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The Los Angeles City Commissioner who oversees animal shelters is resigning, according to a city email sent Monday to animal shelter volunteers and rescue groups.
Stacey Daines resigned effective Nov. 30, assistant general manager Annette Ramirez wrote in an email reviewed by the Times. Ramirez wrote that he was appointed interim general manager by Mayor Karen Bass.
Daines, who earned about $272,730, did not immediately respond to email and phone messages.
She had been on paid leave since August. Officials refused to explain why she took leave, creating uncertainty about the agency’s leadership.
Asked in October about Daines’ future, Bass would not tell the Times whether he was looking for a new general manager. Mr. Bass added that Mr. Ramirez, who was tasked with leading the agency in Mr. Dain’s absence, was “working perfectly fine.”
Bass announced Daines’ hiring in June 2023, touting her arrival as part of the mayor’s efforts to turn around the Department of Animal Services, which has faced chronic problems such as overcrowding and understaffing. L.A. Animal Services spokeswoman Agnes Sibal said earlier this year that crowding had reached critical levels and “there is no room for the dogs coming in.”
During his tenure, Daines helped expedite the approval of new volunteers to help care for the animals.
At the same time, she faced criticism as more dogs and cats were euthanized by the city. A Times analysis found 1,224 dogs were euthanized at the city’s six shelters from January to September, a 72% increase compared to the same period last year.
Approximately 1,517 cats were euthanized through September, an increase of 17% from the previous year.
In overcrowded shelters, dogs are not allowed to be walked for weeks at a time and sometimes live in feces-covered kennels, leading to poor behavior and “mental and emotional breakdowns,” according to a report by rescue group Best Friends Animal Society. It is said that some animals fall into this trap. We have been cooperating with evacuation centers in the city for many years.
Kristen Hassen, an animal welfare consultant recently hired by the company to evaluate shelters, said the high dog euthanasia rate was an “overcorrection” by the department.
Daines previously served as director of Animal Care Services in Long Beach and shelter operations manager for Animal Care Services in San Jose, according to her resume.
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