July 2010 Archives

Sigh. It looks like getting a dog park on the former Palos Verdes Peninsula Landfill in Rolling Hills Estates might take longer than expected, if it even happens.

Mike Gin, field deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe, told Bruce and Maureen Megowan in an email that it could be 2012 before the county would be in a position to even consider the proposal. He writes: 

The Department of Parks and Recreation has initiated a pilot dog park project at Crescenta Valley Park in La Crescenta. It is currently in the design phase and is scheduled to open in June of 2011. As this will be the first county dog park, the department will be evaluating the successes and issues associated with the facility during the first year of operation before considering additional facilities.

Because Crescenta Valley Dog Park is a pilot project, we were not required to change the county code regarding off-leash dogs. However, if the county decides to develop additional dog off-leash facilities, the code would have to be amended prior to development. Due to this timeline, the earliest that we would be able to consider a dog park on the Palos Verdes Landfill would be June 2012.

There also are land safety concerns at the landfill that could delay plans there even longer, Gin noted. So while Gin said that a dog park there "may be a possibility in the long-term," it won't be happening anytime soon.

With that, he encouraged the Megowans and their supporters to continue looking at alternative sites on the peninsula, including Lower Hesse Park and Grandview Park in Rancho Palos Verdes. But even if a dog park component is approved at one or both of those parks, the sites are limited in space. So any dog park there would be quite small.

I'm not sure why it is, but off-leash dog parks around here are just notoriously difficult to establish. Go figure. 

Read our earlier posts on the PV dog park proposal.

Plans are moving forward for a dog park on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Bruce Megowan, who with his wife Maureen have been the driving force behind the idea, recently forwarded letters of support from the cities of Rolling Hills Estates and Palos Verdes Estates  --  along with 800 petition signatures from residents  --  to Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe and his staff.

You can read the letters at these links:

dog park letter.pdf

dog park letter 2.pdf

Proponents are hoping to move the proposal forward soon (the county has jurisdiction over the proposed site -- a 2- to 3-acre spot on the southwest corner of the 175-acre former Palos Verdes Peninsula Landfill). The site already has a curb cut and driveway off of Hawthorne Boulevard, Bruce Megowan noted, as well as a graded parking area and an existing above-ground sprinkler system.

There's still the issue of money. Development cost estimates are $100,000 for fencing, grading, water fountain stations, and other necessities. But Bruce and Maureen are hopeful they'll be able to find the funding through grants and donations.

The landfill is at Palos Verdes Drive North and Hawthorne Boulevard.

  You can see the full proposal on Maureen Megowan's blog.

If you'd like more information or want to offer help or suggestions, contact Bruce at bmegowan@cox.net or Maureen at mmegowan@cox.net.

Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes held a blessing of the animals service on Sunday.

John Linder, who works at the church and first suggested the service to the pastoral staff a decade ago, said 112 people attended this year's event, bringing with them 22+ dogs, 3 cats "and 2 very nice snakes." Oh, and one tortoise. 

John sent us the pictures below.

 

See more photos on the jump by clicking below.

Last week I asked readers if they had any unusual or creative pet names to share. I received this from Joseph. Love the dogs, love the names! 

We lost our dear friend and companion Dim-Sum May 8, 2010, from kidney failure. He was called Dim Sum because my in-laws are Chinese and in Chinese it means a little bit of heart. He was a great little Maltese mix who showed up on my brother in-laws driveway. On May 23rd we rescued the newest member of our pack Wi-Fi, from Perfect Rescue. His older "brother" Fergus was lonely without a friend and we needed to help out a dog who just needed love and a good home. Why the name Wi-Fi? My wife Kathy explains it best.

 

(photo below: Wi-Fi is on the left, Fergus on the right)

 

 

Ok, here is the long and short of the importance of the name:  emotional association  mixed in with the technical stuff-- 
 
1.  Everyone wants Wi-Fi--therefore Wi-Fi the dog is in great demand and he will belong to only us! 
2.  Signs are everywhere--"Free Wi-Fi"--meaning it is a sign to us that we need to free some little doggie from the shelter
3.  Without Wi-Fi , whether on business or vacation or just having to hang out somewhere, one can feel  sad and isolated and disconnected from the world.  Without Dimmy, we have felt the same. So Wi-Fi the dog represents all that is good and uplifting about connecting to the world again. 
4.  The Ying and Yang logo is just another cool association with Chinese philosophy.

From fellow bloggers at the Baltimore Sun: One county in Maryland will charge owners an annual fee to use area dog parks.

Good idea?

Or not?

Dog licenses may get more expensive in Los Angeles.

A City Council committee today moved to charge dog owners $20 instead of $15 a year to license their canine that has been spayed or neutered.

If passed by the full council, the increase could generate about $600,000 in annual revenue.

I'll admit I'm not much of a reptile fan. Lizards scared me as a kid and reptiles in general just never struck me as good pet-potential.

But they do have their fans.

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday (7/17/10), the PetCo stores in the South Bay will host Repitle Rallies featuring specialists who can answer questions about everything from Bearded Dragons to Leopard Geckos.

There is an up side to reptiles as pets -- they don't eat a lot, are relatively cheap and they don't need daily walks.

Reptile owners are welcome to join the rallies, according to the news release.

Others who feel wary around reptile pets are welcome too, to get acquainted with the creatures and attend care and habitat and "how to" seminars ...

 

An estimated 4.7 million households have reptiles as pets, according to the American Pet Products Association Survey from 2009-10.

PetCo stores that are participating include:

Redondo Beach: 537 N. Pacific Coast Highway (310-374-7969), 3901 Inglewood Ave., Suite G (310-344-1370)

Torrance: 24413 Crenshaw Blvd., Suite 8 (Crossroads Shopping Center) (310-530-5945)

Rolling Hills Estates: 51-A Peninsula Center (310-377-5560)

Westchester: 8801 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles (310-645-7198) 

Dog Vader. Purr Diem. Chairman Meow. Boo Manchu. Bettie Poops.

I always love creative dog names and hearing from owners why and how they came up with them.

Recently I was sitting next to the owner of a Dachshund in my veterinarian's waiting room. They'd named him Sieben (ZEE-bin), which is "seven" in German.

The breed's origins, of course, are German -- and he was the seventh dog they've had as a family.

I named one of my previous dogs (an Australian shepherd-border collie mix)  "Mercy."

Just weeks before I found her as a stray, I'd heard a talk on the 23rd Psalm given by Scottish theologian Sinclair Ferguson in which he recalled the faithfulness of the sheepdogs guiding and tending the sheep in his homeland.

Picking up on the verse that says "For goodness and mercy shall surely follow me all the days of my life,"  he compared the constant watchfulness of the dogs to how God shepherds his people. He went on to say that if he ever had a couple sheepdogs he'd name them "Goodness" and "Mercy."

Some people like the more comedic touch in naming pets. The folks at VPI Pet Insurance compile the "wackiest" pet names list each year and they recently published their 2010 list (the names in italics at the top of this thread come from that list).

Now it's your turn: Poetic and serious -- or just plain funny -- what are some of the best names you've heard or used  --  and why did you pick them?

You can either leave a comment here or email me (include a photo of your pet if you'd like) at donna.littlejohn@dailybreeze.com

*** Update: Barnette's appointment was approved by the full Los Angeles City Council on July 13.

Brenda Barnette, the mayor's pick to head up the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services, survived a key hurdle in her confirmation process Monday. The full City Council is set to vote on the appointment today.

This has got to be one of the toughest jobs in the city when it comes to challenges and political sensitivity.

Heather's a Long Beach resident and a friend via mutual church circles & (of course, this being 2010 and all) through Facebook.

But she's also quite the accomplished artist who majors in animals and nature -- including paintings of dogs, necklaces featuring dogs. She especially loves doing commissioned or custom work.

So if you're looking to dangle your dog's likeness around your neck -- or frame your pooch for the living room (remember, Christmas is right around the corner) -- Heather's your gal.

You can find her works online. (You can also find Heather on Etsy.) Here are some samples:

This one is titled "Boston Terrier." It's 16x20 acrylic on stretched canvas. It sells for $225.

Heather's own dog, Margot, a bull terrier, has also been immortalized in an 8x10 and sells for $65:

This one's already been sold:

And the necklaces: 

Is your dog ready for prime time?

Entries are being accepted through July 28 to compete in the South Bay Kennel Club show in August at North High School in Torrance.  

Read here  for more details.

Got a note from Julia, a dog park friend, about her dog Barkley who was adopted from the Harbor Animal Care Shelter in San Pedro in January 2007.

Julia's involved with Basset Rescue and Daphneyland.

Barkley, she said, "is an amazing dog. He has two big dogs here that he loves, but the little hound hates loud noises!"

And that's where the Maytag comes in. It seemed to provide the consolation he needed on the Fourth of July as the fireworks exploded:

 Make it go away!

If you're like me, you have a lot of dog-owning "friends" on Facebook.

These pictures were linked to by a "friend of a friend" and aren't exactly from the South Bay -- they live with their owner Jacki and family (w/cats) in Plainfield, Ill., a suburb of Chicago.

But the pictures were so silly I asked if I could use them on the blog.

Stella is a Bull Terrier/pit bull mix and Fiona is the Boston terrier. You can tell what the pecking order is around their house. 

From owner Jacki: "Stella is at the bottom of the totem pole in a house with four cats and two dogs. She is clearly a scary, vicious pit bull and I'm waiting for her to maul all of us any day now.

"Stella is a rescue dog that was taken by animal control from a nasty, abusive home as a puppy. She has flourished and is a wonderful success story and 'bully breed' advocate."

Stella even defers to Monster, the cat:

Poor Stella.  

One of our readers has informed us that July is National Dog House Repairs Month.

There seems to be a month for everything nowadays, and pet-related themes are no exception.

But who has a plain dog house anymore?

Today's dog owners want style and comfort, complete with air-conditioning and heat. And just maybe running water to boot.

Here's the high-end of dog houses out there, 12 samples of the best of the best. They'll cost you a bundle. But they are sure stylish.

My favorites? the Mexican Hacienda Dog House and the Victorian Dog House:

Your turn: So tell us how your animals fared during the weekend fireworks. Any problems or issues? Successes this year? New strategies tried?  

My neighborhood seemed quieter than usual. Not by much -- and the fireworks continued into Monday night -- but things didn't seem as crazy as in the past.

Cowboy survived, though he still was very anxious even with medication this year. The cat seemed mostly not to notice, at one point she was snoozing away on top of her cat tree as the fireworks boomed all around us.

And how about you & your pets?  How did you all do? Leave a comment below.

The holiday proved difficult for one Santa Rosa police dog, but that story had a happy ending.

Taz, a 70-pound Belgian Malinois, took off after he was startled by the sound of nearby fireworks. He escaped from his backyard sometime between 11 p.m. and midnight Sunday.

Thankfully, he was found Monday by a veterinary technician who spotted the large dog lying on a sidewalk. Taz jumped into her car when she called and the tech scanned him at work finding the microchip ID.

He has since been reunited with his partner, Officer Mike Clark. The European-born and specially trained dog was exhausted and limping with worn nails, but otherwise he appeared to be unharmed.

A friend and I took the Metro rail into downtown Los Angeles where we walked around Olvera Street this past weekend. 

I was struck by all the sweetly drawn animals on Leo Politi's Olvera Street mural depicting the popular Blessing of the Animals event held there each year (by the way, there's a blessing service coming up locally -- at 10 a.m. July 18 -- at Wayfarer's Chapel, but there will be more on that from us later, or just click the link).

I especially liked this girl's basket of cats. Los Gatos.

A tortilla chip please? 

Last but not least, here's Lola. She's quite real -- and very hungry. She was waiting for her mistress, in the foreground in the blue shirt at the far right, or anyone else to take pity and hand her a bit of that authentic Mexican food.

Our society is becoming increasingly dog-friendly.

That's a good thing, yes. But it also makes it even more important that your dog behaves well in public and knows his or her manners.

Palos Verdes Peninsula dog trainer Diane Bassett is offering a four-week class (9:30 a.m. Saturdays, beginning July 24) that will focus on a particular niche for taking your dog out in public: "Creating a Cafe Dog."

This is an intermediate class, meaning those who join should have completed a beginning level clicker training class or another beginning class that uses positive reinforcement.

The class will focus on practical skills that make dogs well-mannered in public, especially at outdoor cafes.

She says the class will teach dogs to ignore things like food dropped in front of them (I'll believe that when I see it), noise and other distractions so you can enjoy your 30-minute visit over latte with a friend -- or just relax and read the Daily Breeze.

This is a new class so Diane is still trying to gauge the interest out there. Registration is open (class cost is $75) and the class will meet at the Lunada Bay Plaza, 707 Silver Spur Road, Rolling Hills Estates.

You can sign up online at the class name link above or call 310-896-6419.

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Diane also sponsors a free "doggie play date" service for South Bay dog owners who are looking for good play date matches for their dogs. You can join the group by clicking the play date link above or by sending an email to:

south-bay-dog-play-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.