Paging Noah . . . In last month’s blog I listed the many unusual animals DACC has impounded throughout the years. I challenged readers to guess which two species of animals that DACC has not impounded, promising to reveal the answer in this month’s blog. The animals were: African grey parrot, African...

Marcia Mayeda, director of Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control. But No Unicorns! People are often surprised when I tell them the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control (DACC) cares for animals other than dogs and cats. We also take in rabbits, guinea pigs, parrots...

Marcia Mayeda, director of Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control. Today’s blog is the third and final installment in a series in which I review how the Los Angeles County Animal Care & Control (DACC) has improved its operations over the past 20 years. This edition discusses...

Marcia Mayeda, director of Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control. I am still haunted by a case I had in 1986 when I was a newly minted animal cruelty investigator in Houston, Texas. I had received a complaint from a resident about her neighbor, who had dozens of animals inside her...

Twenty Years in Review – First in a Series Marcia Mayeda, director of Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control. A few years ago I was looking through my childhood artwork and projects that I had saved. As I reminisced over the paintings, stories, and sculptures I noticed that every...

Marcia Mayeda, director of Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control. I began working for my local veterinarian when I was in high school and remained at that job until I left for college. I loved caring for the animals and learning about veterinary medicine, and happily worked evenings,...

Buyer Beware Marcia Mayeda, director of Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control. Thirty years ago, I led an animal shelter in Topeka, Kansas and we were often called upon to assist when authorities raided illegal and inhumane puppy mills. These neglected, ill animals needed safe havens...

Marcia Mayeda, director of Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control.   But What About the Animals? (Post-COVID) We have now reached the one-year anniversary of the shutdown of society as we responded to the threat of COVID-19. However, the future is looking very bright. After a...

Have You Hugged Your Pets Today? Marcia Mayeda, director of Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control. I think everyone gave a sigh of relief at midnight on Dec. 31, 2020. The most troubling and stressful year in recent memory was finally over. A devastating pandemic, social and physical...