{"id":5809,"date":"2009-06-16T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-06-16T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/life\/pets\/special-olympics-special-people-special-day-special-friends\/"},"modified":"2009-06-16T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2009-06-16T12:00:00","slug":"special-olympics-special-people-special-day-special-friends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/pets\/special-olympics-special-people-special-day-special-friends","title":{"rendered":"Special Olympics: Special People, Special Day, Special Friends"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/em>The lbpost.com<\/em> and other media offered thorough coverage of the competitors and champions<\/a> who took part in last weekend\u2019s Special Olympics at Cal State University, Long Beach. Participants, their families and guests took breaks to enjoy the exhibits, entertainment and games at the Olympic Village fun fair, set up in the park. Among the carnival games and booths featuring healthy living and information were four-legged friends who came to give love, as they always do.<\/p>\n

The Newfie Club\u2019s \u201cpetting zoo\u201d comprised Newfoundland dogs sitting with their owners in the shade of a tent canopy \u2013 instead of subjecting sheep, goats and chickens to heat and handling. The Newfies \u2013 many of whom are rescues and therapy trained \u2013 rolled, grinned and slobbered as Olympic stars shared the spotlight with the huge, gentle souls.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe breed\u2019s pretty much that way,\u201d said Claudia Walters, club member and human companion to Grace. \u201cThey\u2019re a good fit for therapy dogs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paws 4 Healing, an affiliate group of the Delta Society Pet Partners [deltasociety.org<\/a>], was there with the therapy dogs, rabbits and a horse. Of course, the horse, whose name is Dante, is a miniature horse (not a pony\u2014Dante is full grown and 4 years old) about the size of one of the Newfoundlands. Size may be relative, but it was all love, hugs and kisses for every one of them, including the horse.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really interesting,\u201d said Ann Masterson, Dante\u2019s human companion. \u201cThere are so many different types of disability, but the same thing applies. Most [participants] wanted to hug and kiss, and wanted to have their pictures taken. Some needed help to pet gently, but all were thrilled.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Speaking of photos, Kate\u2019s photo card turned out to have been full before she took any pictures, and Marcy Ellenbogen, the human companion of literary rabbit Oreyo, sent the great shots in this post. Oreyo is the subject of Oreyo\u2019s Magic Adventures Book and has his own Web site [oreyo.com<\/a>]. All proceeds from the book go to charity.<\/p>\n

To add a biscuit to the bowl, one of the carnival game booths featured the familiar ball-toss into a bowl to win a goldfish or at least make him\/her very nervous. Our backs went up, and we stalked over to the booth to find the bowls empty of both fish and water. No fish were offered as prizes\u2014only tickets to be traded for trinkets.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably for humane reasons,\u201d said Sal Cornejo, whose last name is one letter away from meaning \u201crabbit\u201d in Spanish. Cornejo is a technician for Toyota, one of the Special Olympics sponsors. We guess we know what our next hybrid\u2019s going to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey (dogs) can be a bridge between humans\u2026.The children are relating to the dogs in a way they can\u2019t relate to people.\u201d<\/em>
Jeanne Katkavich, on the Delta Society Web site<\/p>\n

Random Clawings
<\/span>
June 20\u2014Mark and Brian at Pitchford Companion Animal Village<\/strong>
KLOS\u2019s terrific team Mark and Brian will broadcast live from 10 a.m.\u20133 p.m. for Pet Adoption Day at the spcaLA’s PD Pitchford Companion Animal Village here in Long Beach. The event features a silent auction, tips from a trainer and advice from a vet, and irresistible animal companions waiting to go home with you! Visit this website<\/a> for details.
June 28\u2014Sunday Night Live Comedy Benefit<\/strong>
More horselaughs await at the Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 East Anaheim St., Long Beach as local comedienne Lynda Montgomery hosts a hilarious evening. All proceeds benefit Friends of Long Beach Animals and Animal Match Rescue Team. A very happy hour at 7 p.m.; show starts at 8 p.m. Ages 21 and over only. Visit this website<\/a> or go to the following locations for tickets:<\/p>\n

Go Dog Go, 3440 N. Los Coyotes Diagonal, Long Beach (562) 421-9797
Belmont Pets and LaunderPet, 3429 E. Broadway, Long Beach (562) 433-3605
Bixby Knolls LaunderPet, 4105 Orange Ave., #113, Long Beach (562)427-2551
Seal Beach LaunderPet, 318 Main St., Seal Beach (562)430-7196
CosmoPAWlitan Boutique, 4107 N. Viking Way, Long Beach (562)354-6040<\/p>\n

Dish It Up for the Birds<\/strong>
Dawn Dish Liquid is launching a campaign this summer called \u201cEveryday Wildlife Champions.\u201d For every bottle of specially marked Dawn you buy, a visit to Dawn\u2019s website<\/a> will donate $.50 toward the programs at International Bird Rescue Research Center<\/a> (IBRRC) in San Pedro, with a maximum donation of $250,000.<\/p>\n

Are We All Just Howling at the Moon?<\/strong>
We attended the Bixby Coyote Sightings Workshop on June 10. What it boils down to is that coyotes are becoming used to humans and are desperate to survive and feed their young. Human beings have depleted the coyotes\u2019 food sources and have also cleared away and built on their natural habitat. Then we unconsciously add to the crime by teasing the coyotes with a lesser food source of pet cats and dogs left outside and pet bowls filled to the brim with food and water. Birdbaths and feeders can also add to the problem. Please folks, when walking your dogs, use a leash (and by the way, there is a leash law in Long Beach), preferably in tandem with a harness.<\/p>\n

Coyotes may not be relocated to another area because of possible spread of disease and socialization factors, and the only time that a coyote may be killed is if the animal makes physical contact with a human being. Furthermore, trapping and euthanizing them will only exacerbate the problem, according to the official at the workshop; the coyotes will overbreed to replace the loss. This is a dilemma for animal lovers who want to be able to walk their dogs safely but don\u2019t want to hurt a wild animal, and it\u2019s also a worry for people who fear that the coyotes may become emboldened and hurt a child.<\/p>\n

It is understandable for people to be scared, even angry about the situation. This is where education comes in big time, to stem the flow of fear and anger and to learn to coexist with nature as it is now. It will help make life safer for all.<\/p>\n

With the laws as they are now, the only advice we can repeat and repeat and repeat until we\u2019re blue in the faces is this: keep your pets indoors, keep your garbage cans covered, and don\u2019t leave pet food out. If you have fruit trees, pick up fallen fruit. If you want to be active and proactive, start a Wildlife Watch (visit here<\/a> to find out how, and to learn how ACS is joining with the Bixby area in watching for coyotes). The Pet Post<\/em> is happy to assist your community with living with urban coyotes by posting comments and updates you supply us with. We encourage you to begin a Neighborhood Wildlife Watch program and wish you much success!<\/p>\n

Check KPCC\u2019s website<\/a> for more on urban coyotes.<\/p>\n

All photos by Marcy Ellenbogen<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Judy and Kate discuss the role of animals in last weekend’s Special Olympics games, and provide an update on the coyote situation in Long Beach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":70293,"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":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-5809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pets","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5809","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=5809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5809\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5809"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=5809"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=5809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}