L.A. animal shelter workers won’t be fired

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This just in: The 28 animal care technicians (ACTs) who were scheduled to lose their jobs in the fall at Los Angeles municipal shelters will not be fired.

The technicians, who care for shelter animals like Aaron, the 2-year-old pit bull pictured above at the North Central shelter, were scheduled to be cut as part of citywide budget cuts. But shelter officials, volunteers, local animal rescuers and the workers themselves pleaded with City Council members at a meeting this month to find a way to keep them on for the sake of the animals.

‘We have gotten a commitment from the mayor’s office that we’re not going to have to lay anyone off,’ said Ed Boks, general manager of L.A. Animal Services. He says he got the word at a meeting in City Hall Monday morning. ‘Of course we are relieved.... The details need to be worked out.’

Those details would be where the money comes from. At least some of it may come from revenue yet to be collected from city residents with extra -- or extra large -- city trash bins. Councilman Richard Alarcon discovered that the city was not collecting fees it was owed. It remains to be seen how much the city will really reap when they bill people. We’ll keep you posted.

And if you want to check out Aaron, above, his shelter ID number is A0941121. The shelter folks say he walks well on a leash and loves to play fetch. They also report he’s OK with large dogs but dislikes cats and little dogs.

--Carla Hall