You can join us by e-mailing your name, e-mail address and city to BlandMJ@AOL.com or just go to South County Animal Shelter Coalition - blog at: http://scasc1.blogspot.com/
================================================
RUFF’s PET FOOD FOR THE UNEMPLOYED - Free Pet Food for unemployed people on the second Saturday of every month from 10 AM to noon at the Alicia Pet Care Center at 25800 Jeronimo Rd. #100, Mission Viejo. Also, the South County Outreach Food Pantry at 26776 Vista Terrace, Lake Forest, is open Monday - Friday from 9 AM to 4 PM and has free pet food. Ann Breuer who started the Pet Food Giveaway program, with her husband Jim Gardner, is also part of a volunteer group making coats for pets in animal shelters. Both Pet Food programs are sponsored by RUFF (Rescuing Unwanted Furry Friends www.ruffrescue.org). You can contact Anne Breuer at annebreuer@yahoo.com Donations from local food banks and pet food manufacturers have dried up in the last month or two so donations of pet food are needed again. Please call 949-722-1511 for drop off location and information.
================================================
WHAT'S NOW FOR SOUTH COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER COALITION
================================================
Happy Holidays to all of you and all your pets!!! Please Remember that New Years Eve and the 4th of July are the WORST HOLIDAYS for PETS getting loose, hurt, killed or ending up in shelters due to loud noises and chaos that accompany these holidays. Please be very sure your pet has an ID chip plus a collar with a tag including your address and phone # so that you can be easily notified and your pet can be easily returned to you if lost. If your pet is afraid of loud noises you can get a tranquilizer for your pet from your Veterinarian, as needed, keep doors and windows closed and music playing to help drown the noise. Most important never leave pets who are frightened of loud noises alone on these holidays. Also please be aware of holiday food, decorations and toxic plants being left where pets can get to them - some of the dangers are chocolate and any kind of bones especially splintery bones from turkey and chicken.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR SOUTH COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER COALITION
================================================
*** You can sign the ASPCA Pledge against shopping at pet stores who sell puppies at - http://www.nopetstorepuppies.com/ - "If a pet store sells puppies I won't buy anything there." Take the pledge. Thank you to Rose for this information.
================================================
*** You can sign the ASPCA Pledge against shopping at pet stores who sell puppies at - http://www.nopetstorepuppies.com/ - "If a pet store sells puppies I won't buy anything there." Take the pledge. Thank you to Rose for this information.
This Issue with the County Animal Shelter Continues to Remain Unresolved - PET RESCUE GROUPS ARE REPORTING THEYHAVE RECEIVED BILLS FOR KENNELING AND OTHER FEES FROM ORANGE COUNTY ANIMAL CARE SERVICES - The site is: www.thepetitionsite.com/1/no-kennel-fees-for-animal-rescue-organizations/ If you have questions please contact Fran at frannie0416@comline.com " **** On 7-28 the Animal Recues received this message from the Orange County Animal Rescue Coalition - Just heard from Sgt. Holland of OCASC. She advised me that the outcome of the kennel fees are on hold and no further monies are to be paid until a determination is made from the Board of Supervisors. If the outcome is in our favor we will be refunded the kennel fees some other groups paid. She did not know how much longer this will take. - ****A 2011 News Story about how much the rescue groups help the Orange County Animal Shelter. - 2 kids, 110 cats removed from Santa Ana home http://www.ocregister.com/articles/cats-291334-rescue-home.html
===============================================
===============================================
===============================================
Strange pairing of the Iguana and the Duck, plus a Christmas Skunk
We moved to Laguna Hills in 1978, so we could have room for a barn, pets, a large yard and trees and still be close to the coast. Over the years we have adopted and/or rescued many animals including chickens, ducks, pheasants, ferrets, goats, full size and miniature horses, dogs, cats and a broad array of injured birds who needed to be rehabbed and released or just remain in a safe environment. We once had two sea gulls who had been too wounded to fly, a very loving homing pigeon from the Mission Viejo Animal Shelter who wouldn't go home and a sweet duck named Pete who had splayed feet and couldn’t walk because he’d been hatched without proper attention in a school classroom. We made him some soft duck cuffs with a ball bearing joint in the middle to hold his legs closer together and that gave him the mobility he needed to walk and swim. We once had a King Snake that slithered into our house and made himself at home on the hearth of our fireplace. We relocated that snake to a more appropriate home in the barn but we had a tougher time with our Christmas Skunk who entered our family room, through the dog door, on Christmas Eve and left us a Christmas Aroma that kept on giving for a very long time. We cleaned and scrubbed ourselves and everything in the house but wherever we went for many months people would sniff the air and say to each other, do you smell a skunk in here? We finally discovered the skunk odor that accompanied us everywhere was coming from my purse which I had forgotten to de-skunk.
20 year old Kelly, our Green Iguana, was purchased from a pet shop, as a baby, but only a couple of weeks later was dumped in a box in front of the Pet Shop's door with a note saying he was too difficult to care for. Ms. Duck, a 12 year old female Mallard Duck, was discovered as a baby pecking at the glass patio door of a home in Mission Viejo. She was rescued by the homeowner. Both came to us through our daughter Sherri who worked, at that time, as a Veterinary Technician at the Animal and Bird Clinic of Mission Viejo and volunteered at Friends of the Sea Lions in Laguna Beach. Sherri has since grown up, married and moved to England although some of the rescues she left behind are still with us, and no, we never did keep a rescued sea lion in our pool but we can't say we didn't think about it.
Kelly the Iguana, who was named after a daughter of Dr. Coward, at the Animal and Bird Clinic of Mission Viejo, is a friendly guy, but the people who originally bought him discovered that Iguanas do have a lot of special needs,"Big Lizard, Big Needs". No aquarium for a full sized Iguana. Kelly has his own approximately 10 foot x 20 foot fully enclosed yard, complete with a pond, a cut off tree trunk with branches for him to climb where he can bask in the all important natural sunlight and he has his own heated dog house with beach sand on the floor, where he can come and go as he pleases. We have to be sure he is in his house every night before the sun goes down because if he gets too cold he'll stop moving and won't be able to make it back to his house by himself. He needs to be kept between 60 and 85 degrees all the time.
Ms. Duck had a duck mate who eventually died. After she lost her mate she bonded with Kelly. Ms. Duck appeared to us to be more committed to the relationship than Kelly was, but when a wild mallard duck got into the bird yard one time and went after Ms. Duck, Kelly literally zoomed to her rescue. We had never seen Kelly move that fast and didn't know he could, but he kept the duck intruder away until we could remove it from the bird yard. Kelly is a laid back fellow who never complains. He seems very content to allow his duck girl friend to share his home, his daily fresh organic fruit and veggie salads, his pool and his life. They even groom each other. Kelly also taught us a lot about healthy eating. His diet consists of about 70% dark leafy greens, 15% fresh vegetables and 15% fresh fruit. When you notice that your Iguana and duck are both eating better than you are every day and thriving, you eventually get the hint. It's fun to watch Kelly eat. He looks like a dinosaur chewing and he never hurries through a meal or hurries through anything else. You never know who or what life will bring you, and for our family that has been a large part of the education and adventure of living with rescued pets. Happy Holidays to everyone!!! Jean and Michael Bland, Dec 2011
===============================================
Strange pairing of the Iguana and the Duck, plus a Christmas Skunk
We moved to Laguna Hills in 1978, so we could have room for a barn, pets, a large yard and trees and still be close to the coast. Over the years we have adopted and/or rescued many animals including chickens, ducks, pheasants, ferrets, goats, full size and miniature horses, dogs, cats and a broad array of injured birds who needed to be rehabbed and released or just remain in a safe environment. We once had two sea gulls who had been too wounded to fly, a very loving homing pigeon from the Mission Viejo Animal Shelter who wouldn't go home and a sweet duck named Pete who had splayed feet and couldn’t walk because he’d been hatched without proper attention in a school classroom. We made him some soft duck cuffs with a ball bearing joint in the middle to hold his legs closer together and that gave him the mobility he needed to walk and swim. We once had a King Snake that slithered into our house and made himself at home on the hearth of our fireplace. We relocated that snake to a more appropriate home in the barn but we had a tougher time with our Christmas Skunk who entered our family room, through the dog door, on Christmas Eve and left us a Christmas Aroma that kept on giving for a very long time. We cleaned and scrubbed ourselves and everything in the house but wherever we went for many months people would sniff the air and say to each other, do you smell a skunk in here? We finally discovered the skunk odor that accompanied us everywhere was coming from my purse which I had forgotten to de-skunk.
20 year old Kelly, our Green Iguana, was purchased from a pet shop, as a baby, but only a couple of weeks later was dumped in a box in front of the Pet Shop's door with a note saying he was too difficult to care for. Ms. Duck, a 12 year old female Mallard Duck, was discovered as a baby pecking at the glass patio door of a home in Mission Viejo. She was rescued by the homeowner. Both came to us through our daughter Sherri who worked, at that time, as a Veterinary Technician at the Animal and Bird Clinic of Mission Viejo and volunteered at Friends of the Sea Lions in Laguna Beach. Sherri has since grown up, married and moved to England although some of the rescues she left behind are still with us, and no, we never did keep a rescued sea lion in our pool but we can't say we didn't think about it.
Kelly the Iguana, who was named after a daughter of Dr. Coward, at the Animal and Bird Clinic of Mission Viejo, is a friendly guy, but the people who originally bought him discovered that Iguanas do have a lot of special needs,"Big Lizard, Big Needs". No aquarium for a full sized Iguana. Kelly has his own approximately 10 foot x 20 foot fully enclosed yard, complete with a pond, a cut off tree trunk with branches for him to climb where he can bask in the all important natural sunlight and he has his own heated dog house with beach sand on the floor, where he can come and go as he pleases. We have to be sure he is in his house every night before the sun goes down because if he gets too cold he'll stop moving and won't be able to make it back to his house by himself. He needs to be kept between 60 and 85 degrees all the time.
Ms. Duck had a duck mate who eventually died. After she lost her mate she bonded with Kelly. Ms. Duck appeared to us to be more committed to the relationship than Kelly was, but when a wild mallard duck got into the bird yard one time and went after Ms. Duck, Kelly literally zoomed to her rescue. We had never seen Kelly move that fast and didn't know he could, but he kept the duck intruder away until we could remove it from the bird yard. Kelly is a laid back fellow who never complains. He seems very content to allow his duck girl friend to share his home, his daily fresh organic fruit and veggie salads, his pool and his life. They even groom each other. Kelly also taught us a lot about healthy eating. His diet consists of about 70% dark leafy greens, 15% fresh vegetables and 15% fresh fruit. When you notice that your Iguana and duck are both eating better than you are every day and thriving, you eventually get the hint. It's fun to watch Kelly eat. He looks like a dinosaur chewing and he never hurries through a meal or hurries through anything else. You never know who or what life will bring you, and for our family that has been a large part of the education and adventure of living with rescued pets. Happy Holidays to everyone!!! Jean and Michael Bland, Dec 2011
===============================================
HELPFUL INFORMATION FOR PET OWNERS
===============================================
How to Ease Your Dog's Separation Anxiety - From the ASPCA
Does your dog get stressed or depressed when you leave, then get into all sorts of trouble while you're gone?
How to Ease Your Dog's Separation Anxiety - From the ASPCA
Does your dog get stressed or depressed when you leave, then get into all sorts of trouble while you're gone?
Tips to find the perfect pet sitter.http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/life/10-tips-to-find-the-perfect-pet-sitter-1877335/http://www.ospcablog.ca/?p=173.
Be alert and walk with a walking stick to protect your dog from Coyote Attacks and continue so protect your pets at all times when they are outside.
================================================
================================================
PET LOST AND FOUND E-MAIL NOTICES FROM SCASC
================================================
Laguna Hills Citizens who sign up with SCASC at BlandMJ@AOL.com help protect their pets through our Free Lost and Found Pet e-mails to everyone on the Laguna Hills e-mail list. If you lose or find a pet e-mail us a description of the pet, when and where it was lost or found, and your name, phone # and/or e-mail address for contact information. The anxiety you feel when you lose or find a pet in Laguna Hills is because it is not tolerable to turn a defenseless pet over to the Orange County Shelter with its high kill rate. While most other So. County Cities have or share safe City Shelters, the Laguna Hills City Council has chosen to retain the worst animal control services available - the 70 year old County Shelter 20 miles away that is consistently overcrowded, and has a consistently high kill rate. These are the same services we had before we became a City 20 years ago.
================================================
Laguna Hills Citizens who sign up with SCASC at BlandMJ@AOL.com help protect their pets through our Free Lost and Found Pet e-mails to everyone on the Laguna Hills e-mail list. If you lose or find a pet e-mail us a description of the pet, when and where it was lost or found, and your name, phone # and/or e-mail address for contact information. The anxiety you feel when you lose or find a pet in Laguna Hills is because it is not tolerable to turn a defenseless pet over to the Orange County Shelter with its high kill rate. While most other So. County Cities have or share safe City Shelters, the Laguna Hills City Council has chosen to retain the worst animal control services available - the 70 year old County Shelter 20 miles away that is consistently overcrowded, and has a consistently high kill rate. These are the same services we had before we became a City 20 years ago.
================================================
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS
================================================
================================================
================================================
================================================
IMPORTANT LEGISLATIVE ISSUES FOR CA. PETS & PET OWNERS
================================================
JUST FOR FUN
================================================
================================================
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/pets/detail?entry_id=94119 Beginning January 2012, Bill SB 917 prohibits the sale of animals on streets, in parking lots and from other similar public venues, and increases the penalty for animal cruelty by neglect to up to one year of incarceration. A Victory for California's Animals. Unregulated animal sales are an animal welfare problem in addition to posing problems for consumers. Many of these animals are bred and raised in poor conditions and are often sick at the time of sale. They are usually not spayed or neutered, which further contributes to the tens of thousands of homeless animals that are euthanized in California each year. Thank you to Rose T. for this info.
Join the ASPCA in helping to fight PUPPY MILLS at http://www.nopetstorepuppies.com/ and spread the work on social networks.
Visit website@aspca.org to learn more about supporting puppy mill reform
From Mike Markarian, President, Humane Society Legislative Fund - http://www.hslf.org/ One of our top priorities in the 112th Congress is to pass the Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety (PUPS) Act which would crack down on puppy mills selling directly to consumers via the Internet. Take action now to urge your legislators to support this bill.
================================================
Join the ASPCA in helping to fight PUPPY MILLS at http://www.nopetstorepuppies.com/ and spread the work on social networks.
Visit website@aspca.org to learn more about supporting puppy mill reform
From Mike Markarian, President, Humane Society Legislative Fund - http://www.hslf.org/ One of our top priorities in the 112th Congress is to pass the Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety (PUPS) Act which would crack down on puppy mills selling directly to consumers via the Internet. Take action now to urge your legislators to support this bill.
================================================
================================================
New Movie - THE WAR HORSE is coming to theaters on Christmas Day. This is an epic adventure from Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks about a boy's beloved horse (Joey) in WWI in England that was sold to the calvary and shipped to France. A compelling story about the events of the war and the boy's efforts to find his horse again is told through the eyes of the horse. It's from a children's novel by Michael Morpurgo written in 1982.
================================================
================================================
SPECIAL EVENTS CALENDAR
================================================
1st 3 Saturdays in, December 3, 10, 17 and Sunday Dec. 18 - HOLIDAY PHOTOS WITH SANTA! Bring your pet to the Orange County Animal Shelter at 561 The City Dr. in Orange from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM for a photo with Santa! All participants will receive a festive holiday frame with their pet’s photo along with a digital copy to share with friends and family. All donations will benefit the animals at OC Animal Care. See more at http://egov.ocgov.com/vgnfiles/ocgov/OC%20Animal%20Care/Docs/carousel/SantaPhotos2011.pdf
Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 10 and 11 HOLIDAY PHOTOS WITH SANTA 11 am to 4 pm. at the Foothill Ranch Petsmart - 26532 Towne Centre Dr. from FOLFA - Friends of Lake Forest Animals.
All Winter - Presents for Paws Drive - Desperate Paws of Orange County is running a collection drive for lightly used blankets and dog and cat toys for its annual and will distribute items to dogs and cats at area animal shelters - please go to http://www.ocregister.com/articles/blankets-327714-toys-paws.html for drop off sites all over Orange County.
================================================
1st 3 Saturdays in, December 3, 10, 17 and Sunday Dec. 18 - HOLIDAY PHOTOS WITH SANTA! Bring your pet to the Orange County Animal Shelter at 561 The City Dr. in Orange from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM for a photo with Santa! All participants will receive a festive holiday frame with their pet’s photo along with a digital copy to share with friends and family. All donations will benefit the animals at OC Animal Care. See more at http://egov.ocgov.com/vgnfiles/ocgov/OC%20Animal%20Care/Docs/carousel/SantaPhotos2011.pdf
Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 10 and 11 HOLIDAY PHOTOS WITH SANTA 11 am to 4 pm. at the Foothill Ranch Petsmart - 26532 Towne Centre Dr. from FOLFA - Friends of Lake Forest Animals.
All Winter - Presents for Paws Drive - Desperate Paws of Orange County is running a collection drive for lightly used blankets and dog and cat toys for its annual and will distribute items to dogs and cats at area animal shelters - please go to http://www.ocregister.com/articles/blankets-327714-toys-paws.html for drop off sites all over Orange County.
Sunday, February 26, 2012 - The Animal Kinship Ministry is "Doing It for Love" at the Aliso Creek Inn, Laguna Beach 1 pm - 5 pm and invites you to join us in this celebration of our mutual love for animals, and.....you decide what animal welfare organization will receive the funds raised from the event. Lunch, music, dancing, entertainment and more. Tickets $50.00 each and must be purchased prior to event. Contact Rose roselite@comline.com (949) 533-1762 for more info or www.cslcv.org
================================================
LISTENING TO SCASC SUPPORTERS
================================================
From Rose Tingle with the Animal Kinship Ministry - Vital Farms has received the Humane Certification for raising their egg laying hens. Currently the eggs cost just a little more than average but certainly worth it because they are more nutritious for us, produced by chickens raised humanely on pasture and supporting this farm. Here is a brief video. http://vitalfarms.com/ Mother's Market and Whole Foods Market carries these eggs. You can ask to have the dozen packs cut in to 1/2 dozen packs if you wish. If you do not live in the area of these markets, you may check online for a grocer near you, at this website.
http://www.certifiedhumane.org/index.php?page=where-to-buy
================================================
================================================
From Rose Tingle with the Animal Kinship Ministry - Vital Farms has received the Humane Certification for raising their egg laying hens. Currently the eggs cost just a little more than average but certainly worth it because they are more nutritious for us, produced by chickens raised humanely on pasture and supporting this farm. Here is a brief video. http://vitalfarms.com/ Mother's Market and Whole Foods Market carries these eggs. You can ask to have the dozen packs cut in to 1/2 dozen packs if you wish. If you do not live in the area of these markets, you may check online for a grocer near you, at this website.
http://www.certifiedhumane.org/index.php?page=where-to-buy
================================================
IMPORTANT REMINDERS
================================================
*** Fall is here again and Operation Blankets of Love needs your help to help shelter animals at http://www.operationblanketsoflove.com/ provides recycled and new pet-related items to comfort stray, sick, neglected and abused homeless animals in shelters, rescues and foster homes. They also partner with other organizations to provide relief and comfort to animals displaced or endangered by catastrophe.
The blankets of Love Collection Centers in So. Orange County are Mission Viejo - Neighborhood Car Care, 23761 Via Fabricante, # A, 949-707-5991 and Pet Supply Warehouse 23854 Via Fabricante, # E1, 959-951-1284; Laguna Woods - Nifty after Fifty, 24258 El Toro Rd., 949-900-0500; Laguna Hills - The UPS Store 24881 Alicia Parkway Ste. E (behind Carl's Jr.), 949-855-8544; Tustin - 14402 Chambers Rd., 714-368-7077.
================================================
PETS & PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
================================================
================================================
*** Fall is here again and Operation Blankets of Love needs your help to help shelter animals at http://www.operationblanketsoflove.com/ provides recycled and new pet-related items to comfort stray, sick, neglected and abused homeless animals in shelters, rescues and foster homes. They also partner with other organizations to provide relief and comfort to animals displaced or endangered by catastrophe.
The blankets of Love Collection Centers in So. Orange County are Mission Viejo - Neighborhood Car Care, 23761 Via Fabricante, # A, 949-707-5991 and Pet Supply Warehouse 23854 Via Fabricante, # E1, 959-951-1284; Laguna Woods - Nifty after Fifty, 24258 El Toro Rd., 949-900-0500; Laguna Hills - The UPS Store 24881 Alicia Parkway Ste. E (behind Carl's Jr.), 949-855-8544; Tustin - 14402 Chambers Rd., 714-368-7077.
================================================
PETS & PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
================================================
Don't forget to track Samantha Gowen OC Register Staff Writer and Pet Reporter online at her new address - ocregister.com/pets
Don't forget to track Samantha Gowen OC Register Staff Writer and Pet Reporter online at her new address - ocregister.com/pets
Also look for OC Register Reporter Erika Ritchie who writes a lot of pet and wildlife stories.
================================================
HOW TO CONTACT ELECTED OFFICIALS
================================================
Laguna Hills City Council
phone - 949-707-2610 fax 949-707- 2614
Orange County Supervisors:
================================================
Laguna Hills City Council
Laguna Hills e-mail - ccouncil@di.laguna-hills.ca.us for all City Council Members
City web site - www.ci.laguna-hills.ca.us phone - 949-707-2610 fax 949-707- 2614
Orange County Supervisors:
Pat Bates: Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, the community of Newport Coast, & the unincorporated areas of Coto de Caza, Ladera Ranch, Las Flores, and Wagon Wheel PatBates@ocgov.com
Shawn Nelson: Anaheim, Buena Park, Fullerton, La Habra, PlacentaAudra.Adams@ocgov.com
Shawn Nelson: Anaheim, Buena Park, Fullerton, La Habra, Placenta
Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Seal Beach, Stanton. district2@ocgov.com
Janet Nguyen: Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Westminister janet.nguyen@ocgov.com
Bill Campbell: Anaheim, Brea, Irvine, Orange, Tustin, Villa Park, Yorba Linda.
Bill.Campbell@ocgov.comJanet Nguyen: Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Westminister janet.nguyen@ocgov.com
Bill Campbell: Anaheim, Brea, Irvine, Orange, Tustin, Villa Park, Yorba Linda.
=======================================
