South Bay Pets

I don't know.

But I figure one of our readers might. 

Where are the best deals on vaccinations these days in the South Bay or Harbor Area? City-sponsored clinics? Store clinics? Mobile vets?

I was talking to someone today who told me she's been unable to find a price that's significantly under what her vet would charge.

Suggestions? 

OK, now we've heard it all.

Some guy who found a lost cocker spaniel-toy poodle mix named Pineapple calls the owner listed on the dog's ID tag and allegedly asks for sex in exchange for giving the dog back untortured.

Dude.

Turns out the suspect, Alfredo Dempkey, 27, is a registered sex offender in Hawthorne. He's headed for court this afternoon on extortion charges (watch for an update tomorrow on the arraignment at www.dailybreeze.com or buy Wednesday's paper) and Pineapple is safely back home with her 17-year-old owner who had the presence of mind to call her dad and the police when she received the telephone threat (he told the girl he would torture and make her dog suffer if she didn't comply)..

You can read the full story by crime reporter Larry Altman in today's Daily Breeze. 

"I think someone like that is sick," Pineapple's owner told Larry on Monday.

The girl was at work last Friday night when her dog wandered away from their Hawthorne home at about 7 p.m.

Later, Dempkey called the girl saying he had her dog and demanding she pay him $70 for Pineapple's return. She panicked, hung up, but he called her right back and asked her for "something else" if she didn't have the cash. He wanted her to meet him at the El Pollo Loco at Hawthorne Boulevard and Imperial Highway where he allegedly said he'd give her the dog back -- in exchange "for sex."

When Dempkey showed up with the dog in tow (this is the best part of the story), he was met by police who quickly took him into custody and returned Pineapple to her owner.

I've heard of scams where people will call folks who take out "lost dog" ads in the newspaper, claiming to have the animal in a distant location and asking for a large sum of money to cover the costs for return.

But this is a first.

And a last, we can only hope.

 

Do you work in the South Bay? 

I was walking the stupid dog this morning through the park near my house. Going there is a treat for Rocket because there are millions of squirrels there. It's where all squrrels come from. It's Ground Zero of squirreldom.

Anyway, like dogs everywhere, Rocket loves to chase squirrels. He's never actually caught any, but they do the kabuki dance, which involves the squirrel running up a tree and the bawl-mouthed dog jumping up and down and making a horrible racket.

But today, a squirrel called Rocket's bluff. He saw the squirrel on the trail in front of us, but instead of running, the squirrel just stood there staring at him.

This instantly shut Rocket up. We walked closer and the squrrel stood his ground. Rocket was stunned. He didn't know what to do. The squirrel wasn't playing by the rules.

He looked up at me, then back to the squirrel, which was just standing there. We got even closer.

Finally, the varmint took off. Rocket was shaken out of his trance. And they both ran for the nearest tree.

Order was restored in the universe. But someday, squrrrels and dogs will live together in peaceful harmony.

 

Happy Birthday to the Dog Beach in Long Beach.

And kudos especially to Justin Rudd and Rosie and everyone else who made this possible eight years ago. It was the culmination of much hard work and patience.

On June 24, 2001, for the first time in more than 30 years, dogs were permitted to play along the water's edge on a stretch of beach in Long Beach.

It was a pilot program in which the city agreed to let dogs onto the beach on one Sunday a month through the summer of 2003.

Things went so well that on Oct. 31, 2004, the Long Beach City Council unanimously approved the permanent Dog Beach Zone in the South Bay's neighboring city to the south east.

Now, owners can off-leash their dogs (one dog per person) on a 3-acre stretch near Belmont Shore year-round.

If you haven't been there, check it out. You and your dog will have a blast. There are cones on either side to designate the dog-friendly area, so be sure your canine comes when called and won't run off as there are no fences.

I took my Australian shepherd Pilgrim there two summers ago when a friend came in from Colorado with her dog, Hawkeye, and wanted to take her dog to the beach.

I'll never forget how thrilled Pilgrim was to be there -- up and down the shoreline he raced, practically smiling all the way as he felt the wet sand on his paws, sometimes chasing his ball, other times just enjoying the running for the heck of it. This was during the period when he was being treated for diabetes (insulin shots twice a day). Only a couple months later, in September 2007, he was struck with complications and I had to make that final decision to put him down (he was 8).

But I'll always be grateful he had that carefree afternoon at the Dog Beach. I still smile just thinking about the memory. I'm just sorry I didn't think to bring a camera that day.

So thanks, Justin, and the city of Long Beach.  

Check out the Dog Beach Zone web page to find out all the details, where to park, what the rules are -- and watch a fun video of Justin with his English Bulldog Rosie on the first day at dog beach.

Maybe I'll get there this summer again with Tess and/or Cowboy, my border collies.

(Pilgrim is shown below in his most humiliating moment ever, when I made him pose in a Santa hat for a Christmas ad in the now defunct publication More San Pedro.)

 

 

 

Pet lovers take note:

Cute chalk boards! From Etsy, about $12.

 Ht: Barkability

 

 

I posted last weekend about the ongoing need for adoptions at the Peter Zippi Fund for Animals.

My friend Shirley, who with her neighbor does work with some of the feral cat colonies in their neck of the woods here in the South Bay, sent me this photo last night of some kittens they trapped & rescued in April and are now with Peter Zippi awaiting homes.

Lots more where they came from, too.

Click the link above for information on the regular adoption events sponsored by the Peter Zippi Fund in Hermosa Beach along with thumbnail photos and descriptions of the some 50 kittens and cats they have available. The economy, presumably, has really impacted the number of people coming in to adopt in the past month. But meanwhile, the kittens keep coming.

You can call them for an appointment at:310-379-1264.

As for the photo below, what is it about cats being allowed onto tables and counters? I once came home to find my large Australian shepherd mix Mercy standing right in the middle of my dining room table and it totally freaked me out!

And my question about these 4 kitties is what exactly the photographer said or did to get those intent looks?? A mouse danging by its tail? A piece of hot dog?

 

Here's Willa, a dog who needs a home. From the email forwarded to us by our friends at San Pedro Dogs:

Hi, this is Willa.  Willa is a 50 pound 1 year old female Pit mix.  This affectionate cutie and her brother were left behind by their owners when they moved away. They stayed in the front yard and the neighbors were nice enough to feed them.  Now she lives safe and sound with her foster daddy while she waits for someone to give her a loving and patient home.  She is good with children, other dogs, and maybe cats.  She has been spayed, vaccinated, dewormed, a fecal test was done, frontlined, and microchipped.  Contact Terrell at 323-385-8993 or tc2806@hotmail.com.  

 

 

This is Chas. He's a brown tabby and is one of nearly 50 cats or kittens available for adoption through the Peter Zippi Fund for Animals.

The Hermosa Beach-based group has been inundated with cats that need new homes in the past couple weeks. They've experienced an influx of homeless animals along with a dearth of adoptions. 

Other cats available include Maya, a year-old cat, below. She was akin to a teen mom, according to

volunteers who took her in just before she delivered a litter of five kittens. Her kittens have all found homes, but mom still needs someone special to take her in. She's healthy, spayed, microchipped and is up to date on her vaccinations. She's also beautiful, as you can see.

 

 

And then there's Jerico, who was hit by a car when he was only four months old and wound up in

a Los Angeles city shelter. The folks from Peter Zippi got him out of the shelter and provided the surgery needed to fix his injuries (he'll be left with a slight limp, but otherwise is OK). Donations are still needed to cover the full cost of the surgery, however, and eventually Jerico also needs a home. He's a trooper, been through a lot.

And there are many, many more. Check out the Zippi web page for available cats, and if you can help, give them a call at 310-379-1264. Open adotpions are held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursdays and from 1 to 3 p.m. Sundays at the VCA Coast Animal Hospital at 1560 Pacific Coast Highway, Hermosa Beach.

But you can also call them for an appointment at other times.

 

Since I posted earlier today about the 10 wackiest dog and cat names released by the folks at the Veterinary Insurance group, I figured I should follow up with a bit of a warning.

Read any "How to name your dog" book or article, and they'll tell you to pick a name you can -- without embarrassment -- call out loud in a crowd.

This rule was broken by Rollin Keller's Aunt Jean. Rollin is a former pastor of mine who spins family tales on his new blog called Old Guys Rule. I posted an earlier story of his last month about the cat that ate the wedding cake. (He's got several other animal related posts up, as well.)

But when it comes to naming your dog, My Aunt's Dog really is one you should read -- and remember:

 

My Aunt's Dog