June 2009 Archives

OK, now we've heard it all.

Some guy who found a lost cocker spaniel-toy poodle mix named Pineapple calls the owner listed on the dog's ID tag and allegedly asks for sex in exchange for giving the dog back untortured.

Dude.

Turns out the suspect, Alfredo Dempkey, 27, is a registered sex offender in Hawthorne. He's headed for court this afternoon on extortion charges (watch for an update tomorrow on the arraignment at www.dailybreeze.com or buy Wednesday's paper) and Pineapple is safely back home with her 17-year-old owner who had the presence of mind to call her dad and the police when she received the telephone threat (he told the girl he would torture and make her dog suffer if she didn't comply)..

You can read the full story by crime reporter Larry Altman in today's Daily Breeze. 

"I think someone like that is sick," Pineapple's owner told Larry on Monday.

The girl was at work last Friday night when her dog wandered away from their Hawthorne home at about 7 p.m.

Later, Dempkey called the girl saying he had her dog and demanding she pay him $70 for Pineapple's return. She panicked, hung up, but he called her right back and asked her for "something else" if she didn't have the cash. He wanted her to meet him at the El Pollo Loco at Hawthorne Boulevard and Imperial Highway where he allegedly said he'd give her the dog back -- in exchange "for sex."

When Dempkey showed up with the dog in tow (this is the best part of the story), he was met by police who quickly took him into custody and returned Pineapple to her owner.

I've heard of scams where people will call folks who take out "lost dog" ads in the newspaper, claiming to have the animal in a distant location and asking for a large sum of money to cover the costs for return.

But this is a first.

And a last, we can only hope.

 

Do you work in the South Bay? 

I was walking the stupid dog this morning through the park near my house. Going there is a treat for Rocket because there are millions of squirrels there. It's where all squrrels come from. It's Ground Zero of squirreldom.

Anyway, like dogs everywhere, Rocket loves to chase squirrels. He's never actually caught any, but they do the kabuki dance, which involves the squirrel running up a tree and the bawl-mouthed dog jumping up and down and making a horrible racket.

But today, a squirrel called Rocket's bluff. He saw the squirrel on the trail in front of us, but instead of running, the squirrel just stood there staring at him.

This instantly shut Rocket up. We walked closer and the squrrel stood his ground. Rocket was stunned. He didn't know what to do. The squirrel wasn't playing by the rules.

He looked up at me, then back to the squirrel, which was just standing there. We got even closer.

Finally, the varmint took off. Rocket was shaken out of his trance. And they both ran for the nearest tree.

Order was restored in the universe. But someday, squrrrels and dogs will live together in peaceful harmony.

 

Happy Birthday to the Dog Beach in Long Beach.

And kudos especially to Justin Rudd and Rosie and everyone else who made this possible eight years ago. It was the culmination of much hard work and patience.

On June 24, 2001, for the first time in more than 30 years, dogs were permitted to play along the water's edge on a stretch of beach in Long Beach.

It was a pilot program in which the city agreed to let dogs onto the beach on one Sunday a month through the summer of 2003.

Things went so well that on Oct. 31, 2004, the Long Beach City Council unanimously approved the permanent Dog Beach Zone in the South Bay's neighboring city to the south east.

Now, owners can off-leash their dogs (one dog per person) on a 3-acre stretch near Belmont Shore year-round.

If you haven't been there, check it out. You and your dog will have a blast. There are cones on either side to designate the dog-friendly area, so be sure your canine comes when called and won't run off as there are no fences.

I took my Australian shepherd Pilgrim there two summers ago when a friend came in from Colorado with her dog, Hawkeye, and wanted to take her dog to the beach.

I'll never forget how thrilled Pilgrim was to be there -- up and down the shoreline he raced, practically smiling all the way as he felt the wet sand on his paws, sometimes chasing his ball, other times just enjoying the running for the heck of it. This was during the period when he was being treated for diabetes (insulin shots twice a day). Only a couple months later, in September 2007, he was struck with complications and I had to make that final decision to put him down (he was 8).

But I'll always be grateful he had that carefree afternoon at the Dog Beach. I still smile just thinking about the memory. I'm just sorry I didn't think to bring a camera that day.

So thanks, Justin, and the city of Long Beach.  

Check out the Dog Beach Zone web page to find out all the details, where to park, what the rules are -- and watch a fun video of Justin with his English Bulldog Rosie on the first day at dog beach.

Maybe I'll get there this summer again with Tess and/or Cowboy, my border collies.

(Pilgrim is shown below in his most humiliating moment ever, when I made him pose in a Santa hat for a Christmas ad in the now defunct publication More San Pedro.)

 

 

 

Pet lovers take note:

Cute chalk boards! From Etsy, about $12.

 Ht: Barkability

 

 

I posted last weekend about the ongoing need for adoptions at the Peter Zippi Fund for Animals.

My friend Shirley, who with her neighbor does work with some of the feral cat colonies in their neck of the woods here in the South Bay, sent me this photo last night of some kittens they trapped & rescued in April and are now with Peter Zippi awaiting homes.

Lots more where they came from, too.

Click the link above for information on the regular adoption events sponsored by the Peter Zippi Fund in Hermosa Beach along with thumbnail photos and descriptions of the some 50 kittens and cats they have available. The economy, presumably, has really impacted the number of people coming in to adopt in the past month. But meanwhile, the kittens keep coming.

You can call them for an appointment at:310-379-1264.

As for the photo below, what is it about cats being allowed onto tables and counters? I once came home to find my large Australian shepherd mix Mercy standing right in the middle of my dining room table and it totally freaked me out!

And my question about these 4 kitties is what exactly the photographer said or did to get those intent looks?? A mouse danging by its tail? A piece of hot dog?

 

Here's Willa, a dog who needs a home. From the email forwarded to us by our friends at San Pedro Dogs:

Hi, this is Willa.  Willa is a 50 pound 1 year old female Pit mix.  This affectionate cutie and her brother were left behind by their owners when they moved away. They stayed in the front yard and the neighbors were nice enough to feed them.  Now she lives safe and sound with her foster daddy while she waits for someone to give her a loving and patient home.  She is good with children, other dogs, and maybe cats.  She has been spayed, vaccinated, dewormed, a fecal test was done, frontlined, and microchipped.  Contact Terrell at 323-385-8993 or tc2806@hotmail.com.  

 

 

This is Chas. He's a brown tabby and is one of nearly 50 cats or kittens available for adoption through the Peter Zippi Fund for Animals.

The Hermosa Beach-based group has been inundated with cats that need new homes in the past couple weeks. They've experienced an influx of homeless animals along with a dearth of adoptions. 

Other cats available include Maya, a year-old cat, below. She was akin to a teen mom, according to

volunteers who took her in just before she delivered a litter of five kittens. Her kittens have all found homes, but mom still needs someone special to take her in. She's healthy, spayed, microchipped and is up to date on her vaccinations. She's also beautiful, as you can see.

 

 

And then there's Jerico, who was hit by a car when he was only four months old and wound up in

a Los Angeles city shelter. The folks from Peter Zippi got him out of the shelter and provided the surgery needed to fix his injuries (he'll be left with a slight limp, but otherwise is OK). Donations are still needed to cover the full cost of the surgery, however, and eventually Jerico also needs a home. He's a trooper, been through a lot.

And there are many, many more. Check out the Zippi web page for available cats, and if you can help, give them a call at 310-379-1264. Open adotpions are held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursdays and from 1 to 3 p.m. Sundays at the VCA Coast Animal Hospital at 1560 Pacific Coast Highway, Hermosa Beach.

But you can also call them for an appointment at other times.

 

Since I posted earlier today about the 10 wackiest dog and cat names released by the folks at the Veterinary Insurance group, I figured I should follow up with a bit of a warning.

Read any "How to name your dog" book or article, and they'll tell you to pick a name you can -- without embarrassment -- call out loud in a crowd.

This rule was broken by Rollin Keller's Aunt Jean. Rollin is a former pastor of mine who spins family tales on his new blog called Old Guys Rule. I posted an earlier story of his last month about the cat that ate the wedding cake. (He's got several other animal related posts up, as well.)

But when it comes to naming your dog, My Aunt's Dog really is one you should read -- and remember:

 

My Aunt's Dog

You know you want one. So why not take the plunge and just get yourself tha dog or cat you've been promising yourslef.

In fact, do it on Saturday, when our friends at the SPCA-LA host a pet adoption in Long Beach. (OK, it's not exactly the South Bay, but close enough)

Actually, it's the Mark and Brian Adoption Day, but I doubt they're actually the ones bringing the animals.

Other activities include.

 

LIVE BROADCAST from 95.5 KLOS from 10am to 3pm

- SILENT AUCTION: From 10am to 3pm

- ASK THE TRAINER: A qualified spcaLA trainer will be available with tips on how to train your new pet!

- ASK THE VET: A spcaLA vet will be on-hand to answer questions about the care of your new family member!

- COFFEE BEAN will provide cool refreshments, for a donation.

- HONEST TEA will give away samples.

Now all you need are the time and place.

The folks at Veterinary Pet Insurance have sent out their 10 most unusual dog and cat names for the second year. There are also descriptions as to how these names were chosen on the web site. And actually, there are more than 10 -- see more of them on the group's web site as well:  

Dogs

Cats

	Doogie Schnauzer Md		Snag L. Tooth
	Sargent Sausage		Clawed Monet
	I Am Sparticus		Velvet Elvis
	Lunchbox		Eartha Kitty
	Angus Sir Loin		Blue Man Chew
	Bam-Bam Noodle Butt		Catzilla
	Mouse Meat		Thurston Picklesworth III
	Fluffernutter		Yardsale
	Kanye East		Dishwasher
	Inspector Foo Foo		Polly Prissypants

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the latest push to help pet owners spay and neuter their pets at affordable prices, Clinico, a nonprofit pet clinic, is now up and running on the grounds of the Harbor Care Animal Center, 957 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro. Appointments are available by calling Clinico at 310-241-0768. Hours are 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays.

City officials and shelter volunteers turned out for Thursday's ribbon-cutting ceremony. (For more details, check out the full Daily Breeze story.)

Also make sure to see Daily Breeze photographer Brad Graverson's online photo gallery from this morning's event. Here are a couple of the shots he took:

 

 

Probably not, but I had to do SOMETHING to get your attention. There's a lot of competition on the Internet. A guy's got to stand apart from the crowd.

There WAS a knife-wielding gorilla but it wasn't anywhere near here. And not realizing exactly what it was holding, it didn't take anybody hostage and demand safe passage out of the zoo.

CALGARY -- There's no gorilla warfare going on at the Calgary Zoo.

Photographs taken after a keeper accidentally left a knife in the zoo's gorilla enclosure appear to tell a menacing story. One shows a gorilla, named Barika, clutching the blade in her black, hairy hand, seemingly pointing the sharp end at an unsuspecting troop mate sitting nearby.

But zoo officials say the primates don't understand the idea of using weapons and were never in any real danger.

A keeper carried the paring knife into the enclosure to help prepare food for the gorillas, said Cathy Gaviller, the zoo's director of conservation, education and research.

 

 

My dog fell asleep on my computer!

No really. Look at this picture. He hasn't moved in weeks. And yes, I was actually reading about beer when he konked out on my laptop. I haven't tried it myself, but have it on good authority that Pliny the Elder beer is rather tasty.

I'll be better from now on. 

   

From the e-mail:

Los Angeles area: Pups dumped into my neighbor's yard still need a home -- both are female, 8-10 weeks old and expected to be about 20-30 lbs. They've had their first set of shots. (Foster owner) is already training them to sit. If you can give them a home, call Shawnda, 323-662-7818.

 

 

 

They're the two L.A. labs that went 'round the world in an e-mail phenomenon earlier his year after their owner, who could not take them with her when she downsized from a house to an apartment, sent out a plea to find the dogs a new home together. (They were adopted.)

Our original post from January 22 continues to draw comments as links to it apparently keep circulating around the nation. The post includes updates letting people know the dogs were adopted.

But the Cookie & Coco allure continues and emails are still circulating (Josh got the latest version from a friend recently, who suggested he might want to put the plea for a new home for these dogs up on the blog). 

We've also received several more comments on our original post in just the past week, although it looks as if people are (finally) getting the word that the dogs have long since found a new home.

So I thought it was a good time for a fresh update here at South Bay Pets.

First of all, I spoke this morning with the former owner, Sarah, who tells me Cookie and Coco are doing well (being "spoiled," actually, she said). They remain in the same home they were placed in some four months ago now and it's worked out beautifully, she said. Both Sarah and the dogs' new owners live fairly close to one another in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles so Sarah's children can continue to visit the dogs if they wish.

"My girls (the dogs) are fabulously happy," Sarah told me on the phone. "We did the right thing, the only thing we could at the time."

She has been working with some nonprofit groups on behalf of shelter dog rescue work and also mentioned that Cookie and Coco have been the subject of a couple of children's books, with proceeds going to dog rescue organizations.

She also forwarded to us the email below which she sent out recently to those who have contacted her.

I've posted some of the more recent comments the original post has received on the jump.  

 

How about those chihuahuas? 

Here's a tale out of Riverside County where three chihuahuas apparently held a cougar at bay.

There's a homemade video on KTLA's web site..

It all started when 23-year-old Ana Lee Spray in Sage, Calif., went out to the garage to see why her dogs were barking so much Saturday morning. There, she encountered a full-grown mountain lion.

The chihuahuas, which weigh about 3 pounds each, had cornered the mountain lion. The big cat appeared to be angry and began hissing at her and foaming at the mouth. Spray called 911 and then grabbed her video camera.

The pint-sized puppies refused to back off and kept barking for about 45 minutes until two Riverside County Sheriff's deputies arrived.

They were followed by the Department of Fish and Game officers who shot the mountain lion three times with a tranquilizer gun. The mountain lion took off, but was shot and killed when it lunged at an officer.

We posted last month about another a chihuahua in Oregon who chased a cougar off and saved her companion, a border terrier. I'll have to adjust my image of the tiny breed. (My colleague who owns 2 chihuahuas tells me their bark is basically all they've got for defense, so they learn to use it well.)

****Updated story This one has the pups' photo & names (Abby, far left, Gita, front right, and Lena). They look like they're back on patrol:

 

 

 

 

 

This is Alfie, who looks like a miniature German shepherd or a mini fox without the bushy tail. (He's apparently smaller than he appears in this photograph.)

From the email of the person handling the L.A.-based adoption:

He is probably a chihuahua mix with mini Dobie or maybe Jack Russell. He is 11 months old and weighs 10 pounds. He was found running around a place of work. He is good with dogs, children, and cats. he is neutered, vaccinated, dewormed, fecal test done, frontlined, and microchipped. Contact Terrell at 323-385-8993 or tc2806@hotmail.com.

 

There was plenty of fun to be had this weekend at the local dog park. Carma, a 6-month-old Labradoodle, and Winston, a young Bernese Mountain Dog, became fast wrestling partners:

The king of cable blowhards, Bill O'Reilly, has been predicting that if gay people are allowed to get married, then everybody will be able to marry goats. Or something like that.

It seemed a tad over the top to me, but looks like he was on to something: Dogs are now getting married! There's even a Web site devoted to it.

OK, there are Web sites dedicated to everything. And honestly, I'm just mentioning O'Reilly to get more traffic. 

Judging by the time people are fleeing the office these days, I gather there's some sort of basketball thing going on. Maybe it's March Madness or something.

I'm not into sports, but here's a dog that should be a Laker. They'd win the championship in five games if they did.

 

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The award-winning documentary Wiener Takes All will be shown at 2:30 p.m. Sunday (6/14) at San Pedro's Warner Grand Theatre, 478 W. Sixth St.

The Canadian-made movie, which has won numerous film festival awards, looks at the wacky world of dachshund racing.

Come early, at 2 p.m., and you can see some of the "stars" strutting their stuff on the theater's red carpet.

Tickets are $10 each ($7 for senior citizens and students).

Or buy tickets beforehand in person by showing up tomorrow at San Pedro's outdoor Farmers Market (9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday). Volunteers from Pedro Pet Pals -- a group that supports the Harbor Animal Care, the L.A. city-run animal shelter in San Pedro -- will be out there selling tickets. Wearing funky wiener dog hats, I'm told, so you can't really miss them. The weekly market is set up in the street along the 400 block of West Sixth Street.

Part of the movie ticket proceeds will go to Pedro Pet Pals.

Online tickets can be purchased also through the Warner Grand Theatre. 

 

 

Anyone out there use one of these leash couplers for walking two dogs at one time? I've seen them at the stores and would like to give it a try. Do they work?

There's a new web site devoted to cute kittens! How cute is that?

 

 

There are photos and videos for the kitten lovers among you.

Give them a visit, at cutekittenfan.

 

 

  

Here's a new book -- Dogology by Vicki Croke and Sarah Wilson -- that explores how we relate to our dogs and what that all says about our personality types.

"What we've done in Dogology is to organize and clarify all those gut feelings most of us have when observing the interaction of different personality types with their dogs," the authors said.

They've come up with nine types: Soul Mate, Expert, Dynamo, Angel, Idealist, Master, Free Spirit, Observer and Buddy.

Are you a Free Spirit? You may be if you cannot get your dog to come when called -- and when that happens, you shrug and say, "I guess we're staying."

Dogology: What Your Relationship with Your Dog Reveals About You (224 pages) is published by Rodale and priced at 17.95 but it's also available through Amazon.

From the Amazon product description:

While most of us recognize that a rescuing Angel (type) needs to save the neediest dog at the local shelter, what makes a Soul Mate a soft touch for round-headed, big-eyed toy breeds such as Shih Tzus, Pugs, and Pekingese. Authors Vicki Croke and Sarah Wilson, experts on the complex bond between dogs and their owners, use quizzes, psychological insights, and humor to analyze why dog owners gravitate toward certain breeds as pets-and to explain what owner's choices reveal about their character and emotional makeup. With Dogology in hand, anyone visiting a dog park can instantly spot the various types and subtypes, from the Image Maker fashionista with her accessory Yorkie peeking out of her Prada bag, to the Free Spirit, whose dog often bears a botanical name and rarely comes when called. Similarly, readers will themselves learn that paying attention to the words they choose to praise their dog reveals the specific approval that they crave themselves. With quick checklists to identify what type of dog owners readers are, tips for training, and exercises for bonding with one's dog, Dogology will make a welcome addition to any of the 43.5 million American households that now own at least one dog. 

So what type do you think you'd be?  

 

Just in time for summer, a new book has hit the market called The Dog's Guide to Surfing.

That's right. If your dog likes the water and the beach, this handy guide could be for you.

Cowboy found a new pal at the dog park today, Logan, a border collie-Australian shepherd mix (just like Cowboy), who was visiting from Oklahoma where he lives on a ranch. Cowboy's on the left (and the top), below.

The Humane Society has announced rules for its pet photo contest.

Lots of categories (pets, people & pets, down on the farm, shelter life), two grand prize winners will get $1,000.

Entries are judged on creativity, composition, photo quality and appropriateness to the category. All entries must be postmarked on or after June 15 but no later than July 31. They must be received by Aug. 7.

For all the details, go to the American Humane Society's Pets and Pals Photo Contest page. 

 

 

Well, sort of.

Slow news day at the White House  apparently, but Bo the Dog got some extra attention from the Washington press corps earlier this week.

Photos courtesy of ABC News..

 

 

Proposed California budget cuts could cut the time stray animals are held in government-funded animal shelters, according to the SF Gate.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan calls for a decrease in the amount of time shelters are required to hold animals, from the current six days to three.

 

HT: L.A. unleashed

 

 

 

Deborah Davidson Harpur of Harbor City, a go-getter when it comes to training and competing her dogs in agility and getting them on camera, writes to tell us her two rat terriers, Gigi and Rickie Roo, will appear in the series "Life After People" at 10 p.m. tonight on the History Channel.

I'm not familiar with the show, but it apparently looks at what would happen to the world if people vanished.

According to the web site, tonight's episode ("Sin City Meltdown") looks at "the apocalyptic future of our gambling meccas. In Las Vegas, a new rat pack takes over, wax figures of celebrities melt and iconic hotels crumble. In Atlantic City, the ocean tears apart casinos, but the boardwalk refuses to be destroyed."

Wow.

Not sure what role Gigi and Rickie Roo will play in this scenario. Perhaps they are the survivor rat pack. But tune in and check them out. Or you can watch the video on history.com after its first airing tonight.

 

Have I mentioned recently how much I loathe foxtails?

Those little dry thistles that can wreak havoc with dogs, especially long-haired dogs, when they burrow into their skin, toes, ears, eyes or nose?

I spent this morning pulling and raking and bagging several clusters of the evil stickers to get them out of my backyard. I confess that I'd waited too long, I should have done this a good month ago when they were still green and attached to plants that can be pulled out whole.

A gardener helped me rid my backyard of the things two years ago and last year we had no recurrence. But several days ago, I began noticing them being traipsed into the house by Tess and Cowboy, who love nothing more than to hang out in the backyard all day. (Carried by the wind, they can get rooted again very easily.) It was time to take action.

 

 

I formally declared war this morning. The 90-minute battle left me with five blisters and a sore back, but with considerably fewer foxtails in the yard.

I got most of them, I think, but even a sprig or seed of one left behind is enough to cause trouble so I'll have to head out there again..Also called "wild barley," the stickers are a real hazard to dogs. They have sharp points and microscopic barbs. They bore in, not out. I hate them, hate them, hate them. They are evil.

As for amunition, what I really need at this stage is a monster outdoor vacuum that would suck all the remaining loose, whispy things up. But I'm not sure such a thing is available.

Any experiences out there with foxtails? Either with your dogs or in having found good (efficient?) ways to get rid of them? Without slashing and burning the entire yard?  

Meanwhile, I'm trying to check my long-haired dogs' coats frequently to make sure none of the weeds are lodged in there. It's especially important to check in between their toes as well, and that's not always easy. The long hair makes it tough.

But missing one could spell big trouble. I still remember the couple I met in my vet's waiting room last year whose Lab had been through all kinds of horror as doctors tried to track a foxtail that had gotten into their dog's bloodstream and kept moving when they tried to surgically extract it. Foxtails can literally be fatal to a dog if they lodge in the heart or another vital organ.

I've been lucky. So far only one of my former dogs, a little terrier mix named Fritz who has been gone several years now, has been nailed by foxtails. He sniffed two of them up his nose one evening. When he came into the kitchen sneezing violently and spraying blood, I immediately gathered him up and headed for the animal ER in Torrance where a couple hours (and lots of money) later, the vet showed me the two foxtails they'd gotten out of his nose.

My own vet tells me the best way to get rid of foxtails is to pull them out of the ground by their roots. But once they dry out and detach from their plants, as they're doing right around this time of year, it all becomes much more complicated.

I found a lot of good information on the Web about foxtails and their dangers to dogs. Read them and shudder:

• Foxtail dangers for dogs
• Dog Owners' Guide to California Foxtails
• Foxtails Are Dangerous to Dogs!
• Protect Your Dog from Cheatgrass & Foxtails
• Foxtails in California are a danger to dogs
• Foxtails (includes a good run-down of symptoms your dog may exhibit)

Seems like I'm always in search of a good bag that's not too cumbersome to take to the dog park or for an especially long walk or trip somewhere.

Here's the latest entry in the dog walking gear: the Houndbag.

 

HT: Barkability

 

Dog owners in Carlisle, Pa.,  are in line to get a new 4-acre dog park in their community, thanks to city officials and volunteers coming together to execute the plan.

Much of the work will be done using in-kind donations of labor and the volunteers organizing the effort will hold fundraisers.

 

 

A week ago today I covered the Memorial Day observance up at Green Hills Cemetery. Among those participating were San Pedro dog trainer Peter Burmeister and his German shepherds.

Pete has been training police and military dogs for many years and I was amazed at how mellow these animals -- who will attack on command -- were around children and other people who wanted to pet them. Pete stood close by supervising, but the dogs, who both weighed nearly 100 pounds each, were as calm as could be.

Also interesting was how attuned they were to Pete's voice and every movement. If he turned away to talk to someone, their eyes were immediately on him, watching his every move.

Those were Pete's dogs also who were featured in Josh's Daily Breeze story from May 23  when the military dog cemetery was rededicated at Fort Mac in San Pedro. Josh told me later that one of the former handlers who attended the ceremony told him the guys would typically spend the first full two days with their dogs reading aloud from the newspaper to them -- to completely acclimate the canines to the sound of their voice.

Do you talk to your dogs very much? I've been trying to talk to mine more (but not in a crazy dog lady way, you understand). I think it does help to make them more attentive to you.  

 

 

 

Any of you ever use this unofficial off-leash area in Playa del Rey?

Picking up a story from the Argonaut, this is from our fellow pet bloggers at L.A. Unleashed:

An unofficial off-leash dog park in Playa del Rey has now become off-limits. The property, near Manchester Avenue, is owned by the gas company and has been wink-winkingly called the "Gas Company Dog Park" but never officially held that purpose.

....

As of last week, the Gas Company Dog Park is closed for business -- and dog owners who frequented it are lamenting its loss.

Meanwhile, L.A. Unleashed points readers to this L.A. Times site for a list of off-leash dog parks and dog-friendly beaches in the L.A. area.

We have plenty of "unofficial" dog parks in the South Bay and Harbor Area. But it is illegal to unleash dogs outside of a legal, fenced-in dog park, so beware. Those off-leash tickets pack a whollop.

(Anyone know how much an off-leash ticket costs these days?)

Map from L.A. Unleashed 

A rare Guadalupe fur seal was rescued Sunday at the tidepools at Cabrillo Beach.

Read more about it from reporter Larry Altman on the Daily Breeze home page and also on the Pipeline blog. 

The 15-pound pup was not with its mother and was taken to the marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro. They are now quite rare and generally are found on Guadalupe Island off Baja.

By the way, the second photo here has gotten a couple comments from readers who spotted it on our Pipeline blog. They were upset that we showed a young boy snapping a cell phone picture of the animal at close range. What do you think? Wilflife experts, of course, are always reminding spectators to stay clear of beached creatures and not to disturb them. Somehow this youngster slipped in to get pretty close.