Ho, ho, ho, and watch the beard, Fido.
On Santa’s Lap
6:30am | Chances are that if you read our column and live with a pet, he or she lacks for nothing and you know where you can get the goodies in Long Beach—we’re very well equipped in that category. So, as you and your companion animals enjoy a happy holiday, here are suggestions for generous loving gestures for pets whose season won’t be as bright and for their human companions who wish it could be more so than it was in years before.
Long Beach Animal Care Services
Our shelter is located in the Pitchford Companion Animal Village at 7700 E. Spring St. It’s also located on the lowest rung of the funding ladder, and the animals there can use a boost up. Check out the shelter’s wish list for items to leave under the tree or make a financial donation to one of the many programs operating for the good of our pets.
PAWS Committee Kuranda Bed Donation Effort
PAWS—read “Pets Always Worth Saving”—is an all-volunteer committee formed to help with the adoption, spay/neutering and general well-being of animals at our shelter. One of the committee’s goals is to purchase a comfy and compact Kuranda bed for a dog or a cat. The beds stand on four legs and are good space-savers—a litter box will fit right under it— which gives the pet more room to move around in the kennel. Click here and follow the easy directions. Cat beds come in sets of two, by the way. Such a deal!
Long Beach Community Food Drive
Mayor Bob Foster, Friends of Long Beach Animals, We ♥ Long Beach and Food Finders are partnering this season to bring happiness and relief to less fortunate families and their pets. The goal is to collect 100,000 pounds of food. There are collection barrels all over the city; you can’t avoid the opportunity to give! Pet and human food are joyously accepted. Click here for information and drop locations.
Donations through Pet Supply Stores
And speaking of less fortunate pets, if you visit Centinela Feed and Pet at 4700 E Pacific Coast Hwy. or any Petco in town and say, “I’m buying all this food; please donate it where it’s needed,” your gift will go to a number of charities for homeless and the poor. There are also ongoing programs for shelter animal donations at these stores.
Haute Dogs Operation Santa Paws
What more can we say about Justin Rudd and his community team except that they ride lane to lane with Santa Claus, making stops for all the good animals—which is all of them—in the shelters and rescues. Donation is easy—click here to find out what’s on the wish list (pretty much what’s on the shelter lists), find out where the donation boxes are, and see photos of some of the recipients. Best of all, if you can make it Saturday morning, Dec. 18, is being there at the shelters and handing the treats out. There is absolutely nothing like it. Make your list quick and check it twice—donations end Dec. 18!
Rabbit Management Task Force
The all-volunteer rabbit rescuers and caregivers at Long Beach City College have gotten a lot of press on the Post these last couple of years, and they deserve a visit from Santa to help them care for the cottontails that have been thoughtlessly dropped off at the campus. Needed are rabbit pellets (you can get it at Bellflower Feed on Woodruff as well as other pet outlets), towels and fleece blankets. Bring them to the campus’s rabbit center—call 310.874.3720 before you go. Checks may be sent to Donna Prindle, Rabbit Management Task Fund, c/o Long Beach City College, 4901 Carson St., Long Beach CA 90808. Make them out to Rabbit Management Task Force. Of course, say Prindle and her partner-in-paws, Jacque Olson, loving forever homes for the bunnies would be the ultimate gift.
Organizations and Rescues
Organizations like Friends of Long Beach Animals, which supports low-cost spay/neuter and humane education; the spcaLA on the right-hand side of the Pitchford Companion Animal Village; and animal rescuers (examples: Hearts for Hounds, Animal Match Rescue Team, Long Beach Felines and Long Beach Spay/Neuter) can always use funds and goods. If you have one you like, do what you do with the gardener and manicurist and add something to the usual donation.
We don’t think we’ve missed anything in the way of animal-related charities, but in case we did, please post the information. The best gift of all? If you have room by your hearth and in your heart, you can learn how to foster a pet or, better yet, give one the gift of a forever home. You knew we’d say that, right? Happy holidays, all!
-Mooch the cat to Earl the dog, “Mutts Comics.” Dec. 25, 1997
Pet Projects
Dog Zone Renamed Rosie’s Dog Beach
All photographs by Jim “Woody” Woods
On Saturday, Dec. 11, Haute Dogs and the animal community participated in a benediction of the newly named Rosie’s Dog Beach. A beautiful new sign was unveiled; it bears the rules of the beach on the side that welcomes visitors and a bigger-than-life likeness of its namesake, Rosie Rudd, on the other. Rosie passed away Jan. 24 at 12 ½ years old after spending her loving life with Justin Rudd and Ralph Millero.
The ceremony opened with speeches by dignitaries, including Long Beach’s first lady, Nancy Foster, and a proclamation from Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal’s office presented by Tim Patton, the assemblywoman’s field director. Rev. Jane Galloway of the Mandala Center for Conscious Living gave the benediction.
“I’ve been attending the Blessing of the Animals for a number of years to give blessing, but it’s the animals who bless us,” Rev. Galloway said.
Following the ceremony, humans and dogs formed a procession to the official leash cutting, and then the dogs took to the surf.
Those who saw the June 2001 opening of the original Dog Zone no doubt recalled Rosie going like a bat out of hell on her stubbly little legs right for the water, way ahead of her other long-legged peers. It was Rosie who was the inspiration for the Dog Zone, and it’s in her spirit that it will be enjoyed.
“Whenever Justin and I are on Second Street, people still ask about Rosie,” said Ralph Millero, Justin’s partner. “We’re in her shadow, but it’s such a nice shadow to be in.”
Rosie’s Dog Beach is located at the water, between Roycroft and Argonne avenues in Belmont Shore, a few blocks east of the Belmont Pier and Olympic pool. For information and rules, click here. Visit Rosie’s Facebook page for more of Woody’s photos.
Virtually Pets
Deedee is a 3-year-old spayed Chihuahua ready for her sleigh ride to your home.
Leah is a year-old spayed Chihuahua who would be a wonderful ornament in the right home.
Both these pups look great without their clothes on and are available at Hearts for Hounds.
Cherry was found abandoned on a freeway and was scooped up by one of Animal Care Service’s wonderful volunteers. She so deserves the gift of a loving home. Come by ACS, 7700 E. Spring St. and ask for kennel # A419527.
Pet Projects
Low-Cost Pet Clinic at Marine Stadium, Through December
It just got a lot easier to vaccinate and license Long Beach cats and dogs. This month, Animal Care Services will provide low-cost vaccination and licensing clinics to pets of city residents at the Marine Stadium Park, 5255 Paoli Way in Long Beach. No reservation is necessary, but only cash is accepted for vaccinations! Low-Cost Pet Clinics for December are as will take place Saturday, Dec, 11, 10:00am–Noon, and Wednesday, Dec. 15, 5–7 p.m. A State Licensed Veterinarian from the Southern California Veterinary Vaccine Clinic (SCVVC) will be onsite to provide the shots, and residents can process their license renewals onsite. Click here for a full listing of prices and services. More information about upcoming pet clinics can be found by clicking here.
‘Ratting Out’ in a Whole New Light
Couldn’t resist passing this on: On Dec. 4, we read this article in the Times that made us wonder just what exactly they substituted for the cheese in the maze. Rats make great pets, but watch your back.