Allegations of atrocities in the kill rooms at shelters in Kentucky and Alabama have recently made the news and resulted in criminal investigations. Now a Los Angeles Animal Services employee has been fired under similar circumstances although the director has not filed a criminal complaint and no investigation has been launched.
Manuel Boado, 64, was discharged by the city’s Civil Service Commission, which concluded that he failed to sedate the dogs he was trying to euthanize, brought dogs into a room with other dead animals and inserted euthanizing needles into jugular veins — a practice officials say was not permitted.
During the termination hearing, shelter employees who worked with Mr. Boado testified to witnessing him in the kill room, repeatedly jabbing at the neck veins of dogs causing them to bleed, shake in fear and lose control of their bladders. One worker said he walked into the kill room and “found two dead dogs on the floor and a third half-covered in blood”.
By failing to provide sedation, putting live animals next to dead ones and yelling, Boado needlessly created a “fear factor” among animals being euthanized, said Brenda Barnette, the department’s general manager who recommended his firing.
“It is totally unconscionable to add an element of fear if you’re about to take an animal’s life away,” she said.
I would add it’s also totally unconscionable to kill a healthy/treatable pet. I guess Ms. Barnette forgot that part.
Mr. Boado’s lawyer had an explanation for everything. His client killed live pets next to dead ones because the refrigerator unit for storing carcasses was broken. And he “never received proper training from the department in how to euthanize the animals”.
So if you don’t get the training you need, I suppose the only possible recourse is to repeatedly jab pets in the neck with kill needles while they piss themselves in fear. I mean, what other option could there be, right?
I think the case should at least be referred to the district attorney. Let that office decide if the acts are prosecutable under the law. On the other hand, it was apparently a challenge to even get the guy fired:
Barnette sought Boado’s termination, but last month a city hearing officer found that penalty to be “too extreme.”
Hearing officer Stephen Biersmith recommended that Boado be reinstated and only have his pay docked, saying the department had not consistently enforced policies for its employees. He also argued that Boado had not intentionally violated the rules.
The Civil Service Commission reviewed the case and voted unanimously for termination.
Dock his pay? What’s the going rate for torturing pets in the kill room – 50 cents less per hour than non-torturers get paid? I find the admitted acts to be “too extreme” to not refer this case to the D.A.
I completely agree! Firing him was just the first step. Animal cruelty charges should be filed. I also wonder about those who testified against him; how long did they stand by and watch his torture? Did they report him, or did they just cooperate once he was already caught? Anyone who saw him and failed to take action should also be fired and face criminal charges.
I 100% agree with leslie! That is BS! People working with animals are taking pleasure in torturing them in their last minutes of life?! and the other employees are just going to stand by and watch it, until someone is brave enough to speak up?! Let’s jab them with needles repeatedly, without sedation, until they piss themselves and see how they like it! That asshole should’ve gotten turned into the DA, and sent to prison, to be beaten-up everyday!
I agree with Leslie’s comment above and…
We can not have two separate rules for how to treat an animal depending on if you are a shelter worker or just someone in the community.
I thought one was supposed to be certified/trained by the state to be able to perform euthanasia.
http://www.californiastatehumane.org/training.htm
Euthanasia Training
In California, generally only a registered veterinary technician (RVT) or a veterinarian may administer sodium pentobarbital for the euthanasia of sick, injured, homeless or unwanted domestic pets or animals. However, an exception exists for employees of animal-control agencies or humane societies who have completed a curriculum of at least eight hours of training as specified in the Euthanasia Training Curriculum published by State Humane and the California Animal Control Directors Association (CACDA). The training must be provided by a veterinarian, RVT, or instructor certified by State Humane and CACDA.
There were workshops given-Euthanasia by Injection-in October and November in CA sponsored by the American Humane Association.
It looks as if the City of L.A. should be fined/penalized. Many of these places blame the employees but who is supervising/giving the duties to the employees!
This subhuman was hired in 2007. In all the years since he has been doing such a lousy job because he had no training? Give me a break! It isn’t possible. He had training but he didn’t follow it. He had no moral compass and he terrorized the poor dogs when he killed them. Big man! Shame on him.
The other employees knew what he was doing and they knew it was wrong. They didn’t say anything until now? How could they stand by and let this go on……for five long years! Shame on all of them. I agree with Jennifer. The city of L.A. should be fined/penalized. Where was their supervision of this creep?
I for one am beyond sick of the broken shelter system. There needs to be accountability and someone needs to take responsibility for seeing that our companion animals are treated humanely in all shelters.
I would say “unbelievable” but I have come to believe any cruelty that shelter workers impose on helpless little animals.
I also thought that Los Angeles was supposed to be decreasing the number of shelter dogs they’re putting down due to their wonderful MSN.
In kill shelters, there is this attitude of hopelessness and despair. In these death houses, you can’t help but feel hopelessness and despair. From hopelessness and despair comes apathy. All of this is prime real estate for evil.
When the time comes that shelters refocus on saving pets instead of just “dealing” with the influx, evil will no longer gather in these places. I look forward to that time.
What an evil man, I hope he pays for this. We need to stop these people from working at the shelters.
We are without words. Unknowing of these horrors, we saved an 8 month old puppy from an animal shelter in Los Angles 3 days before she was going to be “put down ” for so called problems. Happy to report that she is healthy, happy and so well adjusted its almost crazy. She has made a huge impact on our family. Just knowing that she was saved from this horrific crime is beyond measure. If you are reading this and are even remotely considering adopting a pet, please seek out a shelter and rescue one of these innocent creatures. Maybe we should consider giving this idiot a piece of his own medicine!
Wow, 64 years old and he’s been there since 2007. Has he ALWAYS killed animals this way? Did something change? I’d like to see some follow-through from the public sector. Who was paying his salary? Isn’t the employer responsible for this guys actions too?
Although nobody really wants to pay attention to what goes on behind those closed doors in the kill room. It’s ugly even when it’s done right!
Thanks for reporting on this…I’m hoping we hear some follow-up too.
I didn’t read anything there that doesn’t happen in every single municipal kill shelter in the country. Yes, killing pet animals sucks, but there isn’t even enough money in our entire economy to care for all of the unwanted pets produced by breeders and negligent pet owners.
I have no doubt the guy mentioned in the article sucked at his job but I sense a great deal of naiveté behind the cries for criminal charges against this man. Sedating every single pet before euthanizing them carries problems too. It causes them to thrash around and injure themselves for one thing. Also, hiding all of the deceased animals does very little to reduce their fear, and packing them into the freezer in haste can result in not quite dead animals waking up later in the freezer.
I have spent more than my share of days working in municipal kill shelters euthanizing unwanted pets and even more in veterinary hospitals as a party to euthanizing owned pets, so I know a great deal about making a dog or cat’s last moments as fear and pain free as possible.
There is a lot of emotional hot air in this article and very little in the way of details/evidence of actual abuse. I think this reflects a tendency among the compassionate to vilify and scapegoat the folks at the bottom of this broken system we have.