Gayle Carter and Chloe Carter at Rosie’s Dog Beach. Photo courtesy of Tracey Booth-South.

Long Beach’s animal community is mourning the passing of one of its most determined, generous and bully-breed-tenacious members.

Committed animal and dog-park advocate Gayle Carter died September 7 of congestive heart failure. At nearly 70 years old, Gayle embodied the old saw of age being just a number. She left a legacy of accomplishments in the community that included an active role in installing and especially maintaining three dog parks, providing for animals and people in need, and mobilizing other animal lovers to carry on for her. She was a tough cookie who allowed only certain people to see her soft center.

Gayle was born on December 14, 1947 in Columbus, Ohio, and grew up in L.A. She attended Manual Arts High School and studied at California State University, Los Angeles. But she was a Long Beacher all the way. She was, as Brandy Gaunt of Jellicle Cats Rescue Foundation described her, the grand pooh-bah of several Eighth District and Ninth District dog parks, where she organized the social gatherings, produced enrichment activities for people and pets, acted as angel for homeless people who had trouble taking care of their animals, and orchestrated fund-raisers for pet owners that needed help and for rescue efforts by individuals and small organizations. She transported goods for both pets and humans to people who badly needed them and was an expert photographer as well. One holiday season, she put together an event at which people could bring their dogs to Uptown Dog Park and have them take photos with Santa Claus—Gayle nabbed a Santa from some other gig going on in the park to make it happen.

Gayle Carter and Santa Claus had a longtime acquaintance. She’s up front here with her dog Chloe at a Christmas celebration at Aunt Lucy’s Pet Feed, now closed. Photo courtesy of Tracey Booth-South.

 

Speaking of Santa, Councilmember Al Austin’s office has a yearly Christmas charity program and always includes animals. In 2016, Fix Long Beach was selected as the specific recipient charity, thanks to Gayle. Gayle was a frequent visitor to Fix—she’d deliver food and supplies to needy people, show people how to use Martingale collars (I was convinced that they were named after her and had spelled her name wrong) and otherwise handle their dogs, and lean on folks to get their pets fixed for free. Funds were raised for a pop-up tent to shelter volunteers from sun and rain. Here’s Gayle leaning on the box and wearing a deservedly self-satisfied look. “Every time the sun’s shining too brightly for comfort or it begins to drizzle, we’ll remember you under our new pop-up,” reads the Facebook post. Photo by Kate Karp.

“[She was] a force of nature and an authority on dog care and behavior,” Gaunt said. “Gayle had, hands down, the best-trained dog at the park. She was also only the second person on earth that my dog, Simon Trouble, learned to trust. The immediate bond between Simon and Gayle was incredible. She taught me a lot about my own dog!”

Gayle managed to be both formidable and altruistic. Her most prominent accomplishments were her part in bringing into being the Uptown Dog Park and, after it opened, she organized Friends of Uptown Dog Park to ensure its daily maintenance—volunteer coordination; notification of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine of maintenance issue; checking overall maintenance problems; and filling those ever-necessary poop dispensers. She took on the role of president and enlisted Tracey Booth-South as secretary and “right-hand woman,” which includes the role of administrator of the Friends of Uptown Dog Park’s Facebook page.

Booth-South had met Gayle at a dog park. She had just lost her husband, and she said that Gayle’s “tough love” helped her through her grief.

“She mentored me, she helped me, she was a good friend and a great ally,” Booth-South said. “My life was forever changed after my unlikely friendship with Gayle began. And now my life will be forever changed again, with Gayle no longer in it.”

Friends of Uptown Dog Park meetings were held at Council Member Al Austin’s district office. Austin would often sit down with them and ask what her group needed for public safety problems.

“His office has been marvelous,” Gayle said at an interview last year. “Al ensures that issues are addressed.”

“I remember that [Austin] said he was so amazed and proud of us for the initiative we were taking to want to make our dog park a good place,” Booth-South said. “But this was completely Gayle’s doing—the rest of us just obliged her because she has that way of making things happen.”

Gayle’s taking ownership of the role of conservator led to Austin’s requesting her to be “in charge” of two more dog parks—Jackson and Coolidge, the latter of which is in the neighboring Ninth District.

“I am deeply saddened at the news of Gayle Carter’s passing—she will be sorely missed,” Austin said. “Gayle was great at organizing pet owners and bringing resources for our local dog parks. Her passion and efficacy for our dog park and animal services was unmatched. She made a real difference in our community.”

Grand opening of Jackson Dog Park, with Gayle and Chloe as honored guests. Photo courtesy of Tracey Booth-South.

Gayle’s generosity and friendship went far beyond the dog parks. She was there for anyone seeking just about anything and was a frequent liaison between need and skill.

“The guy over here who was down on his luck but had handyman skills would get paired up with the person who needed work done at their house at a reasonable rate or for barter,” Booth-South said. “It was an odd and also very effective sort of matchmaking that she did, but it worked, and it worked well.”

And of course, if there was a pet in need or distress on her radar, Gayle was there. The tough cookie never crumbled, but the sweetness was evident.

“She had a gentle side that I think she did not always want people to see,” Booth-South said. “She would take me and Mojo [Booth-South’s dog] to the vet after he became blind, and he was terrified during exams. She would sing real soft, ‘You Are My Sunshine,’ and he would gaze in her direction with complete trust. Once, during a dental exam, he was trying to bite everyone, and she promptly stuck her finger in his mouth crosswise to hold it open. I said, but he’ll bite you, and she said no, he won’t—he knows not to bite me! And he didn’t.

Gayle moved from North Long Beach when she was hired by the son of Temple Roath, the owner of PostalAnnex, to be Roath’s caregiver after her husband passed away.

“She had less time over here to deal with the parks and all of us, as she lived in East LB now,” Booth-South said. “But Gayle nursed Temple through her grief and a bout of breast cancer shortly after becoming her caretaker. She took such amazing care of her.”

Gayle passed away in her sleep at Roath’s house. Booth-South said that she let few people know that she was ill because she didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for her. But she left one final bequest for everyone who lives with pets.

“Gayle was very organized and most likely took care of things ahead of time,” Booth-South said. “Everyone keeps asking the obvious question: ‘What about Chloe and Munchkin [Gayle’s dogs]?’ I can say with certainty that she had that planned out and chose a caregiver for her dogs long, long ago. She would want me to remind you all to do the same before it is needed.”

Goodnight, Gayle. You left a huge space in a lot of lives that no one can fill, but you also left more than a foundation for your community to further build on.

Gayle had arranged for a burial at sea. There has been talk of a life celebration, but no plans have been finalized. Anyone whose life has been touched by Gayle Carter is asked to check the Friends of Uptown Dog Park page for notification.

Thank you for the tough love, my friend. Thank you for loving me and my dogs, and thank you for making the world a better place. I thank you for the people that you’ve helped and the matches that you’ve made and the outreach that you’ve done and the guidance you provided all of the pet owners that you’ve spoken to over the years. Thank you for the friendships that you’ve inspired, the people you’ve introduced me to over the years whose friendships are also important to me. Thank you for being a force of nature, and thank you for being you, Gayle Carter. I love you, my friend.

 ~ Brandy Gaunt

“Personal honor is not open to compromise or negotiation.”

~ Quoted often and lived continuously by Gayle Carter

Photo courtesy of Tracey Booth-South.