For Huey, who never made it out.

Today, we'd like to talk about Huey. He was a 7-month old kitten who, along with 1,070 other kittens, have been killed in our shelter since January.
Today Huey is kitten #1,071. Here is his story: Huey entered the shelter on August 9. His medical record says he was Bright, Alert and Responsive. He had no signs of illness, but his medical records say he was kenneled with a cat that had possible signs of a cold, so he was watched for illness.
(If there had been a foster program at LBACS, he wouldn't have been kenneled with a sick cat.)
He held strong for 9 days -- an eternity for a little kitten -- and on August 18, his medical notes say that he was quiet and had some sneezing.
(If there had been a foster program, his illness could have been completely prevented or nipped in the bud.)
He held on for 10 more days and seemed to improve a bit - no runny nose, but by this time, he had gotten a cold-related ulcer on his tongue and the vet said: "May not be the best adoption/rescue candidate due to long course of URI [cold]."
(His illness was predicted. They knew it would happen and yet no foster program is in place to help kittens like Huey.)
In the end, Huey was killed "due to illness and time/space" on September 2 after coming in healthy but then languishing in the shelter for 3 weeks. We can only imagine how lonely and sad life was for Huey in those 3 weeks.
What can we learn from Huey's story?
Huey was killed because he had a cold. He came in healthy and it was life in the shelter that made him sick.
Huey was killed because there was no foster program to get him to safety (remember -- Sacramento has over 200 animals in foster care every month).
This is the story of thousands of cats and dogs at our shelter every year.
But today, it's Huey's story and he deserves to have it told.
If you are upset about Huey's story, please know that only YOU can save cats like Huey from the shelter. No magical person is going to come in and do it for you. The Mayor and City Hall need to hear from YOU, personally and repeatedly, because they are fighting change and they think they can put a happy face on the shelter and sweep Huey and the 1070 other kittens that have been killed so far under the rug.
How you can help: http://www.stayinalivelongbeach.org/how-you-can-help.html
There's a sample letter there and other ideas to help you get started advocating for shelter animals in Long Beach.
Please don't let Huey's death be in vain. Take Action Now. Share this post, write a letter, tell a friend about what's going on at our shelter. Post this to the Mayor's Facebook page or the page of your City Council member (see below for their links).
Because our shelter pets are dying and the people in charge are not doing their jobs. And they're using YOUR money to do it.
Mayor Robert Garcia
https://www.facebook.com/robertgarcialb
District 1: Lena Gonzalez
https://www.facebook.com/lenagonzalezlb
District 2: Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal
https://www.facebook.com/councilmembersuja.lowenthal
District 3: Suzie Price
https://www.facebook.com/councilwomansuzieprice
District 4: Daryl Supernaw
https://www.facebook.com/LB4thDistrict
District 5: Stacy Mungo
https://www.facebook.com/stacymungo
District 6: Dee Andrews
https://www.facebook.com/joinandrews
District 7: Roberto Uranga
https://www.facebook.com/robertourangalb
District 8: Al Austin
https://www.facebook.com/CouncilmemberALAUSTIN
District 9: Rex Richardson
https://www.facebook.com/rexrichardsonlb
Do it today. Do it for Huey.

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