Yup, here we are in the throes of economic chaos, but we still want to make sure that our dogs have enough cheese. Oh, so what? Animals didn’t create this mess, and they love us no matter what our bank accounts look like. And Scott Rinehart and Jim Poer want to be sure that they get their just desserts. Literally.

“We missed the community, and people were very sad when we left,” Rinehart said of their sale of Wiskers and departure from the pet promenade scene. He and Poer had decided to concentrate on their pet bakery, Chuck and Toby, which was named for two of their dogs who have since gone to the great Frisbee field in the sky. Now, over a year later, they’re back in a smaller space vacated by a crepe restaurant on Park Avenue and Second Street.

Wiskers closed a few months ago under its new ownership, and a second animal-oriented shop, Pussy and Pooch, will open at the vacated site in a couple of weeks. The two stores, however, will be more complementary than competitive, and pet people will have choices. Chuck and Toby’s differs in its intimacy and familiarity: unique cat and dog toys, gifts for pet-loving friends, fancy pet tags, and a card line that includes pet bereavement cards.

“All the old Wiskers stuff in a smaller space,” Rinehart said.

The feature point is the fresh bakery. Pets will be delighted with the handouts of the treats that they used to pull their human companions into Wiskers for. The display case features goodies like Polly’s Peanut Butter Kittens and Puppies, Casey’s Cinnamon Biscuits (non-dairy), calamari jerky and other goodies for cats, and Chicken and Bacon Cheese Im-Paw-Na-Das (yes, it’s a deliberate misspelling of im, just as Wiskers was; Rinehart said that the offbeat spellings stand them out from the ordinary).


Down, girl! Maggie, the companion of Scott Liberti, nearly removes part of Scott Rinehart’s thumb in her enthusiasm for a yogurt-dipped Peanut Butter Paddy Wagon.

Rinehart and Poer will continue with their wholesale bakery but are glad to be back on the catwalk again.

“I need to be around people,” Rinehart said.

Your best friend’s best friends are back in town. Time for a reunion!

Chuck and Toby’s is located at 191 Park Ave. in Long Beach (562) 434-8085. Their Web site is undergoing reconstruction, but you can contact them on Facebook.

ACS Manager Presents at Third District Council Meeting

Long Beach Animal Care Services (ACS) manager John Keisler was the guest speaker at the Sept. 17 lunchtime meeting at the Long Beach Yacht Club on Appian Way. Keisler’s talk centered on a PowerPoint presentation of an overview of LBACS’s services to the animal community, including policies, legislation, public safety and community input, particularly with regard to the importance of an engaged community in promoting responsible pet ownership. Along with a commitment to humane treatment of animals and public safety, Keisler hopes to brand Long Beach as the “safest large city for people and animals.”

“I don’t think that we can afford not to,” was Keisler’s reply to Roy Hanson when he asked if ACS would support pet owners in finding their pets in the event of an emergency. Hanson, a Belmont Shore resident and Red Cross volunteer, had commended ACS staff for their help with sheltering pets and returning them to their owners during the Arlington Street neighborhood flood in February.

During the focus of the presentation, Keisler discussed the expenditures, legislation and how to report violations. He noted that the city council has given ACS and the community tools to enhance response and owner responsibility through historical changes to the municipal code. These involve redemption of pets, prohibition of noise from barking dogs, enforcement, requirement of dogs to be leashed and for owners to pick up defecation, and citations and vicious animal hearings. The door-to-door canvassing of the city for unlicensed animals helped to bring the number of unlicensed dogs to around 39,500, an increase of approximately 3,500 over last year. Revenue from licensing totaled $730,000.

Keisler stressed the problem of overpopulation, noting that it is illegal to breed dogs without permit in the city and that all cats living in the city must be spayed or neutered. Over 11,000 animals were impounded at ACS last year alone; of that number, more cats are euthanized than dogs. Around 70 percent of dogs find homes, but seven out of eight cats eventually are euthanized. The city’s well-publicized budget woes had left ACS unable to hire for six new positions that they had planned for, including another breeding enforcement officer. During one of the budget sessions, $60,000 was returned to the ACS budget.

“We looked at the funding not as a person but as a way to address overpopulation,” Keisler said. Keisler, together with council members Gary DeLong and Suja Lowenthal, directed $35,000 to bring in an additional breeding enforcement officer and used the remaining $25,000 for programs: $20,000 for low-cost spay/neuter and $5,000 for education, with emphasis on cats.

The greater part of the audience’s questions and comments concerned coyote sights and nuisances: defecation not picked up, unleashed dogs, barking and the problem of enforcing laws in the Dog Zone and other parks. Despite Keisler’s emphasis on community engagement, people are not always willing or may be afraid to make a formal complaint about a neighbor. Keisler’s response was to look at any violation as a health or safety issue and go from there. In that vein, he said he’d address the company filling the poop pickup bags on the beach as well as cleaning the beach more efficiently.

“We can do a better job contracting with Marine Safety,” Keisler said.

Coyotes and humans have been involved in an increasingly escalating territory war (yes, they were here first, but the present has to be dealt with), with pets as not only the spoils of war but also collateral damage. Keisler reiterated the tactics presented at a number of community meetings, i.e., trim trees and cover holes in decks and roof to eliminate shelter, create a sense of fear by making loud noises on their approach, remove any sources of food and water, and keep your pets indoors—please. More community meetings on coyotes are planned (see Pet Projects, below), and there are a number of presentations and articles about coyotes as well as a coyote sighting report form this website.

To view the ACS Powerpoint presentation, click here.

Pet Projects

Oct. 16, Feral Cat Day
Support ferals across the country and in your area. Visit this website for activities in the L.A. area and across the country and information on how you can help ferals.

Oct. 18, Long Beach Walk for Farm Animals
Take your compassion to the streets with other concerned Long Beach residents and their friends to raise awareness about the plight of farm animals as well as vital funds for Farm Sanctuary’s rescue, education and advocacy work. Your $15 registration fee entitles you to a limited edition 2009 Walk T-shirt, designed by Herbivore Clothing Company Founder Josh Hooten. To reserve your shirt, make sure to register by September 25. If you can’t join the Walk, please consider a donation. Farm animals need people like you to spread the word about what’s happening to them on factory farms.

October 22, Los Alamitos Parkwood Community Meeting on Coyotes
Long Beach Animal Care Services also services Seal Beach and Los Alamitos. If you are concerned about coyotes and other wildlife, you are encouraged to attend this meeting whether you live in Los Al or anywhere else. Contact (562) 570-PETS Wednesday thru Friday 10 a.m.–-5:30 p.m. or Saturday/Sunday 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Oct. 31, Haute Dog Howl’oween Parade
This year, Halloween actually falls on a Saturday! On Halloween Day, at 2:30 p.m., the ninth annual parade will start and finish at Livingston Park, 4900 E. Livingston Dr. at Park Ave. in Belmont Shore (be at the corner of Livingston Drive by 2:20 p.m., and don’t forget to bring your registration slip. The new six-block sidewalk parade route travels down the middle of Park Avenue from Livingston Drive to 2nd Street, heads east on the sidewalk along the north side of 2nd Street, hangs a right on the sidewalk along the south side of Livingston Drive in front of the park’s playground and empties back in to the park. The parade expects 600-plus dressed-up dogs and lasts about an hour. Bring your own folding chair or rent one on Park Avenue for just $5. All proceeds go to the Community Action Team (CAT). Kids in costume are invited to lead the parade and are eligible to win a prize! There will also be vendors and an adoption fair. Click here for details.

Ongoing—Pet Literacy at ACS
Pet Literacy is a City of Long Beach Animal Care Services (ACS) program at the P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village. The program promotes humane treatment, socialization of animals, creating a connection between animals and humans, and literacy through reading aloud to the animals. Wednesdays–Sundays, 2–3 p.m., 7700 E. Spring St., Long Beach

Virtually Pets: Adoptions

Ziggy and Bob haven’t missed a meal yet, and look it. We keep their tummies full, but their hearts are something else. They’ll take up more space in your own heart than in your house. They’re still waiting. Meet them at Chewsy Dogs, 4107 Viking Way, Long Beach, (562) 354-6040.


Ziggy


Bob

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