Hermosa Beach has barred pet stores from selling dogs and cats.  The City Council unanimously approved the law this week. A final vote is planned April 13.  The ordinance, modeled after a recent ban in West Hollywood, is designed to raise awareness about puppy mills and cat factories and encourage pet adoptions. For complete story click HERE.

Title: Baldwin Park Shelter Volunteer Day
Location: Baldwin Park Shelter – 4275 N. Elton St., Baldwin Park, CA 91706
Description: If participating for the first time, we will be walking, grooming, socializing, and photographing as many dogs and cats as possible, after which we will circulate an electronic flyer to a large distribution group for networking. You will need to complete the following LA County volunteer application and the shelter’s volunteer orientation to volunteer at the shelter: LA County Volunteer Application
Please also make sure to wear your county volunteer t-shirt or AAA shirt.
(you may purchase an LA County Volunteer t-shirt for $10 at the shelter following completion of orientation).
Additional Details:
*Please plan to meet around 9:00 a.m. The shelter address is 4275 N. Elton St., Baldwin Park, 91706. From any location west of downtown LA, take the 10 Freeway east, merge onto 605 North and exit Ramona – stay on left hand lane as you will need to make a Left turn once you pass the train tracks to make sure you stay on Ramona. Turn Left on Elton. Elton is a very small street (almost an alley), so it is easy to miss the street sign. Keep your eyes peeled!
* Wear comfortable shoes and clothing, and be aware that your clothes and shoes WILL get dirty!
* Try to eat breakfast, and bring along an energy bar or snack and some water for lunch, as we normally do not have time to take an extended lunch break
Thank you for challenging yourself to make the time to help wonderful shelter animals

Start Time: 9:00
Date: 2010-04-03
End Time: 15:00

With only days left before the shelter was scheduled to kill this sweet gentle boy, Molly’s Mutts and Meows stepped forward and rescued Sniper (now Guinness) and gave him the wonderful opportunity to live and shine. Guinness is going to make someone extremely happy and the video below is proof of what incredible companions many pit bulls can be. Guinness is great with people, great with dogs, good with cats. Just a perfect dog! thank you Molly’s Mutts and Meows for saving him and allowing Guinness to show everyone how terrific he is. This video should be an inspiration to everyone who works hard to educate people about the pit bull/staffie truth!

A Chattanooga police officers vehicle got more than it bargained for when it came in contact with Winston the dog. See Winston eat the cop car’s front bumper, before taking a bite out of several tires. A judge said that Winston is a very bad boy and sentenced him to wear a tag that says he is a vicious dog. I’m glad they didn’t put him down.

Watch the amazing video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P1erlGV5Jk

Title: Pet Adoption Event – Hollywood
Location: Pan Pacific Park – Hollywood 7600 Beverly Blvd., (corner of Gardner/Beverly Blvd.)
Description: Great shelter dogs and AAA foster dogs and cats available for adoption! All animals spayed/neutered, vaccinated and microchipped. Shelter dogs/cats ready to go home with you from the event. Find your new best friend and save a life!
Start Time: 11:00
Date: 2010-04-25
End Time: 16:00

Ellen DeGeneres is working with the U.S. Postal Service to promote a stamp campaign for shelter pets.  USPS awareness stamps displaying pictures of shelter animals will be for sale at the post office starting April 30, 2010 but you can also pre-order them! For complete story click HERE.

Kashka, a giraffe that lived at a New Mexico zoo for 15 years, was euthanized last week because of a debilitating leg injury.  It was later discovered that Kashka’s body, dismembered from a routine necropsy, had been tossed into a zoo dumpster at the zoo.  While zoo animals are sent to the landfill when they die, they certainly are not to be tossed away in a dumpster!  Zoo employees were instructed to take Kashka’s remains to the landfill but instead of taking the giraffe to an area designated for dead animals at the landfill, a zoo worker put the giraffe carcass in a zoo dumpster.  Albuquerque’s Cultural Services Director Betty Rivera, who oversees Albuquerque’s Rio Grande Zoo, said the way Kashka was handled is shocking. Mayor R. J. Berry’s office has launched a full investigation into what went wrong. For complete story click HERE.

Weighing in at over 40 pounds, Ralph might be the world’s largest rabbit!  He’s bigger than many of our dogs and he eats $15 worth of food every day!  He’s massive! For complete story click HERE.

Maple is a sweet and loving 5-yr-old staffie who was bred and dumped at the East Valley shelter after suffering a traumatic, high-impact injury to her hind leg, shattering her femur into pieces.  Fortunately, we can still save Maple’s leg by surgically inserting a plate that will allow the bones to heal properly.  However, the surgery will cost $2000, and we hope that you will contribute whatever amount you can to help us cover the cost.  To donate online, please go to http://maplesfunds.chipin.com/maples-med or to www.animaladvocatesalliance.org.

Please also check out Maple’s touching video, created by Connor Flynn and Cathleen Weinrich, and pass it along:

Since I wrote that article about being a vegetarian a few month’s ago a few things have changed. I have not gone vegetarian sadly enough… BUT I have been eating less meat. A lot less meat. I get vegetarian breakfast sausages, Morning Star Farms rocks. They make NOT eating meat really easy. I still eat meat but not every day. I get lots of protein too. One delicious thing I’ve discovered is these Life Foods gourmet vegetarian entrees. My sister brought me a couple to try because she knows the woman who created them and she loves them and she wanted to try them. She knows I’m trying to lose weight. These vegetarian frozen meals have been a life saver. They taste like meat and feel like meat in your mouth. The flavors are really good too. That Sauteed Sirloin is sweet and spicy and delicious. At about $5 a pop they are great to take to work and heat up in the microwave. You’re saving an animal’s life every time you eat one so even if you don’t want to go completely vegetarian but like me, try to eat less meat you’ll enjoy these healthy low calorie meals. I’ve been eating them as part of my diet and I’ve lost 10 lbs so I know they work. Not to mention it’s a local business and I love supporting local businesses. Also they are on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/pages/The-Life-Foods/330662527649