May 2011 Archives

Check out Muhammed El-Hasan's Daily Breeze "At Work" column about Jennifer Stewart, an artist in Redondo Beach who specializes in animal images. 

Friends of L.A. Animal Shelters has received its nonprofit status.

You can sign up for the e-newsletter and follow them on Facebook and Twitter

You can contact them at:

Friends of L.A. Animal Shelters
2804 Gateway Oaks Dr.
Sacramento, CA 95833

323-300-GIVE/4483

 

A Woodland Hills man -- who has cancer -- returned from a funeral to find the family's two Yorkshire terriers had been stolen by burglars.

I love Long Beach. It's fast turning into the city with the most (and best) dog parks. 

Opening festivities begin at 11 a.m. Saturday when there will be a grand opening ceremony. Normal dog park hours will be from 8 a.m. to dusk.

On opening day, Long Beach City Councilman James Johnson said there would be representatives from Animal Care Services as well as a few different pet-related businesses handing out information packets and celebrating the new park at 3400 Golden Avenue. Call the councilman's office at 562-570-7777 for details and dog park rules.

The popular "Top Dogs" show in Rolling Hills Estates -- part of the 24th annual Street Fair and Music Festival sponsored by the Palos Verdes Peninsula Chamber of Commerce -- will be expanded this year to include a Pet Expo and pet adoptions:

As usual, the Top Dogs Show promises to be great fun for kids and adults alike. The show will begin with a therapy dog demonstration by Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center Torrance, the official presenter of the 24th Annual PV Street Fair and Music Festival.

In addition to a costume contest with the theme of "Superheroes," there will be contests for biggest and smallest dog, shortest tail, best kisser, best singer, fastest-wagging tail, loudest barker, most-wrinkled dog, longest haired dog, and rarest breed. The Best Trick Contest is always amazing and delightful to watch as is the Dog & Owner Look-Alike contest.

It all happens from noon to 6 p.m. June 11.

Entry fee is $10 per dog and proceeds will be donated to Grace Animal Rescue in El Segundo.

Festivities will conclude with a dog-owner parade.

Rescue animals will be available for adoption from Beagles & Buddies, doggies 911, Grace Animal Rescue, L.A. City Department of Animal Services, PAL Rescue & Adoption and South Bay Cats.

For information -- or to become a Dog Show sponsor or an exhibitor at the Pet Expo, call the chamber at 310-377-8111 or go to the website: www.pvstreetfair.com.

This is Chester who's gone out on the "urgent" list for the Harbor Animal Care Center, 957 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro:

**URGENT**
CHESTER - A1190997
HARBOR SHELTER - SAN PEDRO, CA

‎**URGENT** CHESTER - A1190997 HARBOR SHELTER - SAN PEDRO, CA Chester is a beautiful 6 yr old brawn and tan German Shepherd. He weighs 88 pounds and has been at Harbor Shelter since February 21, 2011. Contact: Harbor Animal Care Center, San Pedro, CA Direct Line 310.548.2632 Kennel Supervisior, Leslie Corea, city cell 213.305.8323 leslie.corea@lacity.org

For those of you who tuned in over the months to watch LeeLee, Bella and Betty -- orphaned baby squirrels rescued by volunteers at Coast & Canyon Wildlife Rehabilitation .....  

Daily Breeze colleague Larry Altman filed an update on the two dogs involved in that mauling in Wilmington.

And I wrote a story today on the ongoing dispute between a San Pedro neighborhood and the U.S. Postal Service (over a dog). 

Remember that story about the dogs that were dumped on Imperial Highway a couple weeks ago?

The SPCA's South Bay Pet Adoption Center has three of them now up for adoption. The center is at 12910 Yukon Ave. The phone number is (310) 676-1149.

Available are:

  Bugsy (11-03263)  







  Starr (11-03276)





  Lulu (11-03262)

Cesar Millan (the "Dog Whisperer") has launched a new contest that invites fans to send in a photo of their dog -- and the celebrity they think their dog resembles.

It's a fun idea and the top 10 will appear on www.cesarsway.com

Cesar also is looking for a dog that looks like him. Send entries to contest@cesarmillaninc.com -- see the website for entry details. You can also vote for your favorites on the website's gallery.

This will give you an idea of what they're looking for:


 

The folks at State Farm Insurance sent us a news release today after reading colleague Larry Altman's story from last month detailing the mauling of three people by two dogs -- an American bulldog mix and a pit bull terrier-Akita mix -- that had gotten out of their yard in Wilmington.

A follow-up story included interviews with the victims.

State Farm reported 369 dog bite claims in California last year, paying out more than $11 million in settlments. Nationally, the carrier reported nearly 3,500 dog bite claims and paid more than $90 million.

A dog's tendency to bite depends on such factors as heredity, obedience training, socialization, health and the victim's behavior. There are good dogs and bad dogs within every breed, just as there can be responsible and irresponsible owners of each breed. State Farm "does not refuse insurance based on the breed of dog a customer owns, but does require policy holders to answer questions about their dogs' history on a homeowner insurance policy.

With Dog Bite Prevention Week coming right up -- May 15-21 -- it's probably a good time to review ways to prevent dog bites.

The American Veterinary Medical Association has some helpful tips.


Meanwhile, a more recent story that I covered for the Daily Breeze detailed the situation -- still ongoing -- in a San Pedro neighborhood where the Post Office has stopped delivering mail for going on six weeks now because of a dog.

The Los Angeles Department of Animal Services said there's no comparison between what occurred in the 800 block of 17th Street in San Pedro and what happened with the Wilmington attacks last months.

But it's a good reminder to all of us to make sure our gates are latched and fences secure. After all, dogs have a natural instinct to protect their property and families, so strangers (even "regular" strangers like letter carriers or gardeners or meter readers) coming up to your door are especially vulnerable.

And it's short.

If you're looking for a new member of the family, stop by the pet adoption event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday (5/7) at the upper picnic area at Hesse Park at Hawthorne Boulevard and Locklenna Lane in RPV.

The city of Rancho Palos Verdes is partnering with the Los Angeles Harbor Animal Care Center to hold the event.

Adoption fees are accepted in the form of cash or check only (no credit or debit cards).

Check out some of the animals in advance.

Be sure to read our story today about the 15 dogs that somehow wound up on busy Imperial Highway in El Segundo on the night of April 27.

Seven of the dogs were rescued and former "Grey's Anatomy" actress Katherine Heigl is offering a $5,000 reward to any tpister who can help authorities find whoever abandoned them. Call 800-540-SPCA.

This 15-pound white terrier mix is among the 15 dogs apparently dumped on Imperial Highway recently.