Fred Hesse Community Park, 29301 Hawthorne Blvd., Rancho Palos Verdes.
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Recently in pet laws Category
I heard through the grapevine today that there was quite a big police "bust" a week ago or so of people who were off-leashing their dogs at the Joan Milke Flores section of Angels Gate Park in 
San Pedro.
San Pedro. Apparently dozens of off-leash citations were handed out as authorities converged (with a helicopter overhead?) on the area that's become used as an unofficial dog park over the years.
Was anyone reading this there at the time? How much are those tickets costing these days? What's been the impact of the "raid"? Are people still off-leashing there?
Talk to us.
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Meanwhile, Rancho Palos Verdes City Council members tonight will be considering the option of legally allowing dogs (on-leash or off-leash) on the 5-acre Rancho Palos Verdes Beach just below the cliffs at the Trump National Golf Course.
If you're interested in this issue, you can show up and offer your comments:
Here's a link to the Daily Breeze story that ran Monday. It includes some specifics from the staff report that will be put before council members tonight.
Animal welfare advocates are gathering today in Sacramento as part of Humane Lobby Day, an annual nationwide event sponsored by The Humane Society of the United States and the ASPCA.
Advocates are meeting with lawmakers to urge support of legislation to "protect sharks, combat illegal animal fighting and to prevent animal abuse and neglect." You can find out more here.
Advocates are meeting with lawmakers to urge support of legislation to "protect sharks, combat illegal animal fighting and to prevent animal abuse and neglect." You can find out more here.
Among the bills being discussed:
- AB 376, authored by Assemblymembers Paul Fong, D-Cupertino and Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael. Prohibits the possession, sale, trade and distribution of shark fins.
- SB 425, authored by Sen. Ron Calderon, D-Montebello. Establishes minimum fines for animal fighting and adds cockfighting to the profiteering statute.
- SB 917, authored by Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance. Prohibits the roadside sale of animals and increases animal neglect criminal penalties
- AB 1117, authored by Assemblymember Cameron Smyth, R-Santa Clarita. Would clarify animal seizure process and require judges to prohibit ownership of animals by those convicted of animal cruelty for a period of time.
What do you all think about this proposal in the city of L.A.? It would increase the number of pets allowed per home from three to 10 in an effort to cut down on euthanasia rates.
Good idea? Or not?
A longtime ban on dogs (leashed or otherwise) in Redondo Beach city parks remains in place after officials voted Tuesday to turn down a plea for change.
From Kristin Agostoni's story in today's Daily Breeze:
Following the City council's decision Tuesday night to stay the course, at least one dog owners said she would pursue an initiative petition aimed at overturning the ordinance that prohibits pooches in recreation areas, except for the popular off-leash dog zone in Dominguez Park.
Resident Sydnee Singer, who urged the council to make a change, said afterward she would seek volunteers to gather signatures so that voters could have a sya in an upcoming election.
"It just seems silly to me that the council just really is concerned about perhaps a few of the citizens, as opposed to the majority who want to use the parks and will be respectful to them," said Singer, the owner of two male miniature schnauzers, Brewster and Alfredo. "I do believe that the majority of the citizens want this."
....
If Singer and others pursue an initiative petition, they would need to collect signatures from 15 percent of the city's registered voters to get the issue onto a ballot in a special election, or 10 percent in a regular election.
According to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's Office, Redondo Beach has 40,334 registered voters.
We ran a story in the Daily Breeze about the Los Angeles Department of Animal Control's efforts to collect more revenue in dog license fees. The story also details department budget cuts being faced by Animal Services -- among them, the department's toll-free call center is in line to be eliminated, meaning more phone calls will have to be handled by already over-burdened shelter staffers.
(Interestingly, a City Council discussion on the matter prompted one councilman, Tom LaBonge, to actually get his dog licensed.)
I asked department Assistant General Manager Linda Barth during our telephone interview if the city was considering licensing cats.
As a matter of fact, she said, Councilman Bill Rosenthal did ask the department to study that issue. But she said the department's first focus will be on getting more of the city's estimated 350,000 canines licensed as required by law. Currently, only about a third of the dogs in the city have licenses.
Daily Breeze photo by Scott Varley
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.