Department of Animal Services' new top dog?

Lloyd Levine for dog catcher?

Sure, L.A. shelter workers have petitioned for the ouster of Ed Boks as head of the city Department of Animal Services, but that doesn't mean Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, a Van Nuys lawmaker, is looking to fill the job.

So why do the rumors persist?

Levine has built a good reputation with many animal rights activists for his push for a  law (which didn't pass) to require that most of California's dogs and cats be spayed or neutered. He also introduced a bill to ensure that zoo elephants walk an average of five miles a day. But Levine leaves office next month due to term limits, so he'd be free for the job.

Levine's on his honeymoon in Greece right now, having tied the knot last month with Edie Lambert, a Sacramento television news anchorwoman. Lambert, meanwhile, renewed her contract with KCRA-TV, an aide to Levine disclosed. All of which, which makes it unlikely that the newlywed legislator would take a job in Los Angeles while his wife is tied to her anchor desk in Sacramento.

And that's not a shaggy dog story.

-- Patrick McGreevy and Veronique de Turenne

Photo: Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times