{"id":3827,"date":"2013-05-31T18:28:39","date_gmt":"2013-05-31T18:28:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/life\/pets\/a-great-fix-for-pet-overpopulation\/"},"modified":"2013-05-31T18:28:39","modified_gmt":"2013-05-31T18:28:39","slug":"a-great-fix-for-pet-overpopulation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/pets\/a-great-fix-for-pet-overpopulation","title":{"rendered":"A Great Fix for Pet Overpopulation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Facts: In 2012, about 7 million unwanted animals were destroyed nationwide in shelters across the United States. Here in Long Beach, Animal Care Services (ACS) took in an average of 972 unwanted animals per month <\/em>last year.<\/p>\n

\"HELP<\/p>\n

Every time I get the chance to write a Pet Post, I stick in the Virtually Pets section all the animals that overworked rescuers have sent me. I write a Pet of the Week blurb for The Signal <\/em>for ACS. I share on Facebook every unwanted pet and pet event I get word of. And nearly every time I do one of these things, I stress that unwanted animals and shelter overpopulation are people problems because folks don\u2019t spay or neuter their pets and then let them roam free. Then I bang my head against the keyboard because not enough people take the hint and no one, no matter how dedicated, can do much about it.<\/p>\n

Well, someone just has. Her name is Claudia Hoffman, and some of the lucky recipients of her rescue effort have been featured on the Pet Post. She\u2019s been at it for 10 years, but she found it wasn\u2019t enough. So this Saturday, she and more than 50 volunteers will go door to door as part of a grassroots effort to get every pet in underprivileged Long Beach neighborhoods fixed. Yes, Hoffman wants to Fix Long Beach<\/a>, and I\u2019m cheerleading in her corner.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been planning this forever,\u201d Hoffman said. \u201cYou get one dog off the street, and there\u2019s 20 more. We could all do rescue until we\u2019re 100 years old, and it\u2019s emotionally draining. I\u2019m broke, I\u2019m exhausted, and I don\u2019t see the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoffman may feel exhausted, but she\u2019s inexhaustible in her mission to end shelter overpopulation. She\u2019s been planning and organizing her volunteer-only and community-funded spay\/neuter organization called\u2014of course\u2014Fix Long Beach (click on the previous link for information, and Like and Share their Facebook page<\/a>). This Saturday\u2019s neighborhood campaign will be the kickoff to a number of mobile spay\/neuter clinics scheduled to appear at parks across town. Volunteers will meet at 9:30AM at Orizaba Park, 1435 Orizaba Ave between 14th<\/sup> and Spaulding streets, and pass out fliers in English and Spanish, talk to people and set up appointments.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe complaints [about not altering pets] we hear about is that people cannot afford it,\u201d Hoffman said. \u201cI decided to do door-to-door and educate people [in disadvantaged areas]. It will prevent puppies and kittens from being born in a world where they aren\u2019t wanted and then get put to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoffman has planned seven spay\/neuter events and hopes to add more as the movement gains momentum. Each event includes microchipping, pain medication and an e-collar (that\u2019s the cone-shaped collar that keeps pets from licking off the stitches after surgery and inspire humans to call them \u201cFunnel Face\u201d) along with the alter. Hoffman relied on her contacts with the city and rescue and spay\/neuter organizations to get the clinics running.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought of a friend who has two mobile clinics, and she agreed to come. I approached ACS and spoke to [manager] Ted Stevens and asked if he\u2019d be open to help out here and work with us. He was immediately on board! He\u2019s been helping set up permits with the parks. They\u2019ll be all through Long Beach.\u201d The clinics are run by Found Animals Foundation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hoffman has also engaged sponsors for each event planned so far; they include West Coast Animal Rescue<\/a>\u00a0(the first to jump aboard), Friends of Long Beach Animals<\/a>, Justin Rudd\u2019s community organization Haute Dogs<\/a>, Eldad Hagar\u2019s Hope for Paws<\/a>\u00a0(you may have seen them on Anderson Cooper\u2019s show, The Cupcake Ladi<\/a>\u00a0(honest!), Ace Hardware<\/a>, Sliced and Diced restaurant<\/a> near Orizaba Park\u00a0and, of course, ACS<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Each clinic will be able to handle 40 pets. The first free mobile service will take place June 8, and there are already patients lined up, so tell your neighbors if they need assistance (your pets, of course, are already altered, right?). Hoffman plans the first clinic to be a party, with a DJ, food trucks and an honor ceremony for the sponsors. Most importantly\u2014and this point has been made at both Animal Care and Cruelty-Prevention Conferences here in Long Beach\u2014educating children to be kind to animals and how to approach them will be spotlighted. Handlers will be there with dogs to help in this effort, and volunteers will be there to read animal-themed stories to children.<\/p>\n

Hoffman hopes to inspire other cities to have similar events (Fix Lomita! Fix Monrovia! Fix Thermal and Nipinnawasee!). Exhausted as she may claim to be, she says she\u2019s in this for the long haul.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to do this until we get the entire city fixed!\u201d she proclaimed.<\/p>\n

There are several ways to help Claudia Hoffman Fix Long Beach. To donate, click here<\/a>. Use this link<\/a>\u00a0to sign up as a volunteer. Click here<\/a>\u00a0to sign up to sponsor a spay\/neuter event. For more information, visit Fix Long Beach\u2019s website<\/a>\u00a0or Facebook page<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0No matter how much cats fight, there always seems to be plenty of kittens.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

~ Abraham Lincoln<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Virtually Pets<\/h3>\n

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

Ladybug <\/strong>was rescued from a shelter by one of Hoffman\u2019s sponsors, West Coast Animal Rescue. Notice the growth on her leg\u2014it weighed 7 pounds. She\u2019s since had surgery to remove the tumor and is now a lot happier at Sparky and the Gang animal rescue in Long Beach<\/a>. The photos on their website don\u2019t show the healed leg, but you can see how beautiful she is. She\u2019s a terrier mix, about a year old, and is sweet as she can be. All she needs is a loving home.<\/p>\n

\"Pinto--PG\"<\/p>\n

We\u2019re not sure what breeds comprise Pinto, <\/strong>but who cares? A dawg\u2019s a dawg, and what you want is sweet, playful and fun. This little guy was found wandering Chestnut Street and is being fostered by a nice family. He\u2019d like something more permanent, however\u2014he\u2019s just a puppy and has his whole life ahead of him. Share it with yours\u2014e-mail amauigirl@hotmail.com<\/a>for information.<\/p>\n

Pet Projects<\/h1>\n

Remember the survivors of the Moore, Oklahoma, tornado tragedy. As you do, don\u2019t forget the pets who are being sought by their human families or are lost and frightened. Go to the Humane Society of the United States Disaster Relief Page<\/p>\n

Saturday, June 1, Long Beach Animal Care Services Low-Cost Pet Clinic, Signal Hill Park, 2175 Cherry Ave. Signal Hill, 11AM\u20132PM<\/strong><\/p>\n

Long Beach Animal Care Services will provide one low-cost vaccination and licensing clinic to residents and pets in Long Beach on Saturday. No reservation is necessary, but only cash is accepted for vaccinations!\u00a0Call\u00a0(562) 570-7387\u00a0for more information. A state-licensed vet from the Southern California Veterinary Vaccine Care<\/a> (SCVVC)\u00a0(click on link for full listing of prices) will be onsite to provide the shots, and residents can process their license renewals onsite as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Services available include:<\/p>\n