About Us

Our mission is to obtain quality Animal Care/ Control Services
for the citizens of Laguna Hills. The citizens of Laguna Hills
deserve to be a part of an animal shelter that we are not afraid
to use for fear of sentencing animals to death, a shelter that is
responsive to our needs, close to Laguna Hills, has a toll free
phone number to call when we need services and has an
Animal Control Officer on duty in our area after hours. The
majority of the other cities in South Orange County have
already provided this for their citizens, but Laguna Hills has
continued to contract with the old County shelter year after
year despite the pleas of the citizens. See our other web sites
at www.socoanimalshelter.org for current information
about what is happening now.

We started a quest for better animal care services for Laguna
Hills in November of 2003. Some citizens thought we could
reason with the City Council to effect this change but that did
not work. We then collected numerous letters and more than
500 signatures from Laguna Hills residents on petitions
requesting that Laguna Hills negotiate with Mission Viejo to
change our Animal Care Services from the County to the
Mission Viejo Animal Shelter. We presented all of these to
the City Council, but Joel Lautenschleger and Craig Scott
would not help with this issue. In researching this issue we
noted that Laguna Niguel changed their Animal Care
Services from the County to Mission Viejo 10 years ago when
their citizens collected just 62 signatures on petitions.

On 10/25/05, Council Member Craig Scott told us he was not
willing to spend additional money for animal care services
and he voted not to negotiate with Mission Viejo at all
despite more than 500 citizen signatures on petitions asking
him to do so. Scott stated, "In my estimation the County is
doing an admirable job". Related to the differences
between the Mission Viejo Animal Shelter and the County
Shelter Scott said, "I have a hard time telling the
difference" and "It is a simple question of dollars in my
view". On 12/13/05 Craig Scott also voted against Council
Member Melody Carruth's motion to contact the few
remaining communities in So. Orange County who are still
contracted with the County to investigate combining with
them to build a joint shelter that would meet all of the
contractual conditions that Scott complained about with
Mission Viejo.

What we learned from attending Laguna Hills City Council
meetings for more than 3 years is that we can only make a
difference with this issue and many other issues that
concern the Citizens of Laguna Hills by making a change in
the members of the Laguna Hills City Council who have
been in place or in and out and back again for the entire 15
years that Laguna Hills has been a city. Craig Scott has been
on the City Council without any break for the entire 15 years.

"If public officials who brush off animal welfare as trivial
had to see the results of their priorities carried out-to
witness for themselves how trusting the dogs are even
when being led to their deaths, how they lick the hands and
face of the person with the needle-I suspect they would see
matters in a very different light" - Ed Boks, General Manager
of the Department of Animal Services, Los Angeles