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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Los Angeles Animal Services General Manager Staycee Dains Tuesday proposed adjusting hours at the city's six shelters to better accommodate the public.
The shelters are currently open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. They're closed on Mondays.
Dains told the Board of Animal Services Commission that she wanted to have all the shelters open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day except Monday, adding that extending the closing time from 5 to 6 p.m. would help residents who are just getting off work late in the day.
Dains said the 5 p.m. closing time was also problematic because if someone decides to adopt an animal at 5 p.m., the paperwork and processing often force staff members to stay late, which they're not always willing to do.
"We want to be realistic when it comes to changing people's schedules," Dains said.
To mitigate that problem, Dains suggested cutting off new adoptions at 5 p.m., but Commission Vice President Alison McBeth-Featherstone suggested a 5:30 p.m. cutoff time instead, and Dains seemed amenable to that change.
The item was part of Dains' oral report to the board at its regular meeting, and was not officially voted on. Dains said she would also be consulting with union officials about the potential change.
The shelters continue to face an overwhelming number of homeless animals, and officials hope the change in hours will help increase adoptions.