Duke ~ Photo: Nelvin C Cepeda/San Diego Union-Tribune
Duke, a Labrador Retriever with a skin condition, has won the Del Mar 22nd Annual Ugly Dog Contest. The event not only celebrates ugly dogs, but also raises money for local charities such as the San Diego Food Bank and Rady Children’s Hospital.
I’ve just received the following note from a friend:
Meanwhile from our yard… the Soberanes fire is about 26 minutes away, the air quality is not super great, and there has been a boil advisory for some of the homes closer to the fire. Almost 20,000 acres have burned and the fire is only 10% contained. 20 homes and 2 outbuildings are destroyed. Evacuation orders and warnings have been issued for many towns.
If anyone feels called to donate anything, the Monterey County SPCA needs small bags of dog and cat food and litter for all the displaced pets, or a monetary donation of any amount is welcome. The firefighters are being taken care of and have been asked to turn away donations.
Please help the SPCA if you can. It sounds as if this fire is pretty horrific. There’s a “Donate” button on the home pageof their website.
On the left, Long Beach police K-9 Credo in a training photo posted to the police department’s Facebook page in 2014. The LBPD tweeted a photo of the 4-year-old Belgian Malinois with his handler, Officer Mike Parcells. Photo credit: Long Beach Police Department NBC in Los Angeles is reporting that Police K9 Credo was killed during a standoff in Long Beach California on Tuesday, police said. The standoff involved a man wanted in connection with a deadly weapons case.
Credo was rushed to a veterinary hospital, where his death was confirmed.
Pictures from the scene include Credo laid out on the ground and being carried to the squad car. I couldn’t bear to post them. Credo does not appear to be wearing a vest, but I’m not sure whether one would have helped him or not because the article doesn’t say where he was shot.
Rest well, Credo. Thank you for your service and sacrifice.
Photo Credit: Rachel Luna / Inland Valley Daily BulletinI try to feature a dog who needs a forever home every Sunday in our Shelter Sunday feature, but this is the first time I have asked shelters to consider taking in more animals. It seems a rescue organization in San Bernardino County, CA got in over its head, and now the county’s animal shelter in Devore has taken in 130 dogs. This is stretching the shelter awfully thin, and these dogs are not yet ready to be adopted in family homes. They are skittish and run from people.
In an effort to cut the state’s budget, Governor Jerry Brown has proposed stripping several important provisions from Hayden’s Law. Passed in 1998, Hayden’s Law put California at the head of the class as far as protecting shelter animals. Continue reading California Readers: Protect Your Shelter Animals→