A FEW DAW ACCOMPLISHMENTS
(thru Jan 2008)

To date, DAWs have attended, presented and advocated issues at over 500 meetings (community orgs, city councils, local councils, committees, commissions, etc.)

Legislation/measures/issues addressed by DAWs.

1. AB 1634 – Passed by six neighborhood councils (Lake Balboa, Reseda, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Valley Glen, Van Nuys) in Spring 2007. Presentation at LANCC and request for all NCs to support this bill. Many individual DAWs have sent letters of support.

2. Removing elephants from Los Angeles zoo and placing them in a sanctuary – supported by all individual DAWs. Letters to the Mayor and City Council.

3. Suggestion to the LA City Council to remove “animal issues” from Public Safety Committee’s jurisdiction and place under “Education and Neighborhood Committee. Passed by the Greater Valley Glen Council in May 2007.

4. Reseda NC allocation of funds ($400) for Stray Cat Alliance – May 2007.

5. Atwater Village NC allocated funds for the DAW program in their area.

6. Support establishing a state Animal Commission through the Governor’s office. Passed by the Greater Valley Glen Council. Charlotte Laws has had three meetings with the Governor’s office in the past two years.

7. Silverlake Neighborhood Council Animal Issues survey in 2005 by Silverlake DAW Rich McLellan.

8. Yahoo group put into place so DAWs and animal people can communicate with and assist each other.

9. Detailed, written response by Charlotte Laws to Guerdon’s Stuckey’s 2005 no-kill business plan. Presented to the LA Animal Commission.

10. Arroyo Seco DAW Lezle Stein establishes a free dog training program at the North Los Angeles shelter.

11. Disaster preparedness for animals booklet compiled by Marlene Goodman, DAW for the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council

12. DAWs rescued homeless woman’s dog named Sugar   

13. Lake Balboa DAW Lisa Reveen rescued dog next to freeway and cats from a vacant house.

14. Studio City DAW George Shea convinced several retailers to stop selling glue traps

15. DAWs assisted East LA woman who witnesses gang abuse of animals. Several DAWs, including Acton DAW Sky Valencia, physically removed homeless at-risk animals from the area. 

16. DAW agreement with the VA Hospital in North Hills not to kill feral cats on the property, but instead to establish trap, neuter, release program.

17. Through Van Nuys DAW Cliff Jacobs’ efforts, the Van Nuys NC agreed to allot money to a LAAS volunteer training program.

18. DAW inclusion in and efforts towards the Humane LA Task Force

19. Sherman Oaks DAW Marlene Goodman does TNR in her area

20. Reseda DAW Missy Woodward does TNR in her area.

21. Letter to Ed Boks regarding LAAS shelter volunteers

22. Sherman Oaks DAW went to Sacramento twice to lobby AB 1634.

23. Greater Valley Glen DAW Charlotte Laws appointed by LANCC to head the “Animal Issues Committee.” 

24. Letter to Mayor and City Council advocating Animal Cruelty task Force become permanent and increased, adding animal cruelty to the list of predicate acts for gang members, and asking the City Council to make a policy that pest control companies advise adjacent residents when tenting will take place. 

25. The Greater Valley Glen Council (GVGC) supported the above issues that DAWs had voted to support at a previous meeting. A letter was sent to the City Council and Mayor from the GVGC.  

26. Rescuing of 40 cats by Sherman Oaks DAW Marlene Goodman with help from Lisa Reveen

27. Helped with ideas for how to write the spay / neuter ordinance for Los Angeles. Meeting with the Mayor's office to give them DAW ideas. 

Volunteer work

 1. DAW Volunteers at Best Friends event in 2005 and 2006.

2. DAW volunteers at Greater Valley Glen Council community event in 2006.
3. DAW recruitment table at AR 2007 conference.

4. Sherman Oaks DAW volunteers at all Stray Cat Alliance Spay Days.

5. Sherman Oaks DAW volunteered at the Feb 12, 2007 Super Adoption.

Presentations at DAW Meetings

Nutritionist for Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

Assemblyman Lloyd Levine

General Manager of Animal Services Ed Boks

ALDA president Pamelyn Ferdin about “Inside LAAS”

Red Enright and Olga Fernandez presentation about pigeons

Mollie Hogan of Wildworks about wildlife

Catherine Doyle and Holand Van Dieren about LA elephants

Ida Noack on hoarding issues

Richard Deppisch on disaster response planning for companion animals

DAW Field Trip to lecture by philosopher Peter Singer at Getty Center

Anthony Marr, author of book called Omnio-Science

Jamie Cordero, candidate for LA City Council about his plans to help animals

Matthew Scully, former Bush speechwriter and author of Dominion

Christy Metropole of Stray Cat Alliance

Mike Bell about sedating dogs prior to euthanasia

Joanna Patrice with CARE about proper testing of cats for AIDS, etc.

Group watched the movie “Behind the Mask”

Los Angeles Animal Cruelty Task Force

Press on the DAWs

Pacific Palisades Post article

Several mentions in the Los Angeles Daily News

Announcements about DAW meetings in Pet Press, SC Sun et al.

Critter Crusades TV show about the DAW program

Infomercial about the DAW program

Rescue Roundtable TV show about the DAW program

Article written by Denise Fleck than ran in several newspapers

San Fernando Sun article

Several City Beat articles

North Hills Westsider aticle

City Watch article

Pet Press Article