California‘s Skid Row has been hiding a dirty secret as countless dogs are starved, drugged and denied medical care while officials reportedly turn a blind eye.
Animal advocates say the situation has worsened in recent years, with pregnant dogs giving birth on the streets, others tied up in the sun, crammed into tiny cages, beaten and even subjected to drugs.
Joey Tuccio, an animal rescuer with the nonprofit Starts With One Today, told the Daily Mail: ‘There are hundreds of dogs on Skid Row.
‘This has been happening for 10 years. We get no support from Los Angeles leaders, and the last time dozens of animal rescuers spoke at City Hall, nearly all council members walked out.’
According to advocates with Starts With One Today, dogs are often bred illegally and traded for money, sexual favors or drugs.
‘We recently reported an unhinged animal abuser on Skid Row who thinks she’s in the Illuminati,’ Tuccio said.
‘She has over 10 animals crammed into cages on the sidewalk, and neighbors say she never lets them out. Officials just gave her more cages, even though she has broken numerous laws.’
Tuccio has shared dozens of heartbreaking videos and photos on his social media page, showing dogs overdosing, covered in burns and their bodies wrapped in electrical wire.
Pictured is a dog named Iced, which animal activists claimed was burned intentionally by his owner
Pictured is a dog found on Skid Row with its ribs protruding from its body. Animal activists said the dog has a cut on its neck, which is pouring out maggots
Skid Row, a roughly 50-block area east of downtown Los Angeles, is one of the nation’s largest and most densely populated communities of unhoused individuals.
Home to an estimated 9,000 to 15,000 residents, the area serves as a hub for homeless services but is marked by extreme poverty, sprawling tent encampments, and high rates of addiction and mental health challenges.
However, in the last decade, it has become somewhat of a black market for dogs.
Many of the dogs sold on Skid Row end up in the hands of other homeless residents, who pay between $100 and $500 to breed them, according to Tuccio.
Once the dogs are no longer useful for breeding, they are often abandoned or sold again, perpetuating a cycle of neglect and abuse, he added.
One video on Tuccio’s X page shows a small dog that accidentally ate Fentanyl and overdosed. Its owner was seen administering Narcan to save his life.
He has also shared images showing a crate full of puppies draped with a blanket, a female bulldog that has been bred at least three times and a man trying to sell newborn puppies out of a van for $75
‘The animal overpopulation continues to explode, and the number of animal abuse cases we work on increases almost monthly,’ Tuccio told the Daily Mail.
Pictured is Lila. SHe was found wondering the streets with her eye gouged out
Animal activist and rescuer Joey Tuccio has shared dozens of heartbreaking videos and photos on his social media page, showing dogs overdosing, covered in burns and their bodies wrapped in electrical wire
Many of the dogs sold on Skid Row end up in the hands of other homeless residents, who pay between $100 and $500 to breed them, according to animal activists
‘They need to enforce laws. The homeless people on Skid Row need to abide by the same laws everybody else has to.’
Mayor Karen Bass’s office recently announced a crackdown on animal cruelty in Skid Row.
Launched on November 6, the initiative aims to expand resources for protecting animal welfare while providing essential support to pet owners in need.
‘I launched this new initiative to keep pets with their owners whenever possible while holding those who commit crimes of animal cruelty and neglect accountable,’ said Bass in a statement.
‘This collaborative approach will use specially trained LAPD officers, working with Animal Services staff to support animal welfare by bringing dedicated personnel, strategic investigation practices, a uniform approach to accountability and immediate relief whenever possible.’
However, Tuccio said the effort has not lived up to its promise.
‘Karen Bass lied on the news saying the animals “are not neglected on Skid Row,” meanwhile, we are saving dogs that have rotting limbs, with their eyes glued shut, broken legs and dumped on the streets covered in infected wounds,’ he said.
Daily Mail has contacted Bass’s office for comment.
Although Tuccio says the city has abandoned the dogs, he and other advocates continue working tirelessly to save their lives.
On Tuesday, he shared on his X page that 11 dogs had been recently rescued.
‘[These] animals were confiscated from horror conditions, and the abuser is under arrest. This sadly would not have happened without videos going viral,’ he posted.
In December, former Last Comic Standing star Rebecca Corry took Los Angeles to court over concerns about alleged animal cruelty.
The 54-year-old comedian, who was a finalist on season four of Last Comic Standing, filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles, as well as Mayor Bass, the Los Angeles Police Department, LA Animal Services and its manager Annette Ramirez, via her non-profit Stand Up for Pits on Monday.
According to documents obtained by the Daily Mail, the organization is suing over the alleged mistreatment of dogs housed in shelters throughout the city, as well as dogs located on Skid Row, a stretch of Downtown Los Angeles with a large population of homeless people.
In a December statement to the Daily Mail, a spokesperson for Mayor Bass said that she has ‘taken action to investigate allegations of animal cruelty in Skid Row, with the LAPD recently recovering dogs from an illegal puppy mill in the area.’
