Shelter's gotta have more heart

This letter is in response to Lois Koch's article ("Shelter has lots of heart," Dec. 20, The Acorn). I wish to disclose that I was fired as a volunteer in July of last year, after having volunteered since the summer of 2004.

While I could begin my letter with effusions on how Ms. Koch's article is work more suited for L.A. County Animal Care and Control's newsletter than an actual newspaper, I will refrain. Anyone who wishes to be truly honest about the various county and city-run shelters knows that it is the volunteers, and not the staff, who make a difference in the lives of the animals.

Anyone who has experienced LACACC can attest to its inefficient bureaucratic structure, and anyone who has worked intimately with it, if he is a person of integrity, will acknowledge that there are serious shortcomings, namely in the spheres of medical treatment and socialization.

The majority of medical funding available to the Agoura shelter comes from a separate, nonprofit organization, Malibu Pet Companions which, though affiliated with the Agoura animal shelter, is a completely independent organization. This organization does not have the funds to care for all shelter animals. Some animals are still euthanized because funds cannot be arranged for their medical treatment.

Socialization is something that can't be addressed by such a small staff- there simply aren't that many hours in the day. Few staff members interact with the animals, while it is common for volunteers to know the name and temperament of each cat or dog. Animals are often euthanized for having "temperament" issues, even though actual temperament assessment rarely occurs.

It is simply false to say that the staff has the time to care for each animal. And I believe it is wrong to tout the shelter as an exceptional organization when so much can, and desperately needs, to be done to improve the lives of the animals there. Many former and current volunteers feel this way. Volunteers fear retribution if they speak out, and many volunteers who have spoken out have been "released," or terminated, from the volunteer program.

The Acorn should be free to solicit donations for the shelter, and it can print whatever it wishes. However, failing to treat this story, even a feature story, without journalistic scrutiny in order to sing the praises of a failing shelter system is misleading, and should not be worthy of any paper, no matter how small. Ashley Marcus Thousand Oaks