After last night’s decision by the City Council to initiate a pilot program for an animal control officer here in Culver City, I felt I needed to comment, particularly since my written comments during this action item were difficult for our City Clerk to decipher. (My atrocious penmanship is about as close as I got to becoming a physician.)
I have lived here for over 20 years. I have not seen a great number of stray dogs roaming our streets.
Whenever I have seen a stray (lost) dog wandering, I would approach the dog. If friendly enough, I would get my middle aged eyes focused on the dog’s collar for an identifying name and contact number to call so a relieved owner could retrieve his pet.
More often than not, most dogs here in Culver City if not licensed, at least have a contact phone number and pet name on their collar.
On one occasion last year, I spotted a stray dog around the Dog Park . Although I was not able to get close, I was able to corral the dog into a fenced area adjacent to the park. I called County Animal Control.
It took four hours for them to get there, which I was told later by peers, was record response time.
When I see a dead critter (bird, mouse etc,) around my street, I do not call animal control. I just get my trusty shovel and a bag.
With gloved hands, I would toss the dearly deceased into the garbage.
We are starting this pilot program with costs estimated at $175,000 per year while our city budget is in a precarious state. We cannot not even staff our parks fully with recreation leaders.
I bring this up not only as a parent, but as a Parks and Recreation Commissioner who sees understaffed and many times non-staffed parks where our children play.
These parks are not staffed because Parks and Recreation has consistently had its budget trimmed due to a myriad of budgetary issues that the city faces.
With that said, I do not see droves of strays or even many lost dogs roaming our streets . I do not see many dead critters or road kill lying up and down our streets and boulevards.
Yes, I see isolated incidents of the above, but nowhere enough to warrant the majority of City Council to make the popular but irresponsible decision they made last night.
Mr. Cooper was a candidate for the City Council earlier this year.
