The Los Angeles DWP mugged our dog
= www.dwpmuggedourdog.com
iPhone photo by Jadwiga Markoff on 9-3-15 ©
Ralph (for a cookie) has been bringing the newspaper from our long driveway to our home for many years now.
What is animal cruelty?
“Animal cruelty is defined as the malicious and intentional maiming, mutilating, torturing, neglecting, and/or wounding of a living animal, or the malicious and intentional killing of an animal.”
City of Los Angeles Animal Cruelty Task Force (ACTF) flyer, accessed 9-14-15
Table of Content
1. Summary: Ralph and the LADWP
On August 29, 2014, an employee of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP), walked onto our fenced property unannounced, despite our entrance being well posted with two “no trespassing” signs, and despite being warned that we have dogs. Apparently our 10-year-old dog Ralph, thinking he was an intruder, probably rushed up to the reader in an aggressive manner, and although Ralph didn’t bite the meter reader, the reader slugged him at least once on the snout with a wrench-like object, which bloodied Ralph up. Click here to see my September 9, 2014, (2nd) complaint to the DWP about the incident.
Since that time, and after some back and forth with the DWP, they apologized for their employee striking our dog, but turned down our request for $1,000 compensation for their hitting Ralph. We said that we would give that money to the ASPCA. I was told that because Ralph incurred no medical bills from being hit, he wasn’t damaged, and if he wasn’t damaged, they couldn’t pay the requested $1,000 in compensation.
More importantly, the DWP has told me that because we are a customer … by using their water and power, and because we need to make our meter “available to them,” that their employees can come on our property without notice whenever they want, despite our gate being locked, despite our property being posted with no trespassing signs, and despite the fact we have dogs.
I believe their policy of sending their meter readers on to any property that has dogs or property clearly marked no trespassing needlessly puts their own employees and their customers’ dogs at risk, and for no good reason.
The DWP could easily install technology on such properties that would allow the DWP to read their customers’ usage, without their employees going on such properties, thereby avoiding risks to their own employees and to their customers’ dogs.
(After their employee slugged Ralph, and after I started a dialog with the DWP about the beating, they offered us and installed the technology, so they no longer needed to come on our property, except in the case of a real emergency.)
I have been asking the DWP to tweak their meter reading policy on gated homes with dogs and on gated homes marked no trespassing, so that those homes are visited by the meter readers by appointment, or to put in the technology so the DWP can gather the usage information they need for billing, while not subjecting their employees or their customers’ dogs to unnecessary confrontations.
My views on preventing the Ralph and LADWP (DWP) issue for the future:
I. I believe that the DWP requiring its meter readers to enter locked or posted customer property unannounced, where dogs reside, unnecessarily creates the potential for a nasty collision that puts the DWP employees and their customers’ dogs at risk (which is what I believe happened at our home on August 29, 2014).
II. To lessen the chances of their employees and their customers’ dogs being hurt is such cases, the DWP should consider, in situations of locked or posted properties with dogs:
A. Offering the homeowner a radio frequency meter, or any other electronic device, that would allow the DWP to read their customer’s meter from outside the customer’s property (assuming that such a device is safe), or
B. The customer could use their smart phone or camera to take a picture of the meter and send the picture to the DWP when required, or
C. The DWP could call and make an appointment with the homeowner, so the homeowner has the opportunity to lock up their dog or dogs during that scheduled meter reading time, if needed, or
D. The DWP could obtain written permission from the homeowner regarding DWP entering the homeowner’s property.
There, of course, may be other options that I don’t know about or haven’t considered
If you have an opinion on these issues, please let the DWP know what you think. Some of their contact info is at 4. below.
2. The Issues, Facts of the LADWP Mugging our Dog Ralph
The DWP employee, without an appointment, entered our property, walking past two prominently placed “no trespassing” signs surrounding our entrance. When the DWP employee was entering our property, he was told (by a worker on our property) that we have dogs. The DWP employee then held up some instrument in his hand and proclaimed to our worker, “dogs learn.” My wife then saw the DWP employee and our bleeding dog and asked the DWP person if he hit our dog. He held up one finger and said, “once.” The DWP employee purportedly later told the DWP that he slugged our dog in self-defense.
Since the incident, I have been in communication with various DWP and Los Angeles City Attorney people, including two staff people to the DWP’s General Manager, Marcie Edwards. Three such emails are those dated 10-27-14, 11-6-14, and 12-23-14.
Sadly, so far, neither the City Attorney nor the DWP seems concerned about the incident, or that perhaps their polices caused or allowed the incident, except for telling me that I could put in a claim for damages to our dog.
I also learned during my correspondence with the DWP and the Los Angeles City Attorney, that the L.A. City Attorney has a DWP division, named the Department of Water and Power Legal Division. If you think I’m kidding, click here.
January 5, 2015: I received a letter from the LADWP that apologized for the August 29, 2014, “events” at our residence. The letter also said in part: “We admit that our meter reader struck your dog”; … “LADWP management and staff have discussed your request that we change current meter reader policy and rules to prohibit the entry by meter readers onto private property posted with no trespassing or restricted access notices without an appointment.” … “We have discussed your request for a policy and rule change and cannot agree to it”; …”in an effort to address your concerns and best serve you, LADWP did install a (free) radio frequency meter so that the meter can be read remotely and without regular entry onto your property by a meter reader.” The letter was signed by Guy Lipa, Chief of Staff, LADWP.
(While the LADWP’s 1-5-15 letter admitted that their meter reader struck our dog, and contained their apology for the events of 8-29-14 at our home is a step in the right direction, in my view they still need to address: That their employee entered our well-marked “No Trespassing” property, unannounced; that their employee was carrying a weapon of some sort when he entered our property; and $1,000 compensation (that we will donate to the ASPCA – The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) for striking our dog. The LADWP Commissioners listed on the letterhead of the 1-5-15 letter are:
– Mel Levine, President;
– William W. Funderburk Jr., Vice President;
– Jill Banks Barad;
– Michael F. Fleming;
– Christina E. Noonan;
– and Barbara E. Moschos, Secretary.
The Mailing Address on the letterhead – PO Box 51111, Los Angeles, CA 90051-5700 – and phone number – 213-367-4211.
3. My Correspondence with the LADWP and OSHA
- I think that the position in your email that even thought your LADWP employee entered our posted [no trespassing] property with out an appointment and struck and bloodied our dog, was in your view “no damages” suggests a callousness for the abuse to our dog and perhaps the abuse of animals of your other customers.
- Logically, It would seem that if you have 1.6 million customers, v. say 1,000 customers, there would more of a compelling reason to fix a bad and dangerous policy with more customers than a few because using simple math suggests that there would many more incidences (dogs beaten up) if you had more customers v. a few.
“Our LADWP entrance policy is that our employees can enter our customers posted [no trespassing] property unannounced and/ or with out an appointment whenever they feel they need to, and if they so enter, and a dog or other animal then approaches them in a frightening manner our employees can beat that dog or animal”If it’s true that you won’t change your “entrance policy” because you have so many customers, you might review your policy of revising your policies.
- In my last email to you of 3-12-15, I asked for three things that I still am requesting an answer to:
A. What instrument did your employee hit our dog with, on August 29, 2014?
B. Was that instrument authorized and within your policies, practices and procedures?
C. How many times, if any, in 2012, 2013, 2014 have LADWP employees stuck dogs at the homes of your customers?On August 3, 2015, the Los Angeles Times ran a front page story on Ralph being mugged by the LADWP. On August 22, 2015, I emailed two more questions for the LADWP to Eskel H. Solomon.
D. What dates and times do you show that DWP meter readers were on our Sunset property in the last five years?
E. Was it DWP policy that Mr. Durr was carrying a wrench when he went on our property on 8-29-14? If so, why was he carrying the wrench?On September 22, 2015, I U.S.-mailed in a complaint to OSHA, and filed a duplicate online complaint because I believe the LADWP continually puts its employees at unnecessary risk by requiring them to enter properties with dogs, even when their meter readers do not have an appointment. On September 24, 2015, I filed an animal cruelty complaint with the West L.A. Animal Shelter against the DWP employee (and the DWP) for unnecessary cruelty to our dog Ralph.
4. Media Coverage
5. LADWP General Manager and LADWP Commissioners
– General Manager Marcie Edwards – 213-367-4211
– Mel Levine, LADWP Commission President;
– William W. Funderburk Jr., LADWP Commission Vice President;
– Jill Banks Barad, LADWP Commissioner;
– Michael F. Fleming, LADWP Commissioner;
– Christina E. Noonan, LADWP Commissioner;
– and Barbara E. Moschos, LADWP Commission Secretary.
The Mailing Address of the LADWP Commissioners – PO Box 51111, Los Angeles, CA 90051-5700; phone number – 213-367-4211.
6. Others with DWP Animal Issues and Concerns
A. 2-12-16 – From Jennifer LevineB. 9-1-15 – From CarlaC. 9-1-15 – From M.M. (and my response)D. 8-3-15 – From Tessa TooleyE. 8-3-15 – From Robert SchwartzF. 8-3-15 – From Judith Stern (and my response)G. 8-3-15 – From Sandy Spiwak-WallinH. 8-3-15 – From Elizabeth Knox
7. Tell the LADWP what you're thinking.
If you think the LADWP should not needlessly put their customers’ pets, and their employees at risk over meter reading, please let LADWP’s General Manager Marcie Edwards or the LADWP Commissioners know your views [see Section 4 above].
Respectfully, Steven C. Markoff, contact me by clicking here (updated 11-13-15).