So, a few weeks ago, my girlfriend Alanna and I were running up and down the poorly lit residential sidestreets of Glendale, shouting coordinated attack patterns at each other like SWAT team members and occasionally getting barked at by a German shepherd.

We were trying to catch him. He wasn’t a stray — he had a collar and tags. Every time we got close he would get nervous, and start to bark and growl, and not even our most high-pitched nice-doggy voices would soothe him out of hostility. In the end we just ended up calling 311 and reporting him to Animal Control. At least he wasn’t on a main artery with lots of traffic.

But a few weeks before that we were driving up and down Los Feliz Boulevard with the windows down and our heads stuck out – kind of like dogs ourselves – listening for the jingling collar of a mutt we’d been tracking since Griffith Park. Where the shepherd was hostile, the mutt was evasive, and again we simply called 311.

They’re not all failures. We’ve caught a few, and reunited them with their owners. Like the dalmatian Alanna watched fall out of a moving SUV at the intersection of Franklin and Vine. Or the black lab that seemed to be waiting for me the moment I left our apartment. Or the scruffy mixed-breed I coaxed into a helpful stranger’s car during an interrupted run.

Seriously: You guys need to keep a better eye on your dogs.
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Occasionally — not as often as I’d like — I do some volunteering with the SPCALA, southern California’s very own Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. I’m a humane education volunteer, which means that I don’t spend as much time cleaning up dog poo as I do interacting with kids. Your feelings on this may vary depending on your tolerance for animal scat and other people’s children.

This spring the SPCALA is running Friends for Life, a week-long camp where kids can learn the basics of pet care, interacting with animals, and even a bit of dog training. When I volunteered at Friends for Life a couple of years ago, the kids were sorted into smallish teams; each team was paired with a dog, and under the supervision of camp staff, the kids taught the dog a variety of obedience commands (sit, heel, come, et cetera) and agility tricks like running through a tunnel.

The benefit to the kids is obvious; they learn the basics of a valuable skill set, but they’re also able to develop traits like patience and responsibility. For the dogs, the benefits might be even better: A well-trained dog that’s proven to be good with kids is more likely to be adopted. (Parents experiencing any trepidation at this point should note that the dogs themselves undergo a strict screening process before being allowed to take part in the camp.)

The kids, of course, may also be asked to help clean up after their dogs. Trust me: Picking up dog poop is a valuable skill. I wish more people in my neighborhood had it.

Camp runs from March 29 to April 2, then again from April 5 to April 9. More details are at the SPCALA website.

Hi! I’m Little Sister. My mom has had success finding homes for kitties before, via Metblogs. If you’ve been reading for a few years, you’ll know about her cat saga.  Now, she’s trying to find a home for me!

I am gorgeous, if I do say so myself–with long Himalayan-style fur that’s a mix of tabby stripes & calico and marmalade colors. Every time Mom comes home I run to greet her at the gate, and I love being petted. I’m less a fan of being picked up, but can you blame me? I grew up as a feral cat, and being picked up scares me.

Mom says I have to find a new indoor home because coyotes have found our yard where we all live and are killing us one by one. I’m pretty creeped out by that. I hope you can adopt me, because then I’ll be safe! I like being outdoors, but I know my life span will be longer and I’ll be healthier if I become an indoor cat. Mom would let me live in her house but I give her the sneezles.

If you adopt me, I will probably hide under your bed or in your closet for a week before I start to venture out and explore. Pet me and you’ll find I’m a purring machine! I’m mellow and easygoing, and over time as I become used to being an indoor cat I’ll become the perfectest cat in the world! I’ve been spayed and mom says she’ll get me all new shots, which sounds not so fun.

If you’d like me to be YOUR best friend, email mom at lucindamichele (at) metblogs (dawt) com. Meow.

Hello from the beautiful West Valley, where we have everything we need to weather the storm.

Feel free to share links to your rainy-day photos in the comments, below.

I’ve written about Healthy Spot before.  It’s my neighborhood dog store; it’s my dog’s version of “Cheers.”  Because, really, everyone there knows her name, from the groomers to the girl in charge of their doggie daycare to the owners.  I wish I frequented a store catered to humans where the people knew my name, and what my favorite treat is (FYI: for future reference, it’s those tiny Andes thin mints – so tasty and satisfying).  Healthy Spot opened near me in Santa Monica in 2008; now, not even two full years later, they’re bringing the cheers, the organic, not-recalled dog food, and their dog-related services to West Hollywood.  Located on Santa Monica and La Cienega in a space that formerly housed a Famima!!, Saturday is their grand opening bash.  You’ll get to sample their store, peek inside their doggie daycare, check out the grooming salon, and, most importantly, get free stuff.  There will be doggie bags full of samples for the first 200 dogs; complimentary nail clippings with any purchase; and a raffle and silent auction in support of Best Friends LA.  Cheers!

The West Hollywood branch of Healthy Spot is at 8525 Santa Monica Boulevard.  The grand opening party is from 10am – 4pm.

Mink's feral cat photo used through Creative Commons

This weekend, Saturday and Sunday, the Stray Cat Alliance is having a giant indoor “yard” sale at 2201 Westwood (the site of the former Hollywood Video store on the corner of Olympic). The sale runs Saturday (Caturday as some would have it) 30 January from 8am to 3pm and Sunday 31 January from 9am to noon. The Stray Cat Alliance are those folks who care for strays, trying to match them with people, neuter and spay where needed and generally do what they can to work toward a “no kill nation.” So yeah, come buy things and help save the wild kittehs

To donate items, please email: info@StrayCatAlliance.org or call (310) 281-6973

To volunteer the week before or during the sale, email: SCAVolunteers@gmail.com

I have a shiba inu.  This usually isn’t a problem for people who don’t mind purebred dogs anymore than they mind eating breakfast for dinner, but every once in a while at certain parties, I run into someone who flippantly says things like, “Your dog sounds nice, but I like to save dogs from the shelter.”  Then I get schooled about the immorality of selective breeding and an angry litany of supposed diseases and defects my dog will have as result of generations of (in)breeding.  And, as much as I try to explain the virtues of responsible breeding and purebred dog ownership, I usually end up testing whether my dog understands my hand signal for “bare your teeth and growl.”

The American Kennel Club/Eukanuba 125th Annual National Championship dog show held just two weekends ago in Long Beach, then, would be a bad place for those adamantly against the purebred pup.  Too bad, as watching the (over)celebration of the best of each breed was highly, highly entertaining.  Self-riteous people looking for a bone to pick at every turn really do miss out on all the fun.

It was a soggy day – hard to remember when we’ve been getting spring-like weather, isn’t it? – but surprisingly, once you reached the floor of the show, it didn’t smell like wet dogs at all.  It smelled a bit like hair product mixed with human sweat.  The sweat of competition.

Some Best in Show moments from behind the blue carpet of the ring, after the jump.

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Kittens from the neighborhood that I can't afford to spay or neuter. Shall we kill them?

You know the great clinic I told you about (click for pics of cute kittens) some months ago that will spay & neuter your kitties for free? Fix Nation? They’ve now been suspended from providing those free services.

Here’s what happened:

“Wild bird groups sued the City of Los Angeles in 2008 to stop its support of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), the humane, community based method to control feral cat overpopulation. They claimed that under the California Environmental Quality Act, the City of LA could not provide discount spay neuter coupons to feral cat caregivers or promote TNR without an Environmental Study and Impact Report, based upon the utterly false premise that if TNR is promoted by the City, fewer cats will be killed in shelters, meaning more cats left in the environment to kill birds.

Last week, after a summary trial of this action, Judge Thomas McKnew, of the LA Superior Court, bought into this spurious argument and issued an injunction preventing any City support of TNR.”

-from this article

Way to go, dude!

I encourage you to sign the petition here to return the city’s support of TNR programs. With these programs no longer free, people like me will not be able to afford to trap, neuter & release the wild cats in our neighborhoods–meaning unchecked breeding and even MORE birds killed. And, of course, more cats killed or living fearful & malnourished lives on the street.

Getting fluffed for show.

I never thought I would be one of those people, but here I am:  I went to a dog show yesterday.  The 2009 AKC/Eukanuba National Championship started Saturday at the Long Beach Convention Center and finishes today, Sunday, with the Best in Show being crowned at some point tonight.  There also is a highly entertaining agility contest – disproportionately attended by lesbians (not that there is anything wrong with that; I was there too) – in which big and small dogs race their way through an obstacle course.  If you have no plans on a lazy (and hopefully dry) Sunday and have a spare Andrew Jackson in your wallet, tickets at the box office are $20 and free for kiddies.

I know what you’re thinking: Best in Show and one of Jane Lynch’s finest performances outside of Glee. And, really, it is hard not to mock the entire event, or any event in which a group of obsessed people congregate to out-obsess the other.  But, for dog lovers, it’s also a nice chance to see all sorts of different dogs like the Xoloitzcuintli, learn about different breeds, and see how they fluff the bichon frisee’s fur.  It’s electric.

If you can’t make it, no fear: a full recap will be up next week for those who live vicariously through their computers.  The pictures might be the best photos I have ever taken.

If you follow Cesar Millan’s tweets, you know that his maxims are like the Tao of Pooch: easier said than done.  Southern California dog owners who are struggling to establish themselves as pack leaders, and agree with Cesar’s methods and theories of dog rehabilitation, are invited to head out to Doggie Avenue in Burbank between 1 and 2 on TUESDAY to audition themselves for Cesar’s National Geographic show, The Dog Whisperer. The producers seem to be looking for pretty much any problem behavior that needs rectifying: unusual phobias; obsessions, fearful behavior; and aggression.  For their extra-special Valentine’s Day episode, the producers also are looking for couples on the brink of breaking up because of the dog, so be sure to act extra catty during the audition.

Check out the guidelines for full details on what you will need to bring, and legal forms you will have to sign, for the audition. Basically, you’ll need to bring a videotape of your dog behaving badly, with the caveat that you don’t put yourself, the dog, or other innocents in harm’s way while you do it.  For example, if you would like to show Cesar just how aggressive Pookie is when s/he sees another dog, you better not have Pookie off-leash when I’m in your ‘hood walking my dog.  Actually, you better not have Pookie off-leash ever.  Good luck!!

Photo courtesy of East of West LA via the Metblogs Flickr pool.

Oh man, I can not resist a good pun: this Sunday at 6, Healthy Spot is having its second annual “Howliday” party in its “barking lot.”  Bring your pup out to join in on the festivities:  vendors giving out free samples, a raffle, and even a “doggie” bag.  Now, about that doggie bag: we’re not talking paltry samples of Milkbones here.  No, these are the best free bags of swag this side of the Oscars.  At their “Howl-ween” party, for example, the doggie bag was stuffed with full-sized bags of Souplements and a full-size bag of organic Stella & Chewy’s duck treats.  Full-sized. That’s at least a $10 value.

Their free swag is generally consistent with their philosophy of giving your pet healthy, grain-free food, to the extent that you can afford it.  This actually is my neighborhood pet store; I come in a few times a month, sometimes for no reason other than the fact that my dog drags me there on our walks.  I mean, she yanked me in there even after she got a full bath from their grooming salon (yet she still won’t set paw in our bathroom, where we usually bathe her.  Maddening.).  The owners – Andrew and Mark – are exceptionally friendly, exceptionally accessible, exceptionally knowledgeable about dog food and health, and exceptionally gracious when my dog decides to ram into Healthy Spot’s resident boxer Lucky for no reason other than the fact that my dog thinks she’s five times bigger than she actually is.

If you can’t make it out on Sunday, try next Sunday, when Healthy Spot joins Shifting Gears to host Scooby-Roo’s Rescue Ride, a biking/fundraiser for Fuzzy Rescue.  Bikers are to meet at Healthy Spot at 8; those of us who don’t ride can drop by at 10am to join in on the post-ride party, complete with free food and drinks for humans and canines alike.

For those of you who can not/adamantly will not go west of Western, Healthy Spot just launched their online store.  Pretty soon, Idgie will be sniffing them out on the Internet too, I just know it.

Healthy Spot
1110 Wilshire Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90401

Readers who happen to be old ladies:

Younger men are better looking, healthier, have more energy, are more fun, don’t need Viagra, and won’t die on you!

Such is the rationale for tonight’s California Cougar Convention.  While older men are considered men even though they show off their grays in the form of a young blond, society’s answer to the reverse situation is: predatory animals.  So, in the spirit of the jungle kingdom, the Society of Single Professionals (yes) organized tonight’s convention  for cougars and their would-be cubs at the Beverly Hills Crowne Plaza Hotel.  Thirty dollars will buy you access to the stalking, the pouncing, and the purring; in addition, the young cubs will vote to elect a Miss Cougar California (who must be 40 or over (that’s who an “older woman” is, apparently) and “legally single”) during the night’s dance party.

For those of you who want so desperately to cougar, but don’t know how, take the 6:30 class in cougaring at The Cougar School, free for paid convention goers.  I’m not exactly sure what this will entail, but I’m envisioning the scene from The Lion King where Mufasa teaches Simba how to pounce.  Cubs, heed the sign’s warning: If attacked, fight back.  Zazu should have been so lucky.

When mountain lions attack photo taken by jurvetson and used under a Creative Commons license.

Well, I guess that happened months ago, perhaps when people started Fairey-ing their Facebook photos. But  I wonder if this  image of a dog with the word “ADOPT,” which I snapped in Marina del Rey, adds to the universal iconography idea that might help Fairey in his lawsuit with the Associated Press.

Animal lovers abound here at LA Metblogs (among the authors and readers) and whether the animals are cats or dogs or bunnies or birds or even coyotes, we love them all.

On Sunday October 4th, Race For The Rescues is a fun family event to raise money to support our homeless dogs and cats and seven of the amazing organizations that keep them out of the city shelters and therefore out of the death chamber. The day’s host is The Rescue Train, a non-profit, no-kill organization, saving as many little lives as they can.

The main event at the Rose Bowl will be a 5k walk/run and 1 mile kids race. There will also be music, LA Laker cheerleaders, shopping and of course, pet adoptions. This event alone makes a huge difference in the lives of pets waiting for adoption. From the website:

In the past three years, Race For The Rescues raised over $200,000 to help support seven non-profit rescue groups. Once again we are proud to say not one dog or cat from this adoption day went back to a city shelter to face euthanasia. Help us meet our goal this year to send those city shelter trucks back EMPTY!

Sign up for the event here, or if you can’t make that day, you can send in donations or sponsor another 5k-er.

Let’s keep them goggies and lolcats out of the city shelters and get them into loving homes.

Race For The Rescues
Sunday October 4
Registration opens at 7am and events run until afternoon

If you are a dog lover and have the need get some exercise, Sunday will be the Wiggle Waggle Walk in Pasadena hosted by the Pasadena Humane Society and SPCA. The 1th annual fundraiser will take you on a walk around the Rose Bowl. The event, which runs from 8am – 2p, will feature various pet contests & demonstrations, many pet-friendly vendors and a Family Fun Fair.

Join thousands of animal lovers at the 2009 Wiggle Waggle Walk to help the more than 12,000 animals Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA cares for each year. Gather your family, friends, co-workers and canine companions. Collect donations and enjoy a scenic walk, jog or stroll of 1 to 3 miles around the Rose Bowl.

All fundraising information can be found on their website.