(October 1, 2006) -- LB Animal Control bureau manager Wesley Moore has told LBReport.com that 290 of the 299 dogs and cats that his agency seized on August 23 from Noah's Ark (a non-government rescue group) are alive and being held by LB Animal Control ...and if they are released to Animal Control, his agency's goal will be to place them in good homes or with appropriate animal support groups.
Mr. Moore noted that an administrative matter is still ongoing involving Animal Control and Noah's Ark ("and we have to see what happens") but if the animals are released to the city agency, "we would follow the normal adoption proceedures for the facility, which is they would end up going out through the SPCA." He noted that "both the SPCA and Long Beach Control have programs in which we adopt through 501(c)(3) [tax-exempt] animal rescue groups. We could go through one of those programs as well. Our goal is that we put these animals into real homes so that animals that have been through so much will go directly to a new home and live its life in that new home."
The information follows remarks by Mr. Moore at the Sept. 30 Friends of LB Animals "Walk for the Animals" in which he referred to a possible large influx of animals needing adoption. LBReport.com asked him about this after he left the stage and got the story.
In August, Animal Control seized the animals, alleging they were living in deplorable conditions, a contention Noah's Ark denies. Of the 290 Noah's Ark animals now at LB Animal Control, roughly half are dogs and half are cats...and they're alive and will need good homes, Mr. Moore noted.
He said Noah's Ark has released three of its animals (returning them to former owners/boarders or sending them to new owners that purchased them). Mr. Moore said very few of the animals seized from Noah's Ark ultimately had to be euthanized although some had died on their own.
Mr. Moore said Noah's Ark holds the keys to the cages of many of the remaining animals. "Right now, we are in the process of working to get the release of the animals so we can get homes for them...At this point, it is still an administrative matter and we have to wait and see what happens. But as soon as we can get a release on the animals so they can be placed, we want to start placing them."
Mr. Moore added that if he animals are released from Noah's Ark, "we can start placing them immediately. If not, we're going through other administrative processes trying to seek their release." He said he's not sure how long that will take.
After Animal Control seized the animals from Noah's Ark in August, Noah's Ark obtained a temporary restraining order preventing LB Animal Control from killing the animals pending a court hearing. At a September 8 Superior Court hearing, the judge sided with Animal Control and declined to extend the TRO into a preliminary injunction. This effectively leaves Animal Control basically free to do as it wishes with the animals.
