South Bay Pets

Pet event Sunday at Manhattan Beach Toyota

2012-02-09T23:45:00Z

There's a big Pet Lovers Event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Manhattan Beach Toyota, 1500 N. Sepulveda Blvd. (310-546-4848), that will include pet adoptions, contests (bring your pet), a low-cost vaccination clinic (11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.) and training and grooming tips.

Vendors include the Lovejoy Foundation, PURRfect Partners and Centinela Feed and Pet Supply.

Celebrity pet expert Harrison Forbes will be on hand with signed copies of his book Dog Talk and there will be giveaways from Kurgo and Pedigree for the first 150 people who show up.

The first 200 people will get a gift bag worth $25.

Contests include best pet trick and best pet costume.

Oh yeah. And there's also a free barbecue thrown in also.

Rancho Palos Verdes Dog Beach? The city wants to hear from you

2012-02-09T20:28:01Z

You may know this area as the old "Trump dog beach," an unofficial, public off-leash dog beach below the famous golf course and country club.

The area last year was transferred from private Trump ownership to the city of Rancho Palos Verdes and now city officials are trying to decide the best use for it.

The City Council will be weighing the options in the next few months, including the question of whether to make the area a legal off-leash dog spot.

You're invited to send you comments (include your name, city of residence) to:

parks@rpv.com

You can also call 310-544-5260. The website is www.palosverdes.com/rpv

Updated: Dog was found and is back home - Lawndale - Urgent lost dog notice: "Olive," tan Chihuahua mix, needs daily meds, lost today near 159th & Hawthorne

2012-02-07T20:35:35Z

Update 2/7/12: I received a call from Olive's owner today saying she turned up at the local animal shelter and now is safe back home. We love those kinds of endings. :-)
_________________________________________

Keep an eye out for Olive if you're in the vicinity of 159th & Hawthorne Blvd. in Lawndale.

The tan Chihuahua mix escaped through an open gate at around 5 a.m. today. She needs DAILY seizure meds and still has an IV port taped to her.

She is microchipped and is wearing bells around her neck.

Call Alice at 310-962-4815.

Spay-neuter clinic open house Wednesday in San Pedro

2012-02-07T01:59:48Z

The SNP LA -- Spay Neuter Project of Los Angeles, formerly called Clinico -- will host an open house from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 8) at its San Pedro site.

Door prizes, refreshments and a tour of the facility will be offered to the public.

SNP LA provides spay neuter services that are affordable and accessible to all pet owners in the Los Angeles area in an effort to create an environment in which animal shelters no longer rely on euthanizing animals as a way of controlling pet population.

The open house -- along with others at the group's Pico Rivera and Van Nuys facilities -- is offered in conjunction with the 18th annual Spay Day which is Feb. 28. Found Animals is assisting in the event.

The San Pedro clinic is located on the grounds of the Harbor Area Animal Care Center, 957 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro.

For more information, check out the SNP LA website. Or call 1-888-WE-SPAY-LA.

Keep their smiles bright

2012-02-06T19:58:46Z

February, according to the folks over at Vetstreet, is Dental Health Month. So they've posted some practical tips on how we can help keep our pets' teeth and gums clean and problem-free. Not only will they be healthier, but we'll save some money. The link above has some good tips on how to maintain good dental health in your dogs and cats.

Brushing your pets' teeth is still recommended as the best way to keep problems at bay, but I'm guessing not a lot of pet owners do that. I'll admit I've had good intentions in the past, but have not managed to work it into a regular health schedule for my 2 dogs and 1 cat.

But I may give it another try.

All three received good checkups at the vet recently -- only one, Cowboy, needed a teeth cleaning and they were able to do that anesthesia-free.

So I suppose now would be a good time to start a new brushing regimen.

Any of our readers bush their pets' teeth? Was it hard to get them used to it? Any special tricks to make it easier?

***Meanwhile, our friends over at i Love Dogs are holding a dog "teeth photo contest" this month.

And the the Most Valuable Puppy/Player is ...

2012-02-06T01:51:39Z

Fumble! Yay. Good job.

Fumble! Fumble! Fumble!

2012-02-04T22:50:46Z

Are we all getting geared up for tomorrow's 8th annual Puppy Bowl?

Well, here's something to cheer about: This year's starting lineup features a Long Beach dog named Fumble.

From the Long Beach Gazette's story linked above:

Fumble, a young Chihuahua/terrier mix from the spcaLA in Long Beach, has just scored in the big time.

The puppy is set to make his television debut as part of the starting lineup on Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl VIII show - aired during Sunday's Super Bowl game.

--Photo courtesy of spcaLA
TOP DOG. Fumble, who came from the spcaLA, will be playing in Sunday's 7th annual Puppy Bowl.

Ana Bustilloz, who is the director of communications and marketing for spcaLA, decided last year that Long Beach needed to find a cute, furry football player to star in the annual Puppy Bowl.

"I asked our wonderful staff to recommend some puppies," Bustilloz said. "Cuteness was a major factor, but the puppy would also need to handle a long plane ride to New York City... We saw Fumble, and he is just so cute. He was a good size and a beautiful puppy."

So all together now: GO FUMBLE!

NYPD dogs go high tech

2012-02-04T22:46:14Z

Did you read about how the NYPD is outfitting their canine units with infrared cameras?

"We're all sheepdogs looking for wolves, and my job is to keep my flock safe," Lieutenant (John) Pappas said.

Yeah, they're 65 cents each. But look at the cool working dog stamps the Post Office is selling

2012-01-24T21:38:27Z

The stamps, which went on sale this week, are designed to work with those square greeting cards that require "extra postage."

"Dogs at Work" highlights four canine careers: guiding, comforting, tracking and searching.

Artist John M. Thompson of Syracuse, N.Y., created original paintings for each stamp in acrylics, based on photographs that he composed.

The guide dog depicted is a Labrador retriever; the tracking dog is a yellow Labrador retriever; the therapy dog is a Welsh springer spaniel; and the search-and-rescue dog is a German shepherd.

Missing, of course, is the sheep herding dog. No respect.

U.S. Post Office art director Howard E. Paine of Delaplane, VA, designed the stamps.

Keep 'em warm -- blanket donations needed at the Harbor Animal Care shelter in San Pedro

2012-01-24T19:58:25Z

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.

The difference between dogs and cats

2012-01-13T19:23:36Z

There are many differences, of course.

But take your basic car ride.

Yes, it was to the vet's office.

But the dogs?

Thrilled. Thrilled beyond comprehension.

Thrilled as in ohboywegettogosomewhereinthecar-wedontcarewhere-welovethecar-weloveriding-wow-wow-wow-welovethewind-YAY-welovethevet-weloveeverything.

WHEEEEEEE

YAYYYYYY

WEAREGOINGSOMEHWEREANDWEDON'TCAREWHEREWEAREGOING.

THISISTHEBESTDAY EVER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Annie the cat? A completely different take.

Rudely tricked/dropped/pushed/squeezed into her red carrier and then strapped into the front seat, she had been deceived.

She was indignant. Offended. Annoyed.

Betrayed. By the staff. (That would be me).

Cats. Go figure.

A pig named Bacon Bits

2012-01-12T21:42:53Z

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.

Air Force housing in San Pedro to get a new (private) dog park?

2012-01-12T00:36:52Z

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.

Dieting with My Dog - a new book

2012-01-11T22:28:19Z

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, the deaf puppy stolen in Manhattan Beach, has been found

2012-01-11T00:19:29Z

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

Good news: She's been found and is back home.

See our earlier posts here and here.