Help Reseda Family Keep their
Beloved Emotional Support Dog
Please copy and paste the following text, add your name and address to the top and bottom, and email it to:
Curtis.watts@lacity.org (Curtis Watts, Assistant General Manager, LA Animal Services)
steve.houchin@lacity.org (Steve Houchin, Deputy City Attorney, City of LA)
Hi Steve and Curt –
My name is [insert name]. My address is [insert address] and I am a resident of the city of Los Angeles. I am writing to urge you to: (1) stop all attempts by Animal Control officers to remove Max, the German Shephard, from the Hen household in Reseda; and (2) cancel the Dangerous Animal Hearing and any related investigations into the Hen family.
The Hen family has taken precautions to ensure that Max does not get into any further incidents with other dogs. He is now consistently wearing a muzzle on his walks. He is also being walked on a double leash so his owners have more control over him. There should no longer be any concern that Max is a potentially dangerous animal, given these steps the Hen family has taken. It’s also worth noting that no one has ever reported an incident between Max and a human being. As I’m sure you also know, Max is an emotional support animal for Shiel Hen, who is a minor and is autistic and has benefited greatly from the affection from Max for the past seven years.
Furthermore, from all public accounts, you’ve taken improper actions with respect to scheduling the Dangerous Animal Hearing concerning Max. The Hen family has notified you that you did not give them the legally required notice about this hearing, making them inadvertently miss it. You have denied the Hen family due process in an already emotional and personal matter, and as one of your constituents, I am disappointed in your actions.
The Hen family reports that Animal Control officers keep showing up at their home and attempting to take the dog. By continuing to do this, you are causing great mental and emotional distress to the Hen family and to Max. Your resources, which are already stretched incredibly thin, are better dedicated to other pressing animal issues facing the city of LA, such as the status of your overcrowded shelters, the shockingly large number of strays in the city, and the rampant animal abuse and neglect that local rescue organizations are constantly shedding a light on.
As employees of the local government, you both answer to the residents of this city. As a resident of the city, I am kindly asking that you shift your resources and attention to other pressing animal control issues, and leave this family, who has remedied the issue at hand, and their beloved pet alone.
Thank you for your consideration.
[Insert Name/Signature]
HELP STOP SANTA MONICA ANIMAL ABUSER
Article about the abused dog: https://www.smdp.com/dog-returned-to-dog-beating-owner-but-investigation-is-ongoing/217066
It takes a second! Send this letter today.
Please Copy and Paste the following text, add your name to the bottom and email it to:
Hi Susan Cola,
I am writing to you to express my deep concern and outrage over the dog in the article below being surrendered back to its owner by the Santa Monica shelter. As you can see in the video, taken at Hotchkiss Park, the owner of the dog is relentlessly hitting the dog over and over again. The dog is fearful and wants to get away, but unfortunately he is attached to the owner by a leash. You can also hear his desperate yelps for help.
Please, I urge you to file charges against the owner, or at the very least, file for a court order to remove the dog from the home. There is no reason to believe this owner's behavior will stop or improve, and the dog will only continue to sustain emotional and mental injury in the meantime. Stress from abuse is real. The dog may self-mutilate or stop eating, among other things. And, as is often the case with domestic violence, abusers typically do not stop and their violence only escalates over time. So the next time someone catches this owner in the park with the dog, the owner might be beating it with a metal pipe instead.
What will it take for you to remove this dog from this unsafe situation? Does the dog have to die or sustain life threatening injury before the local government will take seriously the repercussions of leaving this dog with its abusive owner?
I am surely only one of many concerned individuals writing to you about this. We will continue to rally around this cause and brainstorm ways to get the Santa Monica City Attorney's Office to focus on this very important matter, including turning to the media for additional attention on this issue.
Thank you for your time,
[Sign your name]
[Include your phone number]
Article about the abused dog: https://www.smdp.com/dog-returned-to-dog-beating-owner-but-investigation-is-ongoing/217066