{"id":1887,"date":"2016-05-27T23:06:50","date_gmt":"2016-05-27T23:06:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/life\/pets\/pet-projects-wrigley-kittens-the-proverbial-village\/"},"modified":"2016-05-27T23:06:50","modified_gmt":"2016-05-27T23:06:50","slug":"pet-projects-wrigley-kittens-the-proverbial-village","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/pets\/pet-projects-wrigley-kittens-the-proverbial-village","title":{"rendered":"Wrigley Kittens\u2014The Proverbial Village"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Please send any Long Beach or Seal Beach pet-related events or projects to\u00a0pets@lbpost.com<\/a>. Posting subject to approval.<\/p>\n

Virtually Pets<\/h1>\n

The Nigerian proverb \u201cIt takes a whole village to raise a child,\u201d and cat rescuer and advocate Kelly McHugh Lopes\u2019s Wrigley Kittens<\/a>\u2014and so many of them are\u2014public Facebook group embodies it literally and figuratively.<\/p>\n

Wrigley Kittens is a networking group set up mainly for Wrigley neighbors, but since its appearance about a year and a half ago, it\u2019s attracted other cat people (note well that there are crazy cat men, too) who need help or want to help with\u00a0trap\/neuter\/return<\/a>\u00a0(TNR), feeding, fostering and adopting. McHugh Lopes, a lifelong cat lady, started the group as a networking tool in 2014, a few months after a successful summer of neighborhood TNR.<\/p>\n

\u201cA photo of a tiny baby kitten, abandoned, was posted on the Wrigley Neighborhood Group page, and there were a lot of cats that the homeowners were going to call ACS on,\u201d McHugh Lopes said.<\/p>\n

McHugh Lopes took the bait, and used some herself, likely sardines. She posted a desperate plea for help on the Wrigley Neighborhood page and was put in contact with the Long Beach Spay and Neuter Foundation<\/a>\u00a0(LBSN).\u00a0With the guidance of LBSN\u2019s Antje Hunt, she purchased a trap, learned to use it, and subsequently performed hands-on midwifery and postnatal care. She obtained spay\/neuter vouchers through LBSN and\u00a0Long Beach Animal Care Services<\/a>,\u00a0and then trapped and fixed 13 adults and adopted out about five kittens that summer. McHugh Lopes is an on-the-job learner.<\/p>\n

A year later, another Wrigley neighbor asked for her help in trapping, and this time, she was successful in getting seven out of eight cats spayed and neutered. One, she said, still eludes her and, like the fisherman who\u2019s frustrated by a legendary catfish that\u2019s smart enough to dodge him every season, McHugh Lopes is not giving up.<\/p>\n

During the second summer,\u00a0with kitten season\u00a0<\/a>in full bloom, McHugh Lopes took in three litters \u201cbecause when you trap cats, you get kittens.\u201d And kittens need shots, medication if they\u2019re sick, and fosters and adopters until they\u2019re old enough to get fixed. McHugh Lopes drives the extra mile for the procedures, using the inexpensive resources of\u00a0SNP\/LA\u2019s\u00a0<\/a>San Pedro location along with vouchers from Long Beach Animal Care Services, and a combination of\u00a0Primary Care Veterinary Hospital\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0Golden State Humane Society\u00a0<\/a>in Long Beach for veterinary care.<\/p>\n

McHugh Lopes soon realized that she\u2019d inadvertently committed herself to more than a summer job and that she\u2019d need buy-in from the rest of the village. She created the Wrigley Kittens Facebook page during the summer of 2015 to both network and fund-raise. As a solo trapper and rescuer, McHugh Lopes had spent over $2,000 on needs, most of it on veterinary care and a smaller amount on the voucher copay.<\/p>\n

\u201cSick kittens are expensive, McHugh Lopes said. \u201cCommunity cats [strays, abandoned and homeless animals] tend to be ill\u2014they\u2019re out in the elements and are more susceptible to disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"First<\/p>\n

Wrigley Kittens\u2019 cover photo honors the first litter of kittens that McHugh Lopes took in. There had been five of them when she was contacted. One had died before she reached their location, and another died in her hands. They\u2019d been ill with upper-respiratory infections and eye conditions, but they\u2019re fine now. One made it out to an adoptive home in Kentucky; the other two now live with McHugh Lopes. This is affectionately called foster failure. Photo courtesy of Wrigley Kittens.<\/i><\/p>\n

The Wrigley Kittens page features adoptive cats and kittens and requests for fosters, funding help and trapping assistance in the Wrigley neighborhood. It\u2019s also a go-to place for very funny and irreverent cat videos, photos and cartoons.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very happy with the tenor of the group,\u201d McHugh Lopes said. \u201cI don\u2019t want any naysayers or people who are getting in the way of what we\u2019re trying to accomplish\u2014fixing cats and finding homes for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nothing has ever gotten in McHugh Lopes\u2019s own way of these efforts. She was brought up in an apartment whose landlord didn\u2019t allow animals. She\u2019d always desperately wanted a cat, so the first thing she did when going out on her own at age 20 was to get a cat; the second was to get a job at the Animal Hospital of Riverside.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Dr. Hyo Park, the vet at the clinic] really instilled in me an understanding of the scope of the problem of unwanted animals and that the only solution was spay and neuter,\u201d McHugh Lopes said.<\/p>\n

She went global with her practical philosophy when she accompanied her former husband to Italy and wound up volunteering at\u00a0Torre\u00a0Argentina<\/a>,\u00a0a cat sanctuary and tourist attraction in historic Roman ruins. McHugh Lopes admits to a barely working knowledge of Italian, but she did learn that gattara <\/i>means \u201ccat lady\u201d (pazza <\/i>is \u201ccrazy,\u201d by the way). She took one of the sanctuary\u2019s cats home with her and named her Agata, which means \u201cAgatha\u201d and \u201cagate,\u201d and is a pun on another level. Agata, now 17, lives la dolce vita <\/i>with McHugh Lopes, who now is an English and comparative literature instructor at CSULB.<\/p>\n

Long Beach bibliophiles will be interested to know that McHugh Lopes is responsible for having found Penny her position as bookstore cat at the late and much-lamented\u00a0Acres of Books<\/a>. Penny, along with her three kittens, was another McHugh Lopes rescue, and she had connections at the bookstore and recommended Penny for the job of resident cat. The three kittens\u2014named Calvin, Hobbes and Jenny\u2014all found homes, Hobbes with McHugh Lopes until his recent passing at age 20.<\/p>\n

\"Penny<\/p>\n

Penny surveys her domain. Photo by Kate Karp.<\/em><\/p>\n

Thanks to a combination of leadership and community, Wrigley Kittens is doing a fine job. McHugh Lopes thanks her \u201cright hand,\u201d fellow Wrigley resident Lisa Cone, and fellow foster Julie Garcia, for help in its success.<\/p>\n

\u201cJulie does a bunch of fostering\u2014she\u2019s fostering three kittens for me,\u201d McHugh Lopes said. \u201cAnd Lisa\u2019s stepped up and been so generous with her time, her home, taking in kittens, helping me foster and trap, going to the vet, being moral support.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve met so many good people\u2014so many have given over the past year. It\u2019s my way of helping my community. And that\u2019s why I started the Wrigley Kittens page.\u201d<\/p>\n

Readers can help by sharing the page, by donating through WrigleyKittens@gmail.com<\/a>, and by helping to foster and adopt the cats. And anyone with McHugh Lopes\u2019s energy and passion can do the same where they live.<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

McHugh Lopes only traps in the Wrigley neighborhood, but the foster cats and kittens may look beyond the horizon. Here are a couple of candidates\u2014there are more! Send a PM on the Facebook page or email WrigleyKittens@gmail.com<\/a>. Please contact the group if you\u2019re interested in fostering or trapping\u2014you don\u2019t have to live in Wrigley neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\"Mauna<\/p>\n

Mauna Kea <\/strong>looks awfully like a white volcano. She erupts with love. She\u2019s 10 years old and had to be given up to foster. Her human, who\u2019s had her since she was a kitten, has a serious bone illness, and her heart is breaking. Mauna Kea is sweet and playful as long as there aren\u2019t any enthusiastic toddlers running around\u2014she\u2019d do best in a home without children. She gets along great with dogs. Find her story on the Wrigley Kittens page for more facts and photos.<\/p>\n

\"Basement<\/p>\n

The Basement Babies<\/strong>, aka Kittyland, consist of one female and one male tux, and one female and two male tabbies. They\u2019re so named because they were recovered from under a neighbor\u2019s house. They\u2019d prefer to spend their long lives in sunnier spots. Momcat, a newly spayed female tux, would enjoy that herself, with no more motherly concerns.<\/p>\n

\"Dre\"<\/p>\n

Dre\u00a0<\/strong>is a 3-month-old sleek gray silver streak. He was found in Compton with his siblings (hence the name) and has been vetted and treated. He’s presently in a foster; as soon as he’s neutered, he can go to a loving home.<\/p>\n

Mark Your Calendars (the People Way)<\/h1>\n

Friends of Long Beach Animals<\/strong> <\/a>‘\u00a0<\/strong>(FOLBA) Student Essay\/Poetry Contest
<\/strong>Entries accepted until June 1; email entries to <\/strong>deborah@folba.org<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Free to enter<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you know a young person who has a passion for animal welfare, this competition is a great way to start him or her on the path to communicating the importance of it to others. This year\u2019s theme, \u201cBe Kind to Animals,\u201d is open to students in two categories, and cash prizes of $100 for first place, $50 for second place and $25 for third place will be offered for each category. Each entry may be no more than 250 words and one page in length; only one entry per student will be accepted. Be sure to include the following: first and last names, home address, phone number, grade level and school name (indicate if homeschooled).<\/p>\n

All winners will receive award certificates, and all participants will receive certificates of participation. Winners will be contacted by\u00a0June 10 and will be invited to read their essay or poem at the FOLBA membership meeting on Thursday, June 16. Winning essays and poems will be published on the FOLBA website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"2015<\/p>\n

2016 Wienerscnitzel Wiener Nationals Call for Entrants
<\/strong>Entries accepted until June 6; entry info in text<\/strong><\/p>\n

Free to enter<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019re looking for the fastest dog in the West and it could be your furry (or smooth-coated) four-legged friend! The 21st\u00a0annual event will be held on\u00a0Saturday, July 16, and will benefit the Seal Beach Animal Care Center. Participants will be selected from among the entries received. To enter your doxie, tell us why he or she should be in the Wiener Nationals. Please make the letter as creative as possible\u2014creativity rather than speed counts here\u2014and if you\u2019ve been to the races, you\u2019ll know what we mean! You can send us a drawing, a poem, an essay or a funny photo, or send us a link to your wiener doggie\u2019s social medium\u2014Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, etc.–a video link or a DVD. Entries will be returned at your request. Make sure you include your phone number and a photograph of your prized pooch!<\/p>\n

Contact us through email at LARace@LosAlamitos.com<\/a>, through\u00a0this website link<\/a>,\u00a0or by snail mail at 2016 Weiner Nationals, c\/o Los Alamitos Race Course, 4961 Katella Avenue, Los Alamitos 90720.<\/p>\n

\"Hounds<\/p>\n

Friends of Long Beach Animals\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/a>Sixth annual Hounds on the Hill Event
<\/strong>Saturday, May 28, 11:00AM\u20132:00PM, Signal Hill Park, 2175 Cherry Avenue, Long Beach<\/strong><\/p>\n

Free<\/strong><\/p>\n

Join Friends of Long Beach Animals for a terrific pet-friendly event that features contests, live music, demonstrations, children\u2019s activities, pet adoptions, and vendors of pet supplies and accessories as well as a low-cost pet-vaccination and microchip clinic. At that hour, you won\u2019t see the sun going down, but the eyes in your head will be delighted.<\/p>\n

\"Art<\/p>\n

Animal Resource Team (ART) Fund-Raiser
<\/strong>Thursday, June 2, 6:00PM\u20139:00PM, Pawsitively Long Beach Pet Parlor, 254 Elm Avenue, Long Beach<\/strong><\/p>\n

Donations Requested<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pawsitively Long Beach Pet Parlor is celebrating its first anniversary, but they\u2019re throwing their party for the benefit of the Animal Resource Team, a group of volunteers who dedicate themselves to providing information, counseling and financial support to people with pets, with the objective of keeping the families together. Enjoy an evening of celebration with door prizes, raffles, dog treats, a photo booth, a DJ, a silent auction and refreshments. All are welcome, whether two-legged, four-legged or the occasional tripod.<\/p>\n

Pawsitively Long Beach is a premier grooming salon for dogs and cats located in the eclectic East Village Arts District. Parking is available in the rear of the salon. For more information on the first anniversary celebration, please contact Abigail Gibson at (562) 612-1215 or visit their website\u00a0<\/a>or Facebook page.<\/p>\n

\"Cat<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pet Food Express Pet Adoptions
<\/strong>Saturday, June 4, 11:00AM\u20133:00PM, 4220 Long Beach Boulevard, Long Beach<\/strong><\/p>\n

Adoption fees apply<\/strong><\/p>\n

Find your latest BFF at this beautiful store with a heart for adoptive animals. You can also spoil him or her rotten there, with everything they can possibly need. Check out the Cat Adoption Center while you\u2019re there!<\/p>\n

\"Wine<\/p>\n

10th<\/sup> Annual Seal Beach Animal Care Center Wine Event<\/strong><\/p>\n

Saturday, June 11 7:00PM\u201310:00PM, North Seal Beach Center, 3333 St. Cloud Drive, Seal Beach<\/strong><\/p>\n

$40 per person donation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Raise a cup of kindness for our delightful pets! There will be good food and auctions as well. Registration information is available here<\/a>;\u00a0all proceeds go to the all-volunteer\u00a0Seal Beach Animal Care Center<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"scaLA<\/strong><\/p>\n

spcaLA\u2019s Pet Adoption Day
<\/strong>Saturday, June 11, 10AM\u20134:00PM, Pitchford Companion Animal Village and Education Center, 7700 Spring Street, Long Beach<\/strong><\/p>\n

Free event; adoption fees apply<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is our biggest pet adoption event of the year! Enjoy a day of sunshine and pet adoptions, meet-and-greets with 95.5 KLOS\u2019s Frank and Lisa May and KABC Drive Home’s<\/i> Jillian Barberi and John Phillips, vendor booths, adoption specials, giveaways, food trucks and family fun. And very likely a meeting with your new best friend!<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"FOLBA\"<\/p>\n

Friends of Long Beach Animals Meet and Greet
<\/strong>Thursday, June 16, 6:00PM\u20138:00PM, Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 East Anaheim Street, Long Beach<\/strong><\/p>\n

Free event<\/strong><\/p>\n

Long Beach\u2019s most venerable animal advocacy organization invites all animal lovers to mingle with one another at a social at the Long Beach Playhouse. A wine\/beer and taco bar will be available for your pleasure, and local vendors will provide free dog samples for the pleasure of your pets at home. Cast members from the upcoming musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying <\/i>will give a sample performance. Friends of Long Beach Animals (FOLBA) Board members will present their accomplishments to this year, including the installation of a soon-to-be-opened veterinary clinic on the shelter grounds, and will award prizes to students who won the Kindness Essay contest. Best of all, attendees can meet the reason for FOLBA\u2019s activity\u2014the shelter pets themselves! Parking is free and located next to the theater. Visit the\u00a0FOLBA website\u00a0<\/a>for details.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"ARG<\/p>\n

Divas for Doggies (and Kitties, Too) Drag Show Fund-Raiser
<\/strong>Sunday, June 25, 3:00PM\u20136:00PM, Hamburger Mary\u2019s Long Beach, 330 Pine Avenue, Long Beach<\/strong><\/p>\n

$5 donation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Glitter for the pets!\u00a0Anderson Real Estate Group<\/a>\u00a0is putting on a drag-show fund-raiser at Hamburger Mary\u2019s to benefit spcaLA hosted by the one and only\u00a0Jewels<\/a>.\u00a0Proceeds from the donations and silent auction will benefit the spcaLA P. D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village & Education Center\u00a0<\/a>in Long Beach.<\/p>\n

Ongoing<\/h1>\n

\"1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Long Beach Animal Care Services (ACS): Free Spay\/Neuter and Wellness Clinics, once monthly; Low-Cost Vaccination Clinics, scheduled days Monthly. Locations vary.<\/strong><\/p>\n

See flyer on web page for pricing of services<\/strong><\/p>\n

Beginning this Sunday, February 21, the\u00a0Society for California Veterinary and Vaccine Care\u00a0<\/a>(SCVVC) will offer free spay\/neuter procedures and wellness services to residents of the cities served by ACS: Long Beach, Signal Hill, Cerritos, Los Alamitos and Seal Beach. During the remaining weeks of the month,\u00a0Spay\/Neuter Project Los Angeles\u00a0<\/a>will offer low-cost vaccines, nail trimmings and topical flea treatment for residents of the same areas. Click link\u00a0<\/a>for locations and times and click the links next to each event for vaccine pricing and other details.<\/p>\n

Pet owners must be 18 years or older. All pets must be on leashes or in carriers. Only healthy and non-pregnant animals will be vaccinated. If you have a prior rabies vaccine certificate, license tag or license renewal notice for your pet, please bring it with you to the clinic.\u00a0Vaccination and microchip services are provided for pets residing in any city. Licensing service is provided for residents within our jurisdiction. Microchips, flea treatment and nail trimmings also available.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Humane<\/p>\n

Reserve a Humane Education Presentation for Your Classroom, Scout Troop or Anywhere That Pets and Kids Come Together<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"spcaLA\"<\/p>\n

spcaLA Friends for Life Summer Camp
<\/strong>June through August, Monday through Friday; Pitchford Companion Animal Village, 7700 E. Spring Street, Long Beach<\/strong><\/p>\n

Details on website<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paws down, it\u2019s the best camp around! spcaLA Friends for Life Summer Camp™ is for kids 8 through 13 years old. At camp, kids learn the basics of pet care and responsibility, respect for all animals, and the beginnings of dog training, all while making new friends on a number of legs! There are several sessions still available, each running Monday through Friday. Registration details and session schedule\u00a0are available here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Nigerian proverb \u201cIt takes a whole village to raise a child,\u201d and cat rescuer and advocate\u00a0Kelly McHugh Lopes\u2019s Wrigley Kittens<\/a>\u2014and so many of them are\u2014public Facebook group embodies it literally and figuratively.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":67261,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[21],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-1887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pets","tag-pet-projects","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1887\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1887"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=1887"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}