{"id":693,"date":"2018-06-26T17:50:18","date_gmt":"2018-06-27T00:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/?p=68011"},"modified":"2018-06-26T17:50:18","modified_gmt":"2018-06-27T00:50:18","slug":"how-you-can-help-long-beach-pets-over-the-fourth-of-july-holiday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/pets\/how-you-can-help-long-beach-pets-over-the-fourth-of-july-holiday","title":{"rendered":"How you can help Long Beach pets over the Fourth of July holiday"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Graphic by Long Beach Animal Care Services. Can you foster a doggie for a brief period? If so, please email the shelter\u2019s Foster the Fourth team at FosterLBACS@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

What we could politely call the silly season but want to dub something less civil has descended everywhere. It\u2019s when people grab up fireworks both \u201csafe\u201d and unsafe and set them off everywhere. The legal displays of fireworks that are managed by professionals also produce shrieking, whirring, clanging and whistling terrors that thrill many of us but send others ducking for cover.<\/p>\n

All of it, particularly the stuff that has nothing to do with patriotism except for the rockets\u2019 red glare and bombs bursting in air, disturb our peace of mind, freak out military veterans, and send pets screaming into the night. Dogs and cats can\u2019t figure out what the heck is going on, and they\u2019re dealing with an enemy that they can only hear, so they run. The lucky ones end up in shelters; those who aren\u2019t so lucky get injured or killed by traffic or cower somewhere until someone discovers them.<\/p>\n

During this time, the staff at city shelters, including our own, are busy looking for the owners of the frightened pets or the ones found hurt or lifeless in the streets. In the last Pet Projects<\/a>,\u00a0Long Beach Animal Care Services<\/a>\u2019 Foster the Fourth program was introduced\u2014or reintroduced, since the shelter had one last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal of Foster the Fourth is to have a number of temporary fosters to make room for the spike in dogs that come in for that short period of time around the Fourth\u00a0due to the fireworks,\u201d said Shelter Operations Supervisor Christine Kucenas. \u201cThat just doesn\u2019t happen with cats. It\u2019s the dogs that we have a huge influx of, but we\u2019re certainly not going to discourage it [cat fostering] from the people we recruit since we are full with cats, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LongBeachAnimalCare\/videos\/1928168317203808\/<\/p>\n

Sencha and Earl Grey are two apparent siblings\u2014a mix of German shepherd and husky. They\u2019re social and friendly, and they\u2019d love to have their own tea party at your house for a few days. Or forever. Video by ACS.<\/em><\/p>\n

Kucenas said that other shelters with Foster the Fourth programs also focus on dogs. Last year\u2019s program<\/a> was done in tandem with Live Love Animal Rescue<\/a>\u00a0(of course, that\u2019s not to say that anyone can\u2019t politely request a cat\u2014never hurts to ask); this year, three independent volunteers stepped up to manage the program.<\/p>\n

Long Beach rescuers Patty Naughton and Deborah Turner along with India Griffin of Los Angeles-based FAR (Foster Adopt Rescues) Side Journey<\/a>\u00a0are working in tandem with shelter management and staff to help make room for the doggie deluge. ACS is at near capacity, so as the staff is working hard to return pets to their homes, the Foster the Fourth team is seeking out homes to temporarily accept the dogs who are already in the shelter. Fosters will welcome the pets for about three weeks, which will open kennels and runs for the visitors and prevent having to euthanize for space.<\/p>\n

Turner, who authored the popular Wheely Willy children\u2019s book series<\/a>, is both invested in finding fosters and actively participating by taking in five small dogs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more small dogs we clear out of a run, the faster we can open that run to a large dog,\u201d Turner said. \u201cUsually, it\u2019s just one large dog at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turner and Naughton became involved with Foster the Fourth when they approached ACS in the hope of starting a foster program there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI read the ACS audit report<\/a>\u00a0and read that a big recommendation was a foster program,\u201d Naughton said. \u201cI just said, this is something I want to be part of.\u201d<\/p>\n

Griffin\u2019s involvement came out of her attendance at the Austin Pets Alive<\/a> group meeting. APA is a private nonprofit dedicated to end euthanasia of Austin dogs and cats who could otherwise make it alive out of a shelter. APA\u2019s innovative programs have attracted shelter management and staff from across the country to learn about their programs, and ACS was there as well. On recommendation from APA, who spoke highly of the shelter staff and its need for resources, both financial and human Griffin met with Kucenas and Shelter Director Ted Stevens, and Foster the Fourth was rolled out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope we get enough fosters to prevent any dogs\u2014or cats\u2014euthanized over the Fourth,\u201d Griffin said. Griffin lives close to Long Beach and said that the city is \u201cnear and dear to my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a community member, you can help by fostering a pet. Three weeks would be the approximate length of time you\u2019d be hosting an Airedale bnb, and hopefully, you\u2019ll fall madly in love and adopt the animal\u2014not that there\u2019s an ounce of guile here.<\/p>\n

To repeat, if you can help or know someone who can, please contact the team at <\/strong>FosterLBACS@gmail.com<\/strong><\/a>. <\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can also help the shelter and your own pet by following the safety recommendations here. In short:<\/p>\n