misters : July 2008 Archives
Work began this week to install the mister system at the new Harbor Animal Care Center at 957 N. Gaffey St. in San Pedro.
The system is expected to be complete and working by the end of this week.
In the photo at right taken by Daily Breeze photographer Brad Graverson, a dog named Max watches Ray Vanegas work on Tuesday.
A Daily Breeze story today focuses on the new efforts to recruit volunteers at the shelter.
San Pedro now has a spanking new animal shelter.
It's bigger and way nicer than the former facility, which was half a century old and cramped beyond reason.
But with the city of Los Angeles undergoing budget cuts, the shelter at 957 N. Gaffey St. is in need of your help.
Shelter volunteer Theresa Sardisco tells us there will be a meeting for prospective volunteers at 1 p.m. Saturday at the shelter. The new Harbor Volunteer Coordinator, Mercedes Grey, will be on hand to talk about the needs and how local volunteers can help.
Meanwhile, a Daily Breeze story has been published regarding the installation of a cooling misting system at the shelter. The misters, costing the city about $50,000, are expected to be in place by the first week of August.
"The misters are provided at other shelters," Kiran Vohra of the city's Bureau of Engineering explained to me in an email. "Because a climate study completed earlier indicated comparative milder weather in San Pedro for most days of the year, the misters were omitted for this shelter. However, maybe because of the micro-climatic conditions in different parts of San Pedro, it is currently determined that the misters will add to the comfort of the animals and the visitors." .
Let there be mist.
You may recall our earlier post about San Pedro's new, nearly $14 million animal shelter and its
missing misters. The oversight was the focus also of a Daily Breeze story.
The new kennels and grounds at the new shelter (at 957 N. Gaffey St.) are beautiful. But no cooling system was included to provide a light, fog-like mist to lessen the often high temperatures in north San Pedro where the shelter is located. Other shelters have them. But city officials believed that because San Pedro was a "coastal" community, the equipment could be eliminated to save costs. .
The glaring omission was driven home on the shelter's grand opening day when temperatures soared over 100 degrees.
Thanks to some dedicated volunteers like Theresa Sardisco who refused to let animals settle for a mist-less shelter, it looks like the misters will be installed within two weeks.
A vendor from Arizona reportedly was to show city planners his prospective plans today. It will cost about $50,000, but money from a city bond program will pay for it.
Maybe there should be a second grand opening to show off the misters.
Watch for a story in the Daily Breeze this week that will provide more updates.
About the Bloggers
Daily Breeze reporter Donna Littlejohn has shared her homes with a succession of wonderful, funny, and occasionally difficult canines -- Muffin, Fritz, Ellie, Mercy, Pilgrim and now Cowboy, an Australian shepherd-border collie, and Tess, a border collie. From strong-willed terriers to weirdly obsessed Australian shepherds, they've invaded her world with boundless energy, wet noses, muddy paws and soggy tennis balls. But they've really brought so much more than that -- like laughter and joy, some unexpected life lessons, and more than a few tears along the way.
E-mail Donna at donna.littlejohn@dailybreeze.com.
Josh Grossberg grew up with the usual array of animals: goldfish, dogs, hamsters, parakeets and turtles. He now owns the loudest dog in the South Bay(Video: Rocket the Dog) and is the least popular person on his block. He spends his free time in dog parks, pet shops and always has an extra plastic bag in his pocket just in case. He also has a cat.
E-mail Josh at josh.grossberg@dailybreeze.com.