August 2008 Archives

As New Orleans braces for yet another potentially devastating hurricane over the next few days, preparations are being made to help residents with pets as they evacuate the area.

 

 

Today was Rocket's second day of school. He was so well behaved that I only had to squirt him in the face with water three times!

In an effort to keep them from being suspended for misbehaving, Rocket and Riley met at the park before class. Riley is the 10,000-pound German shepherd puppy I've written about before. They're pals.

But it was a little too early and Rocket wasn't in the mood to play. Riley grabbed Rocket's neck in his mouth several times, but Rocket was only mildly interested.

But it was good that we went to the park because I realized that I had forgotten to bring treats for class, so Riley's owner, Kathy Jo gave me a bag filled with gold fish crackers and little bits of beef jerky. I'd eat that.

The first thing we saw at class was my sister and her new dog, a 4-month-old samoyed named Sherman. It was the first time Rocket and Sherman were in class together. When Sherman saw my dog, he peed.

We worked on all things good dogs are supposed to know: We worked on the sitting and the laying down and the coming. Rocket actually managed to do them a couple of times.

Barbara, our teacher, said that in all her years of teaching dogs, she has never met a dog as wonderful as Rocket.

Actually, Barbara told me that she has been reading this blog, so it's probably not a good idea to lie. She never said anything about my dog being so great. But she DID say that all the dogs were doing really well.

Yay dogs!

We still have three weeks to go, but I'm already thinking about prolonging Rocket's education.

Maybe I'll enroll him in some sort of trade school.  

The Dog Whisperer wants you!

  Producers of the blockbuster television show will be in San Pedro from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Sept. 11 (that's a Thursday) to accept submissions for the show's new season.

But don't bring your bad dogs with you. Instead, they want a video of your dog being bad.

The producers will be at the PetCo Store at 852 N. Western Ave. (that's in the Park Plaza shopping center), San Pedro.

Information and the rules  are posted on the show's website.

****Update: Apparently people can bring their dogs with them on Thursday, as long as they're not aggressive. Either way, the video of your dog being bad is a must, however, so be sure to check the guidelines at the web site linked above.

And remember, Cesar himself will NOT be at the store, only his show's producers.

OK, so now that both VP candidates are in place, it's time to answer the burning question:

Who are their pets?

Actually, I'm still trying to find out.

So far, I've learned that Joe Biden has a cat. But I can't seem to turn up any information abut the nation's potential Second Feline. 

As for Sarah Palin, nothing yet other than the news that her husband (apparently referred to as "First Dude" in Alaska where the missus is the gov) is a past winner of the Iron Dog race -- and broke his arm while competing in the event earlier this year (which he still managed to finish, despite the injury).

Can't tell if the dogs go home with the Palins. But wait a minute. Turns out the Iron Dog race is a snowmobile race! Hmmm, so what's the deal? Dogs? Cats? Cough up the details,  candidates and candidate watchers out there.

I'll keep you posted when I learn more.......

I can't believe this information hasn't been splashed all over the news yet!

 

This is happening in Lima, Peru, but how long before laws like this reach the South Bay? Then where will I be?

Not only do I have the loudest dog in the South Bay, but he has a very distinctive bark, so people blocks away know exactly who the offender is.

It's just that he likes to talk.

I'm doomed.

LIMA (Reuters) - Dog lovers beware. A neighborhood in Peru's capital, Lima, has passed a law prohibiting families living in apartments from having more than one dog. People living in houses are allowed two dogs, while those found with more will be subject to hefty fines.

According to an order published in the country's official gazette on Thursday, residents of Jesus Maria, a middle-class area in Lima, have said there are just too many dogs -- and too much barking.

"Neighbors have complained they cannot live in peace, harmony, or good physical and mental health because ... noisy dogs disturb the peace," the order read.

Here's a picture of my dog telling somebody something from 15 miles away.

 

Authorities believe a man walking his dog in New York may have been bitten by a rabid bat.

A witness said despite her warnings, a man walking his dog in Ithaca's Thompson Park picked up a bat lying on the ground Sunday. The bat reportedly bit the man but he left before health officials arrived. The bat was later determined to be rabid.

 

 

 

 

This just in: The poodle wins.

You may recall that the American Kennel Club has been asking Americans to cast their vote for what kind of dog the Obama family should get.

Barack, you see, is sans a dog -- a genuine faux paw, as it were, for anyone running for the nation's highest office.

A poll conducted this summer, after all, discovered that pet owners favored John McCain (who has a menagerie of pets) over Obama 42 percent to 37 percent, with dog owners strongly in McCain's corner.

Win or lose, Barack has promised his kids their first family dog. But there were complications. The candidate's two young daughters, for one thing, have allergies. And, should he win in November, any dog living in the White House is going to have to be really, really well behaved. No biting or jumping or barking at visiting dignitaries.

More than 42,000 people cast their vote over the seven-week campaign. The Poodle clinched the nomination after the breed battled it out with the Soft Coated Wheaton Terrier in a race almost as tight as the Clinton and Obama run for the Democratic nomination for president. The poodle won by a (dog) hair, with just a few hundred votes separating the top two contenders.

"Most of our presidents kept purebreds in the White House," said AKC spokesperson Lisa Peterson. "When times get tough -- during a bad economy or when presidential pressures are at their peak -- these dogs serve as personal companions and give much relaxation and laughter to our leaders."

I was rooting for the Wheaton terrier myself, but the AKC says the poodle isn't a bad choice. And not a surprise win, either: "Poodles are currently the eighth most popular breed in the U.S.," Peterson said.

They come in three sizes and are "exceptionally smart and athletic," the AKC says.

But most importantly, there's that pet-owner vote up for grabs.

 

Related posts: Vote for (maybe) First Dog;  Barack and the dog;  Campaign going to the dogs?;  Presidential pets

Me and idiot dog had just barely arrived at the San Pedro dog park this morning when some guys in trucks showed up and made us all leave.

Rumor was that they were not only spreading even more wood chips, but more importantly, they were going to put in new benches with awnings.

That's great news. There isn't a lick of shade in that park and when you're there during the day, the sun can beat down pretty hard.

I'm not sure who to thank for this addition, so I'll just send a shout out to the Port of Los Angeles, who owns the property.

If you ask me, dogs should be allowed to vote seven times for every human vote.

Why? Because it's my blog and I get to do anything I want.

I have this ritual at my house. I go home and find the dog sleeping somewhere. (He's too lazy to come greet me at the door)

He wags his tail slightly and I say, "What do you want for dinner tonight?

And he looks at me.

"How about some dog food?" I ask. And he goes running into the kitchen and stands next to his bowl.

I don't know why he gets so excited. All he ever gets is dog food.

But now dogs have a new option, thanks to a class being offered in Manhattan Beach.

Here's a press release I just got. The class offers people the chance to learn how to cook healthy food for their pups. And with the recent pet-food scare, it might also some peace of mind.

No bones about it; you are your dog's best friend. Isn't it about time that you became your dog's chef too? With all the pet food recalls both last year and this year, the time is right to rethink how and what to feed your canine best friends.

 Join guest teacher Annie Siegmann, owner of Ruff-Ruff Bakery, maker of all natural pet treats and biscuits, as you prepare three meals and a treat to take home. She will share tips for natural ways to care for your dog through foods.

 Seigmann's natural treats can be found at Whole Foods Markets and the Torrance and Manhattan Beach Farmers' Markets.

 The dog food making class will be held Monday, September 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the South Bay School of Cooking kitchen inside the Women's Neptunian Club. Pre-paid reservations are required; directions and parking instructions will be provided. The cost is $79/person.

For more information and to register, go here.

Horse news keeps galloping our way.

The Porguguese Bend National Horse Show will held Sept. 5, 6, 7 and 8!

They're going to have pony rides, jumping exhibitions, police horses and flies. Lots and lots of flies.

There's even going to be a hay bale boutique that will cater to all your hay bale needs.

All proceeds will benefit Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

The event will take place at Ernie Howlett Park. 25851 Hawthorne Blvd. in Rolling Hills Estates.

You can click here for times and prices.

 

Here's a story about a real masked bandit.

Seems a courthouse in Atlanta had found evidence of an intruder -- a half-eaten apple, some footprints.

The break-in last week at the Richard B. Russell Federal Building was duly reported.

The intruder made no effort to cover his tracks across a stack of federal memos in the 14th-floor office. When the judge started calling his staff and others to exampine the scene, the evidence was conclusive: The perpetrator was a raccoon.

In the days to come, other signs turned up -- stolen chocolate chip cookies on the 10th floor, a missing sandwich on the ninth floor, a packet of dried soup snatched from the 23rd (!) floor.

A "wanted" poster went up along with a "raccoon crossing" sign on the judge's door, according to the Associated Press story posted on LA Unleashed.

The suspect was finally nabbed by using a tuna-baited trap above the ceiling tiles in federal bankruptcy Judge Paul W. Bonapfel's office.

The raccoon was named "Russell" by office workers -- in honor of the building's namesake.

"We're going to see if we can get him turned loose on a farm somewhere," said Robert Perkins, the building's manager. "We're going to take him a long way from this building."

It was a good life while it lasted.

We were sitting here trying to come up with a decent pun to use as a headline for this post, but we came up dry. The Chew-zen people? Arf Torah? Something about rabies and rabbis? If anybody can think of a better one, I'll change the headline, give you public recognition and give you a No Prize.

In any case, as both a Jew AND a dog owner, I find this totally idiotic. Some guy spent $10,000 on a bar mitzvah for his dog. I'm not sure if he turned 13 in human years or dog years.

David Best thinks "Elvis" is such a top dog that he deserved the star-studded event, which drew 100 guests, including famed sex therapist Dr. Ruth. Even Elvis' mother showed up to wish him well.

"He has a great personality and everyone loves him," Best said.

Dr. Ruth! I remember her from the 80s!

 

 

 

 

The annual city celebration for Rolling Hills Estates will be held on Sept. 20.

According to my undercover sources (an e-mail my sister sent me), the event will be held at the Empty Saddle Club located at 39 Empty Saddle Road.

According to my sources, "Lots of horsey stuff going on."

 

Dog Groomers wanted.

Animal Planet is gearing up for its second season of Groomer Has It and is now casting for contestants.

Do you think you have what it takes to be the best? Are your doggie styling skills better than others and you know it? do you have that creative flare with a personality to match your skills?  

If so, you can download the application and fill it out. It needs to be returned with a photo of yourself and a 5-10 minute videotape taken from an unedited day in your life -- as you go to your grooming, pet styling and/or mobile salon.

Mail everything to (and this is cool because it's actually LOCAL):

3Ball Productions

Groomer Has It CASTING DEPARTMENT

1600 Rosecrans Ave.

Building 7, 2nd Floor

Manhattan Beach, CA 90266.                                               

                                                                             

 

Questions? Email groomerhasit@gmail.com

 

 HT: Dogster 

 

Seems a judge has let a Seattle woman off the hook after she registered her dog to vote.

Jane Balogh was charged with making a false statement but entered into a plea agreement last year. A county judge dismissed the charge this week after Balogh showed that she had paid $240 in court costs and completed community service.

Her point? To protest a loophole in the law that she said makes voter registration so easy a nonexistent person could be added to the voter rolls.

 

Where is this dog beach?

(a) California

(b) Oregon

(c) New Jersey

Answer: None of the above.

OK, so it's not Trump's, but this dog beach is breaking new ground in a far-away part of the world.

It's at Cyprus's popular holiday resort of Ayia Napa, according to this Reuters story. The island's first legal beach for animals came after "complaints it was becoming a dog's life for man's best friend."

Better known for all-night partying by Western tourists, the southeastern resort is now catering for dogs amid growing discontent that pooches had no place to cool off from the sweltering summer heat.

"We have seen lots of people taking their dogs for a walk since the establishment of the designated area, and we have been inundated by phone calls from happy pet owners thanking and congratulating us for this initiative," said Antonis Tsokkos, mayor of Ayia Napa.

Some folks don't like the idea much, apparently. But Tsokkos pointed out that "in older times," shepherds used to take their sheep and goats there.

 

 

Finally some new wood chips have been scattered at the San Pedro dog park!

While I'm not a big fan of wood chips -- I prefer grass -- the new ones are nice and have cut down on the toxic dust clouds that swirl around every time dogs run by.

I took Rocket there yesterday. There were tens of thoussands of new chips to chose from, but he and his friend Maureen were having a tug of war over one particular piece. They both wanted it, but neither one wanted to share.

And yes, Maureen is a dog. I think she's 9 months old and is probably the most playful puppy I've ever come across.

 

 

This is Nubs, a wiry German shepherd-border collie mix who got his name because someone cut off his ears as a puppy.

Picking up on an ABC story, Dog Clothes Horse blog posted this week about Nubs who was adopted by Maj. Brian Dennis in Iraq. Dennis took a liking to the animal, one of a pack of desert dogs that lived at one of the Iraqi border forts his unit patrolled. The Marines treated a wound in Nubs' side, caused by a screwdriver, and nursed him back to health.

But when Dennis' unit had to relocate 70 miles from Nubs' home fort, the loyal pup wasn't about to be left behind.

As always, Nubs sprinted alongside the Hummers as they pulled away for what Dennis assumed was the last time he would see the dog. Two days later, Nubs wandered inexplicably in below-freezing conditions into Dennis' new camp, shocking the Marine unit.

"When he arrived he looked like he'd just been through a war zone. Uh, wait a minute, he had," Dennis wrote. Nubs' miraculous journey forced the Marine's hand, and Dennis and his fellow Marines unanimously decided to keep the animal.

"This dog who had been through a lifetime of fighting, war, and abuse had tracked down our team over 70 miles of harsh desert was going to live the good life," Dennis wrote.

 

 

This isn't a new story. Nubs and Dennis were reunited  last March and now live in sunny San Diego. But we figured such an inspirational story was worth revisiting. And we trust that Nubs is, indeed, enjoying the good life.

Nubs is only one of the dogs that has been brought home from Iraq. So this post serves also as a reminder that donations are still being taken for the cause.

Donations to help more of our military personnel bring home dogs that their units have adopted and kept safe from the war can be made to Baghdad Pups -- which also, by the way, has a major local online sponsor, Torrance-based ilovedogs.

 

Related Posts: Iraqi dogs  Cat Lady of Baghdad

It's been a while since I riled things up by writing about dog beaches.

But yesterday someone left this comment to a post I made a few months ago about the secret dog beach, which, as you know, can be found by parking next to the club house at the Trump Golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes and walking down the trail.

This letter accomlishes two things: It dredges up one of my favorite blogging topics and it says nice things about me!

 You people are so selfish with your beaches! How is he destroying a community?! It seems to me he is bringing it together! You people probably think because someone who comes up there and isn't wearing designer clothes and sunglasses isn't worthy of being there! Thank you Josh Grossberg! These annoying, self centered PV people who think that just because they have money that they should be the only ones allowed up there at that beach. I'm sorry but my dog loves to run and play just the same as yours. So Kudos to you Josh! You are not ruining this beach for anybody except self centered snobs. As a matter of fact, I am going to tell everyone I know who has a dog to come down there!

That's the spirit! But let me caution my readers that taking dogs off leash at the beach is illegal. And always be courteous and clean up after your dog.

Fall is coming, which is a great time of the year to take your dog for a hike and a romp on the sand. I'll write more about dog beaches soon. 

      

Calling all Manhattan Beach dogs (on leash) & cats (in carriers).

A rabies clinic (with other vaccinations also offiered) will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 27, on the basketball courts of Marine Avenue Park, 1625 Marine Ave., Manhattan Beach.

Co-sponsoree by the Manhattan Beach Police Department and Bay Animal Hospital, the clinic will offer rabies vaccines for $7; the K-9 "4-in-1" package for $14; Bordetella, $11; and the cat 4-in-1 for $14.

Payment is check or cash only.

For information, call 310-802-5160.

 

 

Meet Ziggy. As cute as Reggie? We don't think so.

Los Angeles Animal Control officers last week confiscated this 5-foot-6-inch-long male alligator (named Ziggy) from a North Hollywood Home. LA Unleashed confirms that yes, Ziggy was indeed a "pet."

"The alligator appears to be in good health, thankfully," said Kathy Davis, assistant general manager for L.A. Animal Services.

Ziggy is about 5 years old and has been with his owner since he was small.

Ziggy was transported to a local herpetology society facility and criminal charges against the owner are being considered. Alligators are illegal in California without a possession permit. 

Of course, there are other drawbacks to having a scaly reptile roaming your house.

"I don't know how you have dinner parties with an alligator in the house," Davis said. "This is the largest reptile we've seized in a long time."

Photo: Los Angeles Department of Animal Services 

Few things are as disgusting as ticks. My former dog Mercy wound up with one some years ago after we'd walked along some of the horse trails on the Palos Verdes Peninsula one day. But I didn't notice it until a few days later, when it was quite prominent.
They look like pinkish, fleshy growths, I honestly didn't realize it was a tick. (Because Mercy was an Australian shepherd with long hair, it wasn't readily noticeable until I happened to feel it as I was petting her.)

I let her veterinarian take care of pulling the thing out, but here's a  helpful article telling dog owners how they can do it themselves if they're so inclined. Popular flea products like Frontline will also prevent ticks and cause existing ones to fall off. But you don't want a "full" tick falling off your dog and staying in your house after using one of the anti-tick treatments.

That's what happened to someone I know at the dog park who was telling me yesterday that they wound up with dozens of baby ticks covering an inside wall of their house after using Frontline on their tick-infested dog.

Like I said. Gross. 

But here's more good tick advice.

The kitty toppler!

These Baltimore dogs got to celebrate the last day of the summer pool season with "45 minutes of soggy chaos," according to the bloggers at ohmidog!. More than 30 dogs were "running, splashing playing and barking."

Apparently the frivolity took place in a park where there can be tensions between between people who let their dogs run and those who go there to swim. The swim pool staff opened up the water to the dogs as something of an end-of-the-season goodwill gesture.

So at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, the last day of the season for the city pool:

Nikkie Cobbs opened the doors to the dogs and the line of people who had heard about the spontaneous dog swim. .. All the dogs got along fine, and none of the non-dog people at the pool, who were warned of what was about to transpire, appeared to be bothered.

All in all, it went ... well, swimmingly.

There are more photos and a slide show on the link.

 

Kids and pets, it's a special bond that many of us cherish from our growing up years.

So here's a link to a charming video titled "Why Kids Need Pets." 

Courtesy of Pet Place, it's guaranteed to make you smile -- and maybe even laugh out loud on a Monday.

 

Some of you will love hearing this -- others, not so much.

California's proposed mandatory spay and neuter bill (AB 1634)  has been defeated following amendments that led even its staunch backers (the California Taxpayers for Safe and Healthy Pets) to back away from full-hearted support in the end. "We didn't want it to pass," said supporter Judie Mancuso. "It's unfortunate when you can't support your own bill."

The bill had widespread support from animal shelter directors, animal rights and rescue groups, in addition to the SPCA and humane societies -- all battling the rising tide of pet overpopulation that so tragically leads to a last-resort solution at animal shelters, euthanasia of healthy but unwanted pets.

Opposing the measure have been dog owners involved in breeding and training show breeds, guide and service dogs, search-and-rescue dogs, police dogs, hunting dogs and working herding and livestock guardian dogs.

I've had friends on both sides of this legislation -- dedicated rescue and shelter volunteers who supported it and equally dedicated members of the South Bay Kennel Club and those with working herding dogs who were opposed.

Here are links to supporters' fact sheets  and the AKC's most recent press release.

So what's next? Mancuso, who has been helping to shepherd the bill through the legislature, said attentions will now be turned to helping implement Los Angeles' city spay and neuter law that takes effect Oct. 1. And, she added, we can expect another stab at a statewide bill during the next legislative session.

Meanwhile, the push to establish specialized license plates to support the spay and neuter cause in California is continuing through a separate process (it was not connected directly to AB 1634 as we earlier reported). State Sen. Alex Padilla is spearheading that drive and Mancuso said discussions are ongoing with the DMV about what will be required. The plates are expected to be available by late 2008 or early 2009, with 75 percent of the motorist fees going toward county programs that help fund low-cost spay and neuter efforts.

A contest is being considered to come up with the artwork and message for the plates, she said. Below are a few samples from other states (including Arizona and Illinois, the home states of our two 2008 presidential candidates -- mentioned only because we're all about politics this week in the media and I couldn't find a pet or dog connection to the convention other than some stories about the protesters that came up on google searches). 

Others samples can be seen at the Doris Day web page:

   

 

Life is like a dogsled team. If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes.

--Lewis Grizzard

Rocket had his first day of class today!

Since we missed last week on account of an excused illness, I was a little worried that Rocket would be behind all the other dogs.

But then I remembered that these are dogs. It's not like he had catch-up reading to do.

Well, things got off to a great start -- if by great, you mean bad.

We were among the first to arrive at the Kritter Korral on Palos Verdes Drive North, where Barbara has been teaching South Bay dogs for years.

We came armed with our new school supplies, which included a carpenter's nail pouch from Home Depot to store treats and, well, that's about it.

The first thing we saw was Rocket's friend Riley, who I've posted about before. Riley is a German Shepherd puppy who weighs like 5,000 pounds and stands at least 10 feet tall.

Well, Rocket and Riley saw each other and started to play and jump. This is fine at the dog park, but frowned upon on campus, i.e., the parking lot of the pet shop. Rocket started howling and Riley started to yip. They were having a great time. Riley's owner, Kathy Jo, and I knew that we'd be expelled if they kept it up, but we let them play until we saw Barbara's car arrive.

(My sister is also in the class with her new puppy Sherman, but she had other plans this morning and couldn't make it.)

Today's lessons included sit, stay, down and come. Rocket did pretty good. And Barbara gave me a water bottle to squirt at him when he started barking. Squirting him only made him bark more, but he got the message after a few minutes.

Why didn't I think of that before?

Rocket did as well as most of the other dogs, and was cuter than all of them.

Part of me is suspicious that anything will penetrate his thick skull, but I'm starting to think that maybe he'll learn something in class. We'll practice at home and see how things go.

We have four weeks to go. 

 

   

Meet Luc (pronounced "Luke").

Luc's not exactly a South Bay dog, he lives in Tehachapi.

But Luc really wowed the judges at this month's South Bay AKC show at North High School in Torrance. He was the highest scoring dog and highest combined scoring dog in obedience trials.

Next stop: the AKC Agility Invitational Dec. 13-14 at the Long Beach convention center. That's a pretty big deal -- it's national -- and open to the public if you want to go watch.

Owner Louise Fox Meredith's former border collie, Twister, won this event in 2003.

  At six years old, Luc competes nearly every weekend somehwere. So far, he's earned 11 perfect scores which is really quite amazing. But it doesn't come easy. Meredith works with him for about an hour five days a week.

Meredith said coming to the South Bay is a special treat since this is where she lived up until about eight years ago (Manhattan Beach and San Pedro). But when  she and her husband, Mike, got their first border collie, they headed for the country.

"We could see there wouldn't be enough room (in San Pedro) when the dog began bringing the garden hose all the way upstairs," Meredith told me.

Now they have about 100 sheep and seven border collies on about 20 acres. Sounds like an ideal life to me!

Her husband focuses on sheepherding skills and also competes.

As for Luc, he's pretty much your normal dog when he's not competing.

"In Luc's spare time he loves to play and run, but is also a very devoted companion who loves to cuddle with you on the bed or sofa."

Mike and Louise are headed north pretty soon, for three weeks of shows and sheepherding trials.

Lucky couple, lucky dogs.

 

Or a little of both, whichever works to their advantage?

There's a report out from the New Scientist journal that claims dogs are becoming more intelligent -- and they're even developing a sense of right and wrong.

Yikes.

Call me cynical, but I'm not buying it.

Clever and (usually) trainable, yes. for a good enough reward, dogs will certainly do the "right" thing (whatever works to their advantage, in other words).

But living by truly ethical standards? That's hard enough for us humans.

HT: Justin Rudd 

All of us who have lost a pet can relate to this touching tribute to Puff the dog written by Los Angeles Times columnist Sandy Banks.

Although we didn't really know each other, Sandy and I briefly overlapped as reporters covering LAUSD some time ago for our respective newspapers. And I'd also lost a dog last year to diabetes (following 15 months of twice-daily insulin shots), So I guess I felt a personal connection to Puff's story:

My friends remind me of the toll his care took on me. His illness was a ball and chain, and I was never sure if he was really happy. ... But that doesn't diminish the pain -- the hurt that keeps ambushing me.

I couldn't actually read it the first time I spotted it on the site of our cross-town bloggers, LA Unleashed. Sad dog stories just get to me. (Like the time I utterly embarrassed a friend of mine a few years ago when I began sniffling audibly through the last 15 minutes of "My Dog Skip" -- "What is wrong with you??" she said as the lights came up, making sure to walk a bit ahead of me as we left the theater).

But later, I went back to read Sandy's column and was struck by Puff's story, and how blessed he was to have such a loving family who took such good care of him.

And besides, is that just about the cutest dog you've ever seen? We just had to post his picture.  

Our heartfelt condolences to Sandy and her family.

(To see a picture of my dog Pilgrim, bravely enduring his most humiliating moment EVER in life when I forced him to pose for an in-house Christmas ad at the Daily Breeze one year, see the jump.)

When it comes to efforts to spay and neuter Los Angeles pets, the city is falling short, according to a new audit released by Los Angeles City Controller Laura Chick. Reporter Kerry Cavanaugh writes about it in today's Los Angeles Daily News and Daily Breeze:

Six months after the Los Angeles City Council and mayor passed an ordinance requiring owners to spay or neuter their pets, the city has done little to educate the public on the new rule -- and will likely rely on voluntary compliance, according to an audit released Tuesday.

Los Angeles is the largest city in the nation to enact such a strict spay-and-neuter ordinance. The law takes effect in October and requires owners to fix pets 4 months old or older.

Animal Services General Manager Ed Boks says lack of funding is a problem.

"This ordinance is an unfunded mandate for the department," Boks told the Daily News. "It comes at a time when the department sustained 15 percent budget cuts this year and we're facing the layoffs of some 27 employees."

Public service announcements are being prepared, he said, and the department will enforce the ordinance once it takes effect Oct. 1.

The city's Animal Services web site provides more information about the new law along with resources to find low-cost spay and neuter clinics.