A shelter to celebrate!
Finally.
San Pedro's new animal shelter will be formally unveiled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 21. The shelter is at 957 N. Gaffey St., (near Miraflores where the old Big C hardware store was located). See the story in today's Daily Breeze..
This is a HUGE improvement over the the dark and industrial decor of the cramped, 57-year-old former facility on Battery Street. Whenever I'd go there looking for a dog, it was literally impossible to concentrate as the dogs on either side (several in each kennel) jumped and barked.
The new shelter (which, counting the purchase of the property, cost $18.7 million) not only has triple the number of kennels (79) compared to the old one, but the 2-acre site offers its own medical clinic and grooming facility.
That's a welcome addition. I haven't adopted an animal from LA in a while, but maybe 10 years ago I took an Australian shepherd out of the South Central shelter for a rescue group. I had to personally take him in my car to the off-site clinic for neutering and the poor animal was absolutely filthy. I remember thinking, "Can't they at least wash the animals when they're adopted??"
What a difference from just a couple years before that when I adopted my shaggy dog Ellie from the Long Beach shelter. Before I picked her up, they'd bathed and groomed her, sending her home smelling great and with a bright red bandana around her neck.
But the L.A.'s Animal Services Department has been catching up and changing over the last decade. These new, state-of-the-art shelters, which are much more people- and pet-friendly, are a big part of the new mindset.
So stop by on Saturday to join in the celebration. There will be music and tours. And they always need volunteers and donations. See if you can help contribute your time -- or bring along some donations tomorrow to help with the shelter's wish list
Better yet, check out the shelter's available animals and take one home! .
About the Bloggers
Daily Breeze reporter Donna Littlejohn has shared her homes with a succession of wonderful, funny, and occasionally difficult canines -- Muffin, Fritz, Ellie, Mercy, Pilgrim and now Cowboy, an Australian shepherd-border collie, and Tess, a border collie. From strong-willed terriers to weirdly obsessed Australian shepherds, they've invaded her world with boundless energy, wet noses, muddy paws and soggy tennis balls. But they've really brought so much more than that -- like laughter and joy, some unexpected life lessons, and more than a few tears along the way.
E-mail Donna at donna.littlejohn@dailybreeze.com.
Josh Grossberg grew up with the usual array of animals: goldfish, dogs, hamsters, parakeets and turtles. He now owns the loudest dog in the South Bay(Video: Rocket the Dog) and is the least popular person on his block. He spends his free time in dog parks, pet shops and always has an extra plastic bag in his pocket just in case. He also has a cat.
E-mail Josh at josh.grossberg@dailybreeze.com.
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