{"id":1358,"date":"2017-06-24T01:17:14","date_gmt":"2017-06-24T01:17:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/life\/pets\/foster-the-fourth-team-effort-for-a-safe-holiday-for-pets\/"},"modified":"2017-06-24T01:17:14","modified_gmt":"2017-06-24T01:17:14","slug":"foster-the-fourth-team-effort-for-a-safe-holiday-for-pets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/pets\/foster-the-fourth-team-effort-for-a-safe-holiday-for-pets","title":{"rendered":"Foster the Fourth\u2014Team Effort for a Safe Holiday for Pets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u00a0\"Foster<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Image courtesy of ACS.<\/em><\/p>\n

Halloween decorations are out as early as late August, Christmas comes TO the stores before Halloween has even left us, so it\u2019s no surprise that idiots start popping off fireworks by the end of May. So this article is way late, and I sincerely apologize.<\/p>\n

The \u201cfireworks are illegal in Long Beach\u201d bulletins from our police and fire departments come out earlier every year as well, but you and I both know that anyone wanting to set off a firework, \u201csafe and sane\u201d (none of them are, entirely) or otherwise, will do it anyway\u2014check out a few of the post\u2019s articles on the topic<\/a>. So we\u2019ll talk about you and how to keep the pet you love as safe and as calm as possible. But first, Long Beach Animal Care Services (ACS)<\/a>\u00a0and a local rescue have come up with a great program in which qualifying residents can help keep other people\u2019s pets safe and at the same time give a shelter dog socialization and a break from the kennel schedule.<\/p>\n

During last year\u2019s July 4 shelter strife, the Animal Resource Team<\/a>\u00a0set up a table in front of the shelter to assist people with their missing pets and give them ideas and assistance for making sure that the animal didn\u2019t escape again, if it was found safe and alive. (See \u201cFireworks and Pets: How to Safeguard Them from Scofflaws\u201d<\/a>). ART volunteer Emily Ghosh, who is also the Founding Partner and Chief Executive Pawfficer (Em\u2019s pun, not mine) of Live Love Pet Care and Animal Rescue Services,<\/a>\u00a0was familiar with a temporary foster program that the Los Angeles County Shelter implements every Fourth of July. Ghosh worked with Ted Stevens, ACS\u2019s Manager, to develop their own version of the program, to be called Foster the Fourth.<\/p>\n

\u201cPets have extreme abilities to get out,\u201d Fifth District Council Member Stacy Mungo said at the presentation at the June 20 City Council Meeting. \u201cThey can escape and run off. Animal control can be overwhelmed by the number of pickups required, and there\u2019s not enough places to hold these animals for the short amount of time necessary for their owners to find them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stevens described how the program would work via a remote broadcast outside City Hall, where he was standing near the shelter\u2019s new mobile adoption vehicle and holding a 2-month-old kitten, who kept kibitzing into the microphone.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery shelter in the country will be inundated with live pets at this time\u2014they kind of displace animals that are waiting for homes,\u201d he said. \u201cSo what we\u2019re trying to do to prevent losing the space is to place these pets in foster homes for about two weeks. You\u2019d pick the dog up July 2 and bring them back around July 16. We\u2019ll provide food if you need it, and we\u2019ll have an emergency contact person for you in case you need it after hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Live Love will be conducting home checks of potential fosters and helping them with education about fostering and filling out the applications. Anyone wanting to help lost pets by fostering a shelter pet is asked to email animalcare@longbeach.gov<\/a><\/strong> immediately before, as Stevens put it, the \u201choliday rush.\u201d<\/p>\n

And you might not want to come back with the pet on the 16th<\/sup>\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes! We definitely hope for some foster fails!\u201d Ghosh said.<\/p>\n

Take Care of Your Pet So the Shelter Won\u2019t Have To<\/h1>\n

One of the things that people can do to keep their pets safe on the holidays is to provide them a safe place, Stevens said. He advised the following:<\/p>\n