January 2012 Archives

I received a call today from Theresa Sardisco -- who founded Pedro Pet Pals a few years back -- saying that LA city's Harbor Area shelter is in dire need of blanket donations.

The nights, she said, have been especially cold and the shelter is running low on blankets.

You can drop blankets off at the shelter between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday or from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. The shelter is closed on Mondays. The shelter is at 957 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro.

Theresa said a blanket drive is being planned for February with newly elected 15th District Councilman Joe Buscaino.

But donors don't have to wait for that, she said. Extra blankets are needed now. Used blankets are fine, but they should be clean.

There are many differences, of course. 

A dog pound in Ohio wound up with a pot bellied pig recently.

The pig's name? Bacon Bits.

He apparently liked French fries.

The pig, according to this story, has been given to a rescue farm.

What?

A new dog park for San Pedro?

Well, you'll have to join the Air Force to use it. But still. Kind of exciting to hear even a hint about San Pedro dog park plans after waiting and waiting -- and waiting -- for plans to get back on track to develop a permanent, sufficiently sized dog park to serve the community.

(The current park on Harbor Boulevard, a concession negotiated in the Knoll Hill-Eastview Little League skirmish from several years ago, is only temporary. And it's tiny, under 1 acre for both large and small dogs, which is substantially below the city's recommended size for dog parks.)

But I digress.

This new one will serve the residents of the Pacific Heights and Pacific Crest military housing areas in San Pedro. It's small, but I'm sure it'll be appreciated by the residents. Looks like there already are questions from the public about the proposed space which is near the northwest side of the White Point Nature Preserve. 

Here's the blurb from the Palisades Residents Association newsletter:

New Dog Park in Pacific Heights alongside WPNP Bluff Trail

Tierra Vista, who manages the military housing for the Air Force has begun constructing a dog park that will be 150 feet by 75 feet near the north west side of the White Point Nature Preserve fence - for Pacific Heights and Pacific Crest Air Force Housing residents only.

According to Molly Markel, Community Manager, the fencing will be 5 feet tall and black to match the color of the existing fence. Tierra Vista will be installing irrigation to grow grass to an area of 50 feet by 100 feet. Another path will be installed, made of crushed rock to mimic the existing landscape. The surrounding landscape, will be left the same - not disturbing the natural look of the area.

The hours of operation for the dog park will be 7 days a week, but only from dawn till dusk to respect neighbor's privacy - namely on Hamilton and Silvius. Landscapers will be responsible to keep the area aesthetically pleasing as part of their contract.

Peggy Frezon likes M&Ms. (So do I.)

Her dog, Kelly, likes doggie cookies. The more the better. (Ditto my dogs.)

And thus was born Dieting With My Dog, Frezon's memoir about how she lost 40 pounds (and, yeah, the dog lost weight, too) .

It was a checkup at her veterinarian's office that proved the inspiration for owner and dog
to embark on a new weigh loss program.

In the crowded field of weight loss books, this one looks to do well as it combines our love of dogs with how to make positive, practical changes in their lives -- and ours.

Now why didn't I think of that?

Harmony was taken from her owner's car in the Manhattan Village shopping center shortly after Christmas. 

I have a very vocal cat, Annie.

So I was interested in this article at Vetstreet about why some cats meow at us so much.


Often (we're not really shocked to learn) it's to get something from us. Dinner, a stroke, a scratch behind the ear.

Or sometimes they're letting us know it's just time to get up and out of bed already. Breakfast is late.

















Annie often meets me on the front steps as I drive up at night, meowing all the way down the steps and then coming back up onto the porch with me.







Do you have a vocal cat? (According to the article, they learn pretty quickly that meowing will get them fed or petted or something else that they want.)









Now that I think about it, my cat really is quite multi-talented.

She also does couch yoga.

While I was at church today the dogs managed to pull a big, red tin filled with Christmas cookies off the kitchen counter and onto the floor. 

We've escaped a good skunking for a few years now.

But on Wednesday night I came home to that too-familiar-awful scent as I walked up the front steps. When I opened the door, it was worse.

I didn't have time to deal with the crisis (it was clearly Tess, not Cowboy, who had been hit) as I had to dash off to cover a night meeting.

When I finished work a few hours later, I discovered that Tess had apparently rubbed herself ALL OVER my bed, making matters a whole lot worse.

It was so bad I wound up spending the night on the sofa after stripping everything off the bed to throw into the wash and opening a big window in the bedroom to air the room out. The dogs were locked in the kitchen.

By morning, the bedroom smelled a lot better. All the bedding also seemed to be fresh after a couple of washings using not just detergent but a healthy portion of baking soda. I sprinkled baking soda on the bare mattress as the skunk scent also had reached that level.

I had a busy schedule the next day at work so I called Kimberley Foley from Dino's Pet Shoppe and arranged to drop Tess off with her groomer in the morning for a strong bath with Nature's Miracle Skunk Remover.

The dog smells much better. So does the house.

The only thing that's still in doubt is a relatively new wool blanket I'd bought late last year for our extra-cold nights. The dry cleaners said they may not be able to get the skunk scent completely out of that. But they're giving it a try. We'll know in a week.

So what's up with all the skunks lately? We've seen several in the neighborhood on our walks recently. I guess I associate them with summer months.

Is it the winter heat we've been getting? Or is this some kind of a usual skunk "season"?

I'm a big fan of dog obedience classes.

Some of my dogs have gone through several, some repeating old classes, others moving on to more challenges. We always learn something in every one we take.

The classes also are a lot of fun, providing a good bonding time for you and your canine.

And the South Bay and Harbor Area are blessed with some excellent class offerings and trainers.

Barbara Millman, a retired LAUSD special ed teacher, has been training dogs as an avocationfor many years now and offers an excellent beginning/introductory class at 8:30 a.m.Saturday mornings in the parking lot outside Dino's Pet Shoppe, 1724 Palos Verdes Drive


North, Harbor City (in the shopping center on the southeast corner of Western & PV Drive N, across the street from the Fresh & Easy).

A brand new class begins this Saturday, Jan. 7 (cost is $70 for 7 weeks). The first meeting is for owners only, so leave the dog at home. It's a time for the instructor to get to know class members and their specific dog-related issues better; she'll also go over the equipment you'll need to have (what style of collar, leash, etc.). You'll get plenty of one-on-one help in this class.

If Tuesday nights or Wednesday mornings work better for you, the Lomita Obedience Training Club offers obedience classes for all levels, from puppy manners to beginning and advanced obedience. The club, which is nonprofit and operates at Lomita Park under the city's parks department, will launch its new session of classes next week (week of Jan. 9).

(Photo above shows dogs in a long sit during one of the club's annual obedience competitions.)

This is the second or third story like it I've seen in the past several months.

It comes out of West Valley City, Utah,  where a stray cat reportedly survived not just one, but TWO trips into the animal shelter's gas chamber.

The cat, named Andrea, now has a new home.


(The Salt Lake Tribune, Djamila Grossman/Associated Press) - Janita Coombs plays with her cat, Andrea, at her Syracuse, Utah home, on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011. The Utah city may put an end to its gas chamber after Andrea survived a shelter's two attempts to euthanize her. Animal shelter volunteers are expected to appear at a West Valley City Council meeting Tuesday evening to make the case for using lethal injections instead.