After the head of L.A.'s city animal shelters proposed leaving dogs, cats and other animals home alone overnight at the facilities to save money, the animal-rights world (and unionistas worried about jobs) had a field day.

And they were victorious:

The L.A. City Council voted 13-0 yesterday to hire an additional 16 animal care technicians in order to ensure the overnight care of shelter pets.

Citing dire budgetary circumstances, Los Angeles Animal Services general manager Brenda Barnett proposed cutting overnight staff last month. That would have left shelter animals with only security guards to care for them.

Animal rights activists were not happy. But one of the city's powerful labor groups, SEIU 721, was even less impressed. Union jobs could have been lost. The group put the pressure on by showing up at City Hall.

It worked.

City animal shelter worker Jacob Miller:

Thank you to the City Council for approving more staff for LA City animal shelters. The 16 new Animal Care Technician positions will go a long way to helping us provide better services to LA residents and their pets. We had to push really hard to make this happen, and we did it because we are dedicated to the people and animals we serve.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.