Judy Griffith has had a varying number of rats both wild and tame, each living in his or her own little condo; squirrels running around a backyard feeder; rabbits awaiting rescue at ACS and a local pet-supply store; a guinea pig or three; a couple of wild ravens that eat out of her hand; and a family of wild rats living in the shrubbery. And a dog. Most inconceivable is that she also has a husband of several decades who, while not encouraging the whole thing, has an attitude toward it that borders on support.
Griffith is known as the Rodent Lady, which probably doesn’t bring to mind the sweet-faced tastefully dressed woman in the photos here.Griffith’s one of the two winners of the Pick of the LB Litter’s best rescue, the other being Animal Match Rescue Team (AMRT) featured a couple of articles ago.
Griffith has been rescuing rats, rabbits and other little creatures for 17 years. Her efforts, however, didn’t start as a charming Cinderella story with the little fellows scampering at her feet. She’d been volunteering for Animal Control, before it became Animal Care Services and was located on Willow Street, when the staff got information about a police bust of someone who’d purchased rats from local stores and used them for a moneymaking practice that I won’t go into in case children and/or the fainthearted are reading—I’ll just say that it makes the unfounded story of Richard Gere and the gerbil sound like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.
“The police got the bastard,”Griffith said. And Animal control got six adult rats, males and females together, and a number of babies. The animals were in deplorable condition; one had had her tail taped to the floor and understandably was a biter.
The Rat and Mouse Club of America (RMCA) http://www.rmca.org/ took the babies and found homes for them. The adults were considered evidence for the crime and had to stay at Animal Control. Griffith cared for them every day for the three months they were there, chopping up vegetables and discussing medical care. But she was concerned about their future well-being; the rats were in a room with cats and snakes, all of whom were licking their lips (do snakes have lips?).
“They’re going to die here,”Griffith said to one of the Animal Control officers.
Somehow—I didn’t ask how—she wangled permission to get them home. She took care of them, paying out of her pocket for spay/neuter as well as a tumor removal for one. Most importantly, she raised their status as second-class citizens of the animal kingdom by soliciting letters from people who loved and had kept rats. This added a deserved count of animal cruelty; the pervert was ultimately convicted.
“We had 350 copies of letters stating that rats were pets,”Griffith said. “People from all over and out of state said that rats were pets and were not to be abused or be treated badly. Animal Control had 350 copies, the court had 350 copies, and I still have the 350 copies. I made all the extra copies.”
That was just the start. Griffith subsequently acquired about 30 mice from a different abuse situation, brought all of them home and determined the sex of each of them.
“It was not easy sexing them,”Griffith said, which isn’t surprising. “I did not ask Bill if I could bring them home.” That was no surprise, either. Griffith grappled with getting rid of the odor, especially of the males, and a badly bitten finger. When she had it all under control, a rescue came for them.
Memorial Wall
But when properly cared for and loved, rats and mice—especially those rats—are clean and love you back.Griffith’s home has become a rats’ nest in only the best sense of the word. A room in the back of the house is a rodent Leisure World. It contains a number of spacious “condos” with furniture, toys and lots of things to chew on and hide under. A memorial wall holds urns containing ashes of departed beloved creatures, including one who stood out as special: Wild Henry.
“Wild Henry was a wild rat who didn’t act like one,” Griffith said. “He’d exercise with me, eat out of my dish after dinner, and stick to me like glue.”
Jessica, a wild Norway rat with special needs, interrupts her play-therapy session in her condo to peer out at visitors.
Griffith tends to her charges’ health, diet and spay/neuter needs. They also get exercise outside the cage in the main house, with expected occasional high jinks: one once got loose in the house and was found several days later in a self-made nest after Griffith turned the furniture upside down, and a couple of others a couple of them chewed the polish off her pedicure when she fell asleep barefoot in front of the television.
Judy Griffith, Rodent Lady and then some: squirrels, rabbits, mice, toenail-chewing domestic rats, dogs, a couple of ravens, and a husband. And wild rats. Why?
“I just like them,” Griffith said.
The only way to wear fur!
I think mice
Are rather nice.
Their tails are long,
Their faces small,
They haven’t any
Chins at all.
Their ears are pink
Their teeth are white
They run around the house at night.
They nibble things
They shouldn’t touch
And no one seems
To like them much.
But I think mice
Are nice.
~Rose Fyleman
Virtually Pets
As expected, most of our adoption animals for this posting come from Judy Griffith’s mentorship and may be met at Animal Care Services http://www.longbeach.gov/acs 7700 E. Spring St., Long Beach.
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She hasn’t been named, but you will cavy—er, cave—to her charms. This female white-and-brown guinea pig is a little over a year old and needs a loving home. Ask for ID#A469191 at ACS. |
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Buster is one of a number of adoptable rabbits at ACS. There were about seven available, but two have already gone to, we hope, forever homes. Buster’s about 5 months old; his ID number is A467845. |
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Finally, Stacey is a spayed-female lionhead rabbit between one and two years old that Griffith rescued. A free exam at the Long Beach Animal Hospital is included with her adoption, after paperwork has been completed. You can meet Stacey at the Paw Shoppe Pet Center, 6416 East Spring Street Long Beach, (562) 425-5131. |
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This is Charley, one beautiful, cuddly great big lump of orange sugar! Charley’s owner passed away and left this darling senior (12 years old) with no one to care for him. Charley loves nothing more than a lap and a good book or TV show to listen to. He has a couple of medical issues and he’ll need to lay off the junk food, but he still has some good years left and needs someone loving to spend them with. Meet Charley on the shelter side of Companion Animal Village at7700 East Spring St., (562) 570-PETS. Ask for ID#A453274. |
Pet Projects
Keep Your Pet Safe and Sane this Fourth of July
This is a reposting from a June 29 Pet Post:
Loud fireworks and noise badly frighten many pets. No night is good for an animal to be outdoors, but this one is particularly stressful for them. Long Beach Animal Control (ACS) offers the following tips on their website:
• Keep pets indoors, if possible, or confined to a secure area (never tether an animal because it can lead to more harm or an accidental death).
• Double-check yard gates to make sure that pets cannot escape.
• Make certain pets are wearing identification that includes the name and current telephone number of owner.
We add that if your pet is going to join you for a barbecue, keep to the same rules you would with the kids: keep matches and lighter fluid out of their reach and don’t leave alcoholic beverages unattended.
Visit your vet if you have an especially nervous pet. Veterinarians can provide animals with special tranquilizers to help your pet make it through the night. Do not medicate the animal with human drugs. Consider crating your animal in a quiet room or be sure that there’s a safe place for him or her to huddle. Leave a television or radio on to distract him or her from the stressful noises of the holiday. And for Pete’s sake, don’t take your pet to a fireworks display.
Pet Fostering Classes, Saturday, July 7, Pitchford Companion Animal Village Auditorium, 7700 E. Spring St., Long Beach, 10 a.m.–noon
Foster pets need temporary loving homes, and you can help pets better their chance at adoption! SpcaLA is looking for foster parents for pets of all ages and needs. Potential foster parents must fill out and submit an application prior to attending a foster class. Application available here http://www.spcaLA.com.
17th Annual Wienerschnitzel Wiener Nationals, Saturday, July 14, Los Alamitos Race Course, 4961 Katella Ave., Los Alamitos, (714) 820-2690, parking free
This form of “dog racing”—and if you go, you’ll understand the quotation marks around dog racing—will be anathema to nearly no animal advocate. This nonwagering event features inches of beloved dachshunds striving for the championship race. Admission is $3; free for under 17. All funds raised benefit the Seal Beach Animal Care Center http://sbacc.org, and no doxies are in any way harmed at this event. Click here http://www.losalamitos.com/wienernationals/default.aspx?pn=1 for more information!
Pet Post USA’s First Annual Pet Adoption Event, Sunday, July 15, Good Neighbor Park, 2800 Studebaker Rd., Long Beach, 10 a.m.–3 p.m., free, parking available
There’s no shortage of pets who need forever homes, and there should be one for you. A dozen pet rescue groups, including Long Beach Animal Care Services, have been invited to participate in an adoption event to find loving new homes for nearly 100 abandoned dogs and cats. Cosponsors of the event include Alpha Pet Care, LaunderPet, the Law Offices of Sharma Kliche, and actress Megan Blake. Sharing MC duties will be special guests (the hysterically funny) Lynda Montgomery, comedienne and Animal Match Rescue Team volunteer and Nicole Guillaume, president of Amazing Mutts. There will will be prize drawings throughout the day and spontaneous dances to the Super Smiley Flash Mob 4 Pet Adoption created by Blake and Super Smiley, her famous rescue dog.” This is a nonprofit event designed to support only local pet rescue organizations. Some groups may require an adoption fee to help defray the costs of having rescued rehab, spay/neuter, vaccinations and microchipping, all of which give their protégés a much better chance of being placed in forever homes.
Pet Post USA http://www.petpostusa.com/ is an online pet media publication connecting pet owners with pet products and services. It has no connection with the Long Beach Pet Post except for the animal-welfare thing.
Second Annual SoCal Pignic, Sunday, July 15, Irvine Animal Care Center, 6443 Oak Canyon, Irvine, 92618, noon–4
Orange County Cavy Haven http://cavyhaven.org/, a non-profit 501(c)(3) guinea pig rescue, is sponsoring a fun time for all the cavy ravers (cavy is the actual term for these little guys, derived from the species name Cavia porcellus). Cavy Haven has been rescuing and rehoming guinea pigs since 2003 and educating people about the need for rescuing abandoned guinea pigs and ongoing care through community outreach and events. The So Cal Pignic is Cavy Haven’s major annual fun-for-the-family fund-raiser, which includes food from sponsors such as zPizza, Phoney Baloney’s and Snopel’s Bakery; health talks, including a talk from exotic-animal vet Dr. Sari Kanfer; raffles and a silent auction; and contests that include a costume contest and a veggie-eating contest for all cavies who attend with their human families! For information, click here https://www.facebook.com/events/375245759194770/.
Friends of Long Beach Animals Open Meeting, Thursday, July 26, 6–8 p.m., Signal Hill Community Center, 1780 E Hill St., Signal Hill
FOLBA’s http://www.folba.org short business meeting will be followed by a guest speaker from Shoestring City Ranch, Long Beach http://http://www.shoestringcityranch.org/. If we can’t entice you with our excellent cookies, other snacks and wet bar (coffee only!), surely our floppy-earned guests from Shoestring will pique your interest! This meeting is open to the public.
Coyote Warning
This warning will run as long as we see cats at large on the street. Coyotes are becoming increasingly bold, and we urged everyone to keep pets inside, especially at night. Judy Griffith, Long Beach’s rat rescue lady, is nonpartisan when it comes to protecting animals, and she has written us in graphic detail about seeing a number of cats in her neighborhood killed by coyotes. Click on the link http://www.lbpost.com/life/2000000280-coyotes-lates-victims-in-naples-area to read the particulars and get tips on protecting yourself and your family from predatory urban wildlife. Sadly, when wildlife are displaced and become urban, they go to any lengths to get their dinners, which results in tragedy for us, our pets and them as well, usually at the hands of humans [email protected].
Judy Crumpton’s Animal News in the Ninth! Summer Tips for Your Pet
My erstwhile co-writer is getting the word out about animal care to the Ninth District readers (even if you don’t live there, you can read it, of course!). This column, in Council Member Neal’s newsletter, is part one of summer tips for pets, which saves me the trouble of writing them! Click here to read.
9 Lives for $9!
Boy, do we have a deal for you! During the summer months, for a limited time only, you can adopt an adult cat for $9. This program, sponsored by FoundAnimals.org, offers the low fee of $9 to adopt one of the many adult cats in shelters in Long Beach, the city of Los Angeles, and L.A.County. All of the cats have been altered, vaccinated and microchipped and may be seen on the program’s website http://wwwfoundanimals.org/9lives. Ted Stevens, Long Beach Animal Care Services acting manager, said that this program will help the adoption rates of adult cats at the shelters and further lower the euthanasia rates. Kittens get homes faster than cats do because of the cuteness factor; with an adult cat, however, you know what you’re getting and won’t have as much of a chance of dealing with the difficult stage. Click the link above and chose your new BFF! (The full adoption process will be adhered to with this program.)
LaunderPet’s Pet Model Contest! Through July 14
Does your pet have what it takes to be LaunderPet’s next pet model? LaunderPet is searching for a star-power pooch or a feature-worthy feline to be the star of a new ad campaign. The winner will receive a $350 prize package that includes a $300 photo shoot by Russ Hoover http://www.russhoover.com and a $50 LaunderPet gift certificate! The new star will be announced on July 16 and will have his or her furry little face featured in local newspapers, social media, websites and a poster at LaunderPet’s local stores http://www.launderpet.com/.
To enter, “Like” LaunderPet’s Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/LaunderPet, upload a photo of your dog or cat to LaunderPet’s Facebook wall, use the Caption space to say why you love LaunderPet, and Share with your friends and family so they can vote for your pet by liking/commenting on your pet’s photo. The winner will be determined by the number of likes and/or comments on each photo.
Donations Needed for Animal Care Services, Pitchford Animal Companion Village, 7700 E. Spring St., Long Beach, (562) 570-PETS
ACS thanks everyone who provided donations for their wish list! There have been multiple donations, the list has been weeded further, and the items listed below are still needed. If you’re getting new stuff around the house and want to get rid of some old stuff, or if you know someone with any of the following items, or if you’re just feeling generous, please bring some of these things down (and take home a pet, if you are so inclined!).
- Two canopies for the play yards (10′ x 10′)
- Natural Balance Dog Food Rolls. See examples here.
- Plastic aprons for grooming so we don’t get soaked when bathing Saint Bernards (true story, check out Bear on our FB page—we bathed him!)
- Hand sanitizers to carry in apron pockets (about 20)
- Two trash cans for our play yards that open with a foot press. See an example here.
- Two toy containers for the dog play yard (plastic bins that can be sealed when the sprinklers go on at night)