With all the positive hubbub about San Francisco's Animal Care and Control officers and its Dog Court (oh, you bet your sweet bippy we're discussing this in "We Read the Weeklies" tomorrow), it's doubly sad to hear about the allegations of animal cruelty that have been directed across the bay at Oakland's animal shelter. ReShawn McClarty, the acting director of the shelter, has been just placed on administrative leave as allegations concerning the shelter's mistreatments continue to grow.

Lori Barnabe, a former Oakland animal control officer who quit in June, recently sent a letter to the city and the Oakland police force, claiming that the shelter routinely euthanizes animals that are scheduled to be picked up by rescue groups or distraught owners, and that animals are routinely euthanized without being given the standard course of sedatives first.

Barnabe also claimed to have seen a live dog that had accidentally been closed in a barrel of animal corpses in a freezer, shelter workers altering records after euthanization to make animals appear more vicious, staff leaving kittens in an unattended drop box overnight (causing a kitten to die), and in general, levels of neglect bordering on abuse (like locking a dog in a kennel without exercise for a year). The shelter concedes that a dog was accidentally euthanized last month, but claims that in general the shelter is run quite well overall.

The Oakland City Council is holding a town meeting tomorrow night at 7 p.m. in City Hall to discuss these allegations and the appointment of a new shelter director with the public.