Romancing the Zone
1:00pm | Belmont Shore’s Dog Zone has recently been a focus of discussion regarding new boundaries, new signage and a new name. On May 20 at 9 a.m., the Long Beach Parks and Recreation commissioners unanimously approved the recommendation to the Housing and Neighborhood Committee and the full Long Beach City Council to rename the designated area Rosie’s Dog Beach. At the May 13 meeting of the Belmont Shore Residents Association (BSRA), a committee member transmitted a suggestion by a Marine Bureau police officer that involved moving the borders of the Zone in order to increase the area of the dog beach and specifically to line the entrance up with a pedestrian access to avoid shortcutting across the area west of the Granada Ramp near Fred Khammar’s outdoor café, which is specified for humans and seagulls only. If and when the beach has been renamed—and we have no doubt that it will be—there will be not only the need for a sign featuring the new name but also more of them that clearly show where the entrance and the beach itself are. The Zone has taken on the character of urban legend for out-of-towners who stop people on Second Street and say, “I heard there was a dog beach around here, but I can’t find it.”
The Dog Zone occupies the area of the beach on the ocean side of the bike path. It’s marked off by red cones surrounding the area, and people and pets are expected to access it through the sand between Roycroft and Argonne avenues. The BSRA Beach Subcommittee has been working with Sandoval and the Marine Bureau to address the problem of people cutting across the humans-only area of the beach from the footpaths and allowing their dogs to urinate and defecate on the non-Zone area. Committee member Bill Sheehan said that the marine officer’s suggestion involved lengthening the boundaries to a more natural entry point to the Zone. The Zone’s square footage would also increase, particularly if the boundaries were to be extended to the Belmont Pool, which another member suggested and which is a separate issue.
There is a large sign signaling the entrance to the beach and another listing the beach rules, but they’re on the beach itself, across the bike path. They can be seen from the parking lot at Granada but not from a traveling car. There are three other signs that were recently put up—one at the bike path on Bayshore, another in the parking lot at La Verne Avenue and a third on Ocean Boulevard between Corona and Nieto avenues, but they’re also not easy to see. Finding not only the entrances but also the Zone itself often create a challenge for people unfamiliar with the area.
“When I was new and wasn’t familiar with the beach, and because this is a long stretch of beach, I couldn’t find it when I first came to Long Beach,” resident Jacinto Alarcon told us when we were visiting the Dog Zone a few days after the meeting.
Most of the members had no bones to pick regarding the existence of the Zone itself, but the idea of canines trying to engage kite flyers in play and retrieving volleyballs isn’t amusing to everyone. Furthermore, although we find it difficult to accept, not everyone loves dogs.
“A lot of work has been put into finding square footage [for the existing zone, and I wouldn’t like to see the whole beach be devoted to dogs,” said board member Terry Enderson, who is a dog owner himself. “Some people are afraid of dogs.”
Enderson and other members also agreed about the necessity of rule enforcement. Community activist Justin Rudd, who had conceived the idea of the Zone and led the pack in making it a reality, started an unofficial Dog Zone Ambassador program when the area officially opened in June 2001. The ambassadors passed out poop bags and answered any questions about the Zone, but they weren’t there to enforce rules. Rudd said that he’s only seen lifeguards handling enforcement, usually for off-leash dogs outside the boundaries, but there aren’t any actual patrols.
“When they first started, they had security guards going ‘uh-uh-uh,’ but they’re not there now,” said beachgoer Helen Temple, whom we spoke to during our walk to the dog beach.
Julie Maleki, Third District Councilmember Gary DeLong’s administrative analyst, said that additional signage and enforcement will be put on hold and will be reevaluated when the Zone has been renamed, which is in the works. On May 20, the Parks, Recreation and Marine Commission unanimously approved the recommendation that the Dog Zone be renamed for Rosie, Rudd and partner Ralph Millero’s bulldog and the official icon of Rudd’s Haute Dogs community organization. Rosie was a widely grinning presence in Belmont Shore and around Long Beach. When she passed away on Jan. 24, Rudd, Millero and Rosie’s little bulldog brother, Riley, were devastated. Rosie had been Rudd’s inspiration for the Zone—he’d always wanted to take Rosie to the beach for a romp and figured that other dog owners would to take their dogs as well. He spearheaded the effort to create the Zone, working tirelessly with city officials for 15 months until it was officially designated.
Because he knew better than anyone how important she had been to Rudd, Millero approached DeLong about renaming the Zone in Rosie’s honor. Millero only let Rudd know what he was up to after Councilmember DeLong’s office had placed a recommendation to Parks and Rec on the April 6 council agenda. The recommendation passed 7–0 and was unanimously approved at the Parks and Rec Commission meetin on May 20.
There is a council guideline for renaming city-owned facilities for a deceased individual (Administrative Regulation 8–7, Issue 1, Subject: Policy and Procedures for the Naming of City-owned Land, Buildings, Facilities) that states “the naming of City-owned land, buildings and facilities in honor of deceased persons shall generally not take place until one year after their deaths, unless the City Council determines that there are overriding considerations for deviating from this policy guideline.” Harry Saltzgaver, 9th District Commissioner and executive editor of Gazette Newspapers, offered the consideration that four months should be more than enough time in dog years.
The recommendation will be transmitted to the Housing and Neighborhoods Committee and finally to the full city council. Millero and Rudd are hopeful that all parties involved understand the significance of Rosie and the name change.
Millero and Rudd thanked the city officials and volunteers who supported the Dog Zone and the commemoration of their beloved pet.
“[Rosie] is the inspiration for the formation of the dog beach,” Millero said. “It all is a result of her daddy wanting a place on the beach for her to play. He gave her that place, and in turn she gave the City of Long Beach the spotlight. I really believe that when Rosie left Justin and me that night, she went to the dog beach—I know, too, that she looks forward to each time that Justin steps foot on that sand. That beach is hers—it’s now time give the beach its namesake.”
Take your dogs to the beach and honor your time together with them. And remember—it’s the Dog Zone, between Argonne and Roycroft. For now.
For information on the Dog Zone, click here.
Virtually Pets
Special
This little lady is well named, and she seems to think so as well. Special is a tan, yellow and fawn Yorkie-Pomeranian mix who was surrendered by her human. She’s received her shots, has been spayed and is good with other dogs, cats and children. If you have a soft place in your home and your heart, she’d love to come home with you.
If you’re interested in Special, contact [email protected]. Click here to find out more about Mary’s Little Lambs.
Pet Projects
Bill barring landlords’ requiring pet declawing, debarking moves forward
Not discriminating against feline and canine tenants may become a law if voters approve it. On May 13, the Assembly Judiciary Committee approved AB 2743, which specifically bars landlords making it a condition of tenancy to rent to people whose cats have undergone the cruel process of having their front claws ripped out or dogs whose vocal cords have been severed. The bill also states that landlords may not give preferential treatment to tenants with declawed or debarked animals or advertise for renters in such a way as to discourage those with animals that haven’t had the procedures. The measure, brought forward by Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara http://www.pedronava.com , also calls for a $2,500 fine for each instance of declawing or devocalization as a result of demand by a landlord. San Francisco, Berkeley and other SoCal cities have banned cat declawing; the California Apartment Association already excludes language for declawing and devocalizing in their agreements. They recommend instead that landlords use security deposits for any damage. Barking disturbances can be addressed through house rules. Nava’s office said AB 2743 will be heard by the full Assembly in the next few weeks.
Whale of a Disappointment
The president has plenty to do, but those who want to reverse the decision and negotiations regarding commercial whaling want him to do more to keep a promise that he’d make in his campaign: enforce wildlife protection agreements, particularly to strengthen the international ban on commercial whaling. On Sunday, at beaches in Santa Monica, Laguna Beach and other locations down the coast, Save the Whales Day was declared, and protesters came out to take a stand and collect signatures for a petition to President Obama to reverse any decisions to lift a commercial moratorium against whale hunting and negotiate with Japan, Norway and Iceland to allow limited commercial whaling. Click here for a video by Chris DeRose of Last Chance for Animals and for information from the Wan Conservancy. The International Whaling Commission may be accessed here.
Bed Down!
Help your shelter make animals comfy by donating for a kuranda bed! Nearly 12,000 lost or abandoned animals wound up at the Long Beach shelter last year. To make their stay a little more comfortable, Animal Care Services is asking residents to donate Kuranda beds for dogs and cats.
“Clean beds and blankets make for healthier animals,” said John Keisler, manager of Animal Care Services (ACS).
The goal for 2010 is to put a bed in every dog kennel and cat cage at the shelter Visit Kuranda.com for details.