “Within the last six months, we’re almost fully employed with trained officers,” she said. “We are 40 strong, and we do a lot with a little.” Additionally, there are two veterinary technicians and a licensed veterinarian.

“There is an increased emphasis on training,” said Quigley. “Most of our workers start out as volunteers and endure on-the-job training. Weekly trainings for all staff through ongoing meetings, as well as periodic certification trainings for more specialized activities, are coordinated by senior staff.”

Following the pit bull’s death, there was considerable sentiment for converting Long Beach into a so-called “no-kill” shelter. But city officials say resources are too limited to responsibly house so many animals for so long. Even the coalition of private groups concedes that a no-kill shelter is not currently realistic.

“The idea of adopting an absolute no-kill policy is nearly impossible at this point [for Long Beach Animal Care Services],” says Fishman. “There’s no way the shelter can hold that many animals. Our goal now is to get the numbers way down.”

According to local animal welfare groups, by spaying and neutering their animals, Long Beach pet owners can ultimately do the most for the shelter. But Fishman points out that Long Beach doesn’t offer an affordable spay and neuter program—the procedures cost between $200 and $300. Comparatively, Los Angeles requires the procedures when a pet is 4 months old and provides them for $20 to $30. Long Beach may have a similar program in place by January 2009.

The shelter is making it easier to find or adopt pets by displaying profiles of animals in custody on Petfinder.com, which is updated daily. Other services, such as wildlife watch groups and animal care information, is available on a new city Web site, longbeach.gov/acs.

Still suspicious? “Come down to the shelter and see,” says Keisler. “I welcome your calls and would gladly give a tour of the facility.”

Tags: JOHN KEISLER, LONG BEACH ANIMAL CARE SERVICES, Long Beach Animal Control, MICHELLE QUIGLEY, pat west, PETFINDER.COM