Animal Services' Top Dog Resigns
Thursday, Jan 7, 2010 | Updated 3:02 PM PST
Getty Images
A pit bull looks out from a cage. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
The head of Los Angeles Animal Services, whose attempt to cancel free or discounted spay/neuter services led some City Council members to seek a "no confidence" vote on his leadership, resigned Friday.
Ed Boks will remain general manager of the department until June 30. However, he will be out of the office until June 1 as he recovers from a medical condition. Kathy Davis will serve as acting general manager.
"L.A. Animal Services is finding its balance in an environment of severe budget cuts, unprecedented demand for expansion of services and a severe staffing shortage," Boks said in his resignation letter. "I am proud of the
department I am leaving behind."
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Boks' successes included an increase in pet adoptions and passage of a mandatory spay/neuter law.
"Under his leadership, this city has revamped the way we treat and care for our pets and animals," Villaraigosa said. "Ed deserves our gratitude for his efforts and our best wishes in the years ahead. We look forward to building on his legacy and continuing to make the Department of Animal Services the gold standard for pet protection."
Boks joined Animal Services in 2005 when he took over for former general manager Gordon Stuckey, who led the department for a little more than a year.
For budget reasons, Boks announced last month that he was suspending the issuance of vouchers for free or discounted spay and neuter services, but was overruled by the City Council, whose members noted that the city had recently made the procedure mandatory citywide.
Councilmen Richard Alarcon and Dennis Zine sought a "no confidence" vote on Boks, but he resigned before the resolution could be voted on in a committee.
In addition to the spay/neuter snafu, council members pointed to the scuttled 2006 "Hooters for Neuters" bikini contest to collect donations for sterilization programs and the Pit Bull Academy, which would have allowed reformed felons to train dogs, as among Boks' less stellar ideas.
"I'm very pleased that it's come to a final solution," Alarcon said of Boks' resignation.
Leading Animal Services is a juggling act between the concerns of animal rights groups and the policies approved by city leadership, Alarcon said.
"It's a very challenging job, there's no question about it, but there comes a time when the general manager has to demonstrate that they're respectful of those things," he said.
