Animal Services Chief Refers Dog Cruelty Case to Prosecutors

The head of the city's animal services agency says she didn't consider sending the case to the District Attorney when she fired one of her Chatsworth employees for alleged animal cruelty.

But now Brenda Barnette tells the Los Angeles Times she's decided to refer the case of former worker Manuel Boado, 64, to prosecutors.

Boado, who was employed at the shelter since 2007, "brought the dogs into a room with other dead animals and inserted euthanizing needles into their jugular veins—an unpermitted and bloody practice," according to the Associated Press. The city upheld his firing Dec. 8.

The Animal Shelter recently participated in a drive to get 5,000 pets adopted in one month.

Click here to read David Zahniser's story.

Click here to read the previous Chatsworth Patch report.