San Francisco Animal Control director fired and escorted out of the building

Cindy Marabito
American Pit Bull Examiner
July 27, 2014

San Francisco, CA: According to Fix San Francisco, a group organized to bring change for bay area animals being killed in San Francisco, Rebecca Katz has been fired and escorted out of the building of SFACC located at 1200 15th Street in San Francisco, California.

"Just getting word that Rebecca Katz, the Director at Animal Care & Control San Francisco has allegedly been FIRED, escorted out of the building. Stay tuned for updates. This is a good day for the shelter animals." This statement was published July 25 after word reached the administrators of Fix San Francisco regarding Katz's dismissal.

None of the local papers or news media has released a statement about the firing of Katz. As the city's dog pound has ties to local media, one of the anchors for Channel 7 is a longtime board member of Friends of San Francisco Animal Care and Control, leaving local animal lovers hanging.

What led up to the firing of Katz with need to be escorted out the door? Much has gone on regarding the many pit bulls killed at this shelter according to annual reports of Rabies Control Activities. San Francisco Pit Bull Watcher tries to keep an eye on the many dogs who never see the light of day after entering 1200 15th Street by logging heartbreaking photos of the intake dogs from the city's own Pet Harbor database.

Could it be from the interviews on the Monty Show in which Katz laughed about killing pit bull puppies?

Was the firing related to the huge mishandling and two year long tsunami aftermath around the dog Charlie who was removed from his owner after chasing a horse at the dog park. At press time, this dog's whereabouts have been kept secret and owner David Gizzarelli has reportedly not received quarterly court ordered updates from SFACC under Katz's administration.

Katz has appeared on the Monty Show and even on Facebook hate group pages to voice her opinions about Gizzerelli. Furthermore, she included me in her diatribe for writing a series of articles about Charlie and the many holes in the case surrounding his impound. A video was released which raised serious questions about Charlie's treatment at SFACC and label as a vicious and dangerous dog while shown playing with another dog through the bars of his cell.

Questions of money issues have been raised by Fix San Francisco in an effort to direct huge salaries toward saving lives.

Many questions and concerns are not being answered about Katz's dismissal. Local media has historically covered only the puff pieces filtered out by SFACC media liason Deb Campbell and Captain Vicki Guldbech whose comments regarding the dog Charlie were contested by the video of a playful, friendly dog.

Many local animal advocates have unanswered questions and suspicions regarding Katz's firing.

One local advocate observed, "It could only have come from the mayors office, after some kind of investigation.."

A longtime SFACC former employee stated, "I worked for her for 2 1/2 years and everyone there hated her. I'm so glad that animal killer is gone!"

He made this observation of the interim director Eric Zuercher, "Even worse, he picks and chooses which animals to call rescues about. WIth many strays, he doesnt even bother calling even though they are clearly not aggressive. When my former co-worker Arsenio told him he needed more hours to support his family, Eric literally told him "Well maybe you should go rob a bank" with a straight face."

Concerns are great Eric Zuercher, longtime kennel manager has stepped into Katz's shoes as temporary director will continue to kill innocent animals while a humane director is sought.

Fix San Francisco is organizing an effort to try and put a solutions no-kill inspired director in place. It would be a first at the facility which handles all San Francisco impounded pets, a city named for St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.

Please consider an email and phone campaign to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the mayor to appoint a director with a strong no kill and rescue conscience. A list will be provided on the American Pit Bull Examiner Facebook page.

More will be reported about Katz's dismissal as news is released.

(Source Link: http://www.examiner.com/article/san-francisco-animal-control-director-fired-and-escorted-out-of-the-building?CID=examiner_alerts_article)