Emergency meeting held to address understaffed and overcrowded LA city animal shelters

An emergency meeting was held Tuesday to address the crisis of understaffed and overcrowded Los Angeles animal shelters, with dozens of upset volunteers and employees calling to describe what they said are horrific conditions. 

City Council members listened over the three and a half hour long meeting to dozens of public comments about very serious problems the shelters face and said they are now tasked with solving the issues. 

RELATED: Dogs at LA animal shelters go weeks, months without walks

"I see numerous water bowls with black and green algae growing. That does not happen overnight. Another thing is the floors are covered in water, so are their paws. They slip around, they get injured," one caller said. 

For more than an hour, people called in to the virtual meeting with city leaders to voice their concerns over the treatment of animals inside LA's city shelters. 

"At South LA Shelter alone, there are currently over 130 dogs with intake dates varying from March 23 to July 18 that have not been walked," said another caller.

Last week, CBSLA reported on heartbreaking images posted to social media, by volunteers, of one dog that had to be carried from his kennel after spending almost two months inside his cage without coming out. 

At the Chesterfield Square Animal Shelter in South LA, the kennels are completely filled. 

The department acknowledged the sad reality, that many of these dogs spend weeks without leaving their area. Shelter volunteers were calling for immediate action by the city. 

During Tuesday's hearing, Councilman Paul Koretz, Chair of the Personnel, Audits and Animal Welfare Committee, admitted that the situation was worse than he realized. 

Annette Ramirez, the Animal Services Interim General Manager, said the department has been struggling to fill dozens of open positions in the shelters and that 58 staff members are out as a result of COVID-19. 

Asked by Councilman Koretz how the department can get passed the problems it's now facing, Ramirez said, "I think the only way we can get past this is with additional staffing." 

The interim general manager also noted that more than 3,500 volunteers have put in some 37,000 service hours, but that it's still not enough.

Officials said that problem is a perfect storm, with fewer resources at the shelters, less adoptions and more animals coming in. 

The Department of Animal Services said that 39 people are in the process of being hired, but that the process needs to be sped up. The department also said it will also work on reducing conflicts between volunteers and staff, as well as come up with solutions like working with outside organizations, to help the animals.