Virtually Pets

We’re all still dealing with kitten season, but I know the way readers are—what, cats again? Therefore, while jillions of kittens are being born and subject to euthanasia because there aren’t enough trappers or people with enough horse sense to get their cat fixed. (There are options to costly veterinary procedures—see Fix Long Beach’s cat clinic, below.)

So, let’s get some dogs adopted, and let’s start, as usual, with our shelter. Long Beach Animal Care Services (ACS) is an open-admission facility, meaning that they’re obligated to take in any pet brought in. The ones who don’t get adopted, pulled by rescues, or claimed by their owners are in danger of euthanasia if the facility runs out of room. No one likes this, least of all the staff and volunteers there who have bonded with the animals. Please make ACS your first stop when you’re looking to adopt. They’ve sent a few bowser-teasers to tempt you.

Sunniie (ID#A495418 ) is a 9-year-old spayed female pittie mix with a disposition as lovely as the sound, if not the spelling, of her name suggests. Sunniie is calm and friendly to other dogs, and would love to go home to a loving family.

If there was ever a dog that embodied the verb galumph, it’s Droopy (ID#A504961). There is just something about this guy. He’s only 5 years old and is clunky, adorable and playful. He takes treats gently and loves going on walks. He was an owner surrender, sadly, but he’s lived with kids, so if you have a family, Droopy would love to drop in and stay.

Not so droopy after all! Video courtesy of ACS.

Want a real senior deal? Adopt a dog or a cat 7 years or older from ACS, bring the adoption papers within 30 days to Thai Silk restaurant on Broadway, and get $25 off a delicious meal!

ACS is located in the P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village, 7700 East Spring Street, Long Beach, at the entrance to El Dorado Park. No parking fees charged to shelter visitors.

Things to Do, Pets to Support

 

Benefit Car Show for Long Beach K-9 Police Officers, Hosted by Sultans Car Club

Saturday, May 12, 10:00AM–3:00PM, Long Beach Police Association Park, 7920 East Carson Street (behind Lowes and Walmart at the 605 Freeway and Carson Street), Long Beach

Free spectator admission; see flier for registration fees and details

Sultans Car club is holding its annual benefit car show for the purchase and care of our city’s finest. All proceeds from the benefit go to the Long Beach K-9 Officers Association for the purchase and care of police service dogs for the LBPD Police Service Dog Unit.

 

Furry Friends Faire

Saturday, May 19, 10:00AM–1:00PM, Los Cerritos Park, 3750 Del Mar Avenue (across from Los Cerritos Elementary School), Long Beach

Free to attend

Don’t miss our all-things-animal event! We’ll have fun contests to enter your furry friends in, such as pet tricks, largest pet, smallest pet and most unusual pet. The poetry-award winners from Los Cerritos Elementary students will be reading their poems. We’ll have an array of service providers you can meet at the event for your pets: groomers, trainers, pet food, dog walkers and more! For more information and updates, visit us here!

Fix Long Beach Free Spay/Neuter CAT! Clinic

Saturday, May 19, 7:30AM–3:00PM, Ramona Park, 3301 East 65^th Street at Obispo Avenue, Long Beach

Have your CAT spayed or neutered free with appointment and qualifications; vet appointment with voucher, minimal charge for dogs and cats; flea meds $10; shots and dewormer $10 each; nail trimming, $10

Fix Long Beach thanks our shelter, Long Beach Animal Care Services (ACS), for giving us the means to sponsor this month’s clinic. The more cats that get fixed, the fewer unwanted kittens that will be put to sleep.

Putting on these events costs in the thousands, and it couldn’t happen without the generosity of our donors.

It’s now the law to fix your pets in Long Beach and many Southern California cities. To provide this costly service to our Long Beach residents who otherwise couldn’t afford it, Fix Long Beach offers this service free of charge. The spay/neuter truck will be at its new location at Ramona Park on this date. The spay/neuter procedures this month are for cats only.

Make an appointment through IM or email at [email protected] for your dog, and include (1) your name, (2) address, (3) phone number, (4) pet’s name, (5) age, (6) sex, (7) breed, and (8) weight, and Fix will see if they can schedule you. You can also come as a standby, but be there at 8:30AM. Make sure that your pet has had nothing to eat or drink past 10:00PM the previous night.

To donate, visit our page. In-kind donations such as leashes, collars and toys can be brought to our event or ordered through our Amazon wish list.

For both spay/neuter and vaccinations, all dogs must be on sturdy leashes and all cats must be in dedicated carriers. Fix thanks you in advance for being responsible for your pet’s health and for helping to reduce shelter overpopulation and euthanasia.

Pets Ahoy Wine Fund-Raiser for Seal Beach Animal Care Center

Sunday, May 20, 1:00PM–4:00PM, Seal Beach Yacht Club, 255 North Marina Drive, Long Beach

$50; proceeds help to fund SBACC

Toast the animals at SBACC with wine, soft drinks and a buffet lunch. Enjoy silent auctions, a super-opportunity drawing for a $1,000 Visa card, and the knowledge that cats and dogs at SBACC will thrive and find good homes, thanks to you! Ticket sales information is available here.

spcaLA Free Adoptions for U.S. Military Service Members

Friday, May 25, 10AM–5:30PM to Saturday, May 26, and Sunday, May 27, 10:00AM–4:00PM, spcaLA at P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village, 7700 East Spring Street, Long Beach

Adoptions free to military

spcaLA and Animals for Armed Forces Foundation will honor and thank our dedicated service members by providing them a new best friend, with no fees or strings attached. Active duty, reserve, and veterans of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and National Guard as well as immediate family members all qualify; be sure to provide documentation (click the Armed Forces Foundation link for more information.

KLOS and KABC Present spcaLA Pet Adoption Day

Saturday, June 2, 10AM–5:30PM to Saturday, May 26, and Sunday, May 27, 10:00AM–4:00PM, spcaLA and ACS at P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village, 7700 East Spring Street, Long Beach

Adoption fees vary

Time to come to the Pitchford Companion Animal Village and get Sticky Fingers from all the kitties and puppies licking them! It’s spcaLA’s biggest adoption event of the year and a great chance to meet your new BFF! All adoption fees will be 50 percent off (the qualifications for potential adopters remain the same), and there will be vendor booths, giveaways, food trucks and other good stuff to have fun with! Wild horses couldn’t drag you away!

Fix Long Beach’s Wild, Wild West Casino Night

Saturday, June 23, 6:00PM, Cosmic Brewery, 20316 Gramercy Place, Torrance

Tickets $25,  include all-you-can eat buffet, drinks and “funny money”

Git along, little doggie–uh, dogie, and we’ll lasso up some great food, drinks, sounds and lots of yee-haw fun! Your $25 will grab you a taco dinner (we have vegan options for cowpokes who don’t like to poke cows), mighty fine craft beers and handcrafted soda pop. Don’t tell the sheriff, but we’re giving you $100 in “funny money” that you can use in the ol’ saloon playing roulette, poker and blackjack. And y’all can absquatulate with some durn fine prizes from gaming and in the silent auction (you gotta spend actual tin for that). Best of all, you’ll be helping us round up pets to spay and neuter—Fix Long Beach does that for free for folks who can’t afford it–all the greenbacks you spend will be used at Fix Long Beach! Tickets will be available at the door or online soon–keep your ear to the ground, and watch out for the cactus!

Ongoing

BARK Therapy Dogs Reading with Kids

See website for information

Founded in 2007, BARK (Beach Animals Reading with Kids) is a nonprofit all-volunteer program that encourages children to increase their reading skills and self-confidence by reading aloud to certified therapy dogs. Students sometimes find it intimidating to read in front of classmates but love to read to the non-judgmental, calming dogs. BARK now has 170 teams listening to kids in more than 100 schools and libraries in California—Long Beach libraries visited monthly are Bach, El Dorado, Bayshore, Brewitt and Los Altos; outlying-area libraries include Hawaiian Gardens, Iacoboni and Los Alamitos. BARK teams also visit nursing homes, senior living facilities and veteran centers. They even de-stress college students during finals week! For all events, check out BARK’s calendar. To find information about volunteering your furry buddy or to arrange a visit to your school, library or other community, contact the group at [email protected] or (562)235-8835.

Kitty Catchers Adoption Event

Saturdays and Sundays, 11:00AM–3:30PM both days, PetSmart, 2550 Cherry Avenue, Signal Hill

Despite the name, Kitty Catchers catches doggies, too, and some will be there along with the lovely fosters at this event! You’ll find your best friend there and anything else you’ll need to give him or her a good life from then on.

Pet Adoption Event at PFE

Saturdays and Sundays, Pet Food Express, 4220 Long Beach Boulevard, Long Beach

Adoption fees apply

Find your new BFF and everything that he or she could possibly want or need, in one place. Long Beach Animal Care Services (ACS) and other rescues bring great cats and dogs ready to go home with their new people. Everything is high quality at Pet Food Express, and that includes the adoptive pets! Check out the Cat Adoption Center, featuring fine felines from Long Beach Animal Care Services and Stray Cat Alliance. For more information about which rescues will be present on any particular day, follow this link.

SNP/LA Mobile Low-Cost Pet Vaccines

Locations and dates vary; visit link in text

For low-cost vaccines, visit this link. Note that pet owners must be 18 years or older, all pets must be on leashes or in carriers, and only healthy and non-pregnant animals will be vaccinated. Please bring prior vaccination information with you to the clinic. Vaccination and microchip services are provided for pets residing in any city. Licensing is provided for residents within our jurisdiction at Saturday clinics; please bring your renewal notice and rabies certificate with you. Low/cost spay/neuter information is also available through SNP/LA.

Free Pet Food Distributions

Papa, a big “teddy bear’ of a dog, sits with his human in Ashlee’s Pet Care station at Beacon for Him.

Beacon for Him has extended an outreach for people experiencing homelessness and their pets. Pet food, primarily dog food, is available at their facility at 439 West Anaheim Street, Mondays from 9:00AM to noon and Saturdays from noon to 3:00PM. A dog-washing station with a stainless-steel tub is also available onsite at these hours. Donations and supplies such as shampoo, flea control and, of course, pet food are always gratefully accepted.

The Pet Food Bank is sponsored by Christian Outreach in Action. COA is located at 515 E 3rd St, Long Beach. Hours are Thursday from 9:00AM to 11:00AM.

 

Shelter-Enrichment Supplies Needed for ACS Dogs and Cats!

Drop-off: Wednesdays through Fridays, 10:00AM–5:30PM and Saturdays and Sundays, 10:00AM–4:00PM, 7700 East Spring Street, Long Beach

Individual donations requested

ACS is continuing our kennel enrichment activities for our canine guests here and could use so more donations (there are plenty for the cats!). Here is what’s needed:

• creamy peanut butter
• yogurt
• beef broth (canned or in the box)
• chicken broth (canned or in the box)
• incense
• carabiner clips (heavy duty)
• ice cube trays
• pipe cleaners
• toilet paper/paper towel rolls
• cat toys
• corks from bottles (for cat toys)
• catnip
• canned cat and dog food

Donations are tax deductible. Our pups and kitties say thanks so much!