Author: LATimes

Have a non-emergency question about your pet’s health? Dr. Heather Oxford of L.A. veterinary hospital California Animal Rehabilitation (CARE) is here to help! In this installment of Ask a Vet, Dr. Oxford offers some advice to reader Allie about identifying and treating depression in dogs and cats:

Allie’s question: What are some signs of depression in cats and dogs? I’ve heard stories about dogs being treated with antidepressants. What are your thoughts on animal psychiatry? What other options are available for sad pets?

Heather Oxford, DVM: Veterinarians have the most extensive training in animal behavior of anyone working in the pet industry, and I doubt any one of us has ever prescribed antidepressants as a first-line for animal depression.

The reason is simple: There is a language barrier between us and our patients that does not exist in human medicine. Animals don’t come into our offices and tell us that their hearing or vision is failing them, that they’ve had a chronic headache for weeks now, or that they’ve been having stomach or intestinal pains that just won’t go away. They just look sad. It is our first responsibility to rule out causes of depression that are endocrine/internal, neurologic or orthopedic in origin. A lot of medical causes of depression can be treated, avoiding the unnecessary use of prescription antidepressants.

For the small population of animals whose depression truly can be traced to behavioral origins, I like a natural anti-depressant called S-adenosyl methionine (SAMe). This is a naturally occurring compound found in every cell of the body, made from the amino acid methionine. Although SAMe has many uses, there is evidence for its short-term use in treating major depression by assisting the body in producing neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin. For cats, Feliway diffusers are helpful as well. There are also floral essences and homeopathic remedies that are useful for depression disorders. For animals that need stronger antidepressants, there are prescription-strength drugs available at your veterinarian’s office; however, I reserve these for last.

To submit your question for Dr. Oxford, just leave a comment on this post and look for her answer in an upcoming installment of Ask a Vet!

About our vet: Dr. Oxford received her bachelor of
science degree at Bowling Green State University, Ohio. She also
received a master’s of public health degree in epidemiology from Emory
University and went on to work at the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention in Atlanta. She then went to the University of Tennessee,
College of Veterinary Medicine, where she received her doctor of
veterinary medicine degree. She practices at California Animal
Rehabilitation and is also certified in veterinary rehabilitation and
acupuncture. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Wade, and
German shepherd, Tess.

Photo: A basset hound may look sad, but for all we know, he’s elated. Come on, he’s a basset hound! Credit: Julie Markes / For The Times

TORONTO — The Canadian Parliament’s restaurant will serve seal meat this week in support of hunters battling a European Union ban on seal products, a Liberal Party senator said Monday.

Celine Hervieux-Payette said Wednesday’s seal meat lunch menu will allow politicians to demonstrate their backing for the annual hunt.

"All political parties will have the opportunity to demonstrate to the international community the solidarity of the Canadian Parliament behind those who earn a living from the seal hunt," she said in a statement.

The EU ban on seal imports was imposed last July on the grounds that Canada’s annual hunt was inhumane.

The East Coast seal hunt, the largest in the world, kills an average of 275,000 harp seals during mid-November to mid-May. The seals are either shot or hit over the head with a spiked club called a hakapik.

Animal rights groups believe the hunt is cruel, poorly monitored and provides little economic benefit. Seal hunters and Canadian authorities say it is sustainable, humane and provides income for isolated communities.

The EU ban includes processed goods derived from seals, including their skins — which are used to make coats, bags and clothing — as well as meat, oil blubber, organs and seal oil, which is used in some omega-3 pills.

It exempts products derived from traditional hunts carried out by Inuit in Canada’s Arctic, as well as those from Greenland, Alaska and Russia.

Canada has requested consultations with the EU at the World Trade Organization, which is the first step before launching an official trade challenge to salvage a Canadian industry valued at $10 million Canadian dollars ($9.7 million) in exports last year.

— Associated Press

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Photo: A harp seal pup.

GENEVA — The result was emphatic: Swiss voters don’t think abused animals need to have their own lawyers.

It’s a proposal that probably never would have come near a referendum in other countries, but the measure’s defeat Sunday disappointed animal-rights advocates, who said Switzerland’s elaborate animal-welfare laws aren’t being enforced.

Opponents of the proposal, including key farmers groups and the government, had argued that existing laws were sufficient and appointing special lawyers to act on behalf of animals would be unnecessarily expensive for taxpayers.

"The Swiss people have clearly said our animal protection laws are so good we don’t need animal lawyers," Jakob Buechler, a lawmaker for the centrist Christian People’s Party, told Swiss television SF1.

Official results showed that 70.5 percent of voters cast their ballot against the proposal to extend nationwide a system that has been in place in Zurich since 1992. Some 29.5 percent of voters backed the proposal, with turnout at just over 45 percent.

According to the country’s only animal lawyer, Antoine F. Goetschel, public prosecutors are often unsure about animal rights and shy away from pursuing cases even if there is clear evidence of abuse. He said the cost of Sunday’s measure would have been less than 1 Swiss franc ($1) per person a year.

Tiana Angelina Moser, a lawmaker for the Green Liberal Party, said animal-rights advocates would look for other ways to make sure laws against animal abuse were properly applied and those who hurt animals received appropriate punishment.

"It’s definitely disappointing, I thought it would have been a closer vote," said Moser. "I don’t think it’s a ‘no’ to animal protection but a ‘no’ for this particular measure."

Switzerland tightened its laws two years ago and now has among the strictest rules anywhere when it comes to caring for pets and farm animals.

The country’s 160-page animal protection law states exactly how much space owners must give Mongolian gerbils (233 square inches) and what water temperature is required for African clawed frogs (18-22 degrees Celsius; 64-72 degrees Fahrenheit)

It stipulates that pigs, budgies, goldfish and other social animals cannot be kept alone. Horses and cows must have regular exercise outside their stalls and dog owners have to take a training course to learn how to properly look after their pets.

Like in other countries, the law also forbids killing animals in a cruel fashion or for fun.

Swiss daily Tribune de Geneve reported earlier this year that a woman who decapitated four chickens and left their heads on the doorstep of her love rival received a 90-day suspended sentence.

Goetschel said he represents about 150 to 200 animals annually in Zurich, while in other cantons (states), only a handful of cases go to court each year.

Most of his clients are dogs, cows and cats, Goetschel told the Associated Press in a recent interview. Many cases involve the serious abuse of animals, such as deliberate wounding, rape and neglect.

But in one high-profile case last month, Goetschel represented a dead pike after an animal protection group accused the angler who caught it of cruelty for taking 10 minutes to haul the fish in.

The angler was found not guilty.

— Associated Press

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Photo: Goldfish like these must be kept in groups according to Swiss law. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times

We don’t know what it is about small animals’ eating habits that delights us so. But "delight" is about the only word we can use to describe our feelings about watching, say, a rabbit eating pumpkin, a sugar glider nibbling on an apple, a chinchilla savoring a raisin or a group of guinea pigs battling over a delicious cucumber.

Midow, the bunny companion of YouTube user KiwiPandaaa, loves nothing more than a banana treat — and she’s nothing short of adorable while chowing down on one. (According to the Humane Society of the United States, it’s fine to give rabbits fruits and vegetables as treats, but sugary fruits like bananas should be given sparingly.)

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Your morning adorable: Talented rabbit plays the piano

— Lindsay Barnett

Video: KiwiPandaaa via YouTube

The Japanese fishing village featured in "The Cove," which won an Oscar for best documentary, defended its practice of hunting dolphins Monday as a part of a long tradition.

The movie, which mixes stunning underwater shots of gliding dolphins with covertly filmed grisly footage of their slaughter, also claims that dolphin meat is laden with toxic mercury.

Taiji, a quiet fishing village on the rocky coast of southwestern Japan, kills only a small fraction of the dolphins hunted by the country each year. But it has long been a target of environmentalists and animal lovers because it uses a method called "oikomi," in which the dolphins are chased into shore, making the hunt more visible.

Though few residents said they had seen the film, there was universal disgust at its portrayal of the town. Taiji proudly bills itself as "Whale Town" and a main bridge is adorned with dolphin statues, but after years of what locals see as unfair treatment by the foreign press, few are willing to talk on the record. One young dolphin trainer turned and ran away when asked for her opinion.

"This is a close-knit group of fishermen. The more they feel squeezed, the more they will close off to outsiders. They won’t stop this hunt because of such pressure," said Hisato Ryono, a local councilman who appears in the film.

The mayor’s office handed out a statement that said Taiji’s dolphin hunt is lawful and argued that the movie contained statements that were not based on science. Otherwise, most town officials refused to talk.

"There are different food traditions within Japan and around the world," the statement read. "It is important to respect and understand regional food cultures, which are based on traditions with long histories."

Director Louie Psihoyos said "The Cove" isn’t meant to bash Japan but that it is "a love letter to the Japanese people."

"Our hope is the Japanese people will see this film and decide themselves whether animals should be used for meat and for entertainment," Psihoyos said backstage after receiving the Oscar at the Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

The town of Taiji kills about 2,000 dolphins every year for their meat. Some are captured and sold to aquariums.

The Japanese government, which allows about 19,000 dolphins to be killed each year, acknowledges that dolphin meat is contaminated with mercury, but denies it’s dangerous unless consumed in huge quantities.

In September, amid an international outcry following the screening of the movie abroad, villagers released several dozen dolphins that had been caught. But locals say they will continue with the hunt.

The movie has not yet been released in Japan, but it will start showing here in June at 20 to 30 theaters nationwide. It was shown at the Tokyo International Film Festival in October, where viewers gave it mixed reviews.

Still, most Japanese don’t know about the annual dolphin hunt, and dolphin meat is hardly eaten in Japan.

Takeshi Kato, president of Unplugged in Tokyo, which is distributing the film in Japan, said the faces of dozens of Taiji residents are being blurred out for the Japan version to ward off possible lawsuits under Japanese law that protects privacy.

"Our purpose is not to attack the people of Taiji," he said.

"If this movie can serve as an opportunity for people to find out, it would be great," he told The Associated Press on Monday.

He said he hopes the film will help open the debate in Japan on preserving nature, including dolphins and whales.

"Receiving the top award in the movie industry will work as a big plus for our efforts to show this movie in Japan," he said.

Ryono, the local councilman, and Tetsuya Endo, an associate professor at Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, both appear in the current version of the film and say they were interviewed under false pretenses. Both say they have asked the filmmakers to remove footage, and Endo says he hasn’t ruled out legal action.

"I feel that they should have declined the award," Endo said.

Psihoyos was unable to get permission to access the cove where the dolphins are killed. Fishermen blocked it with barbed wire and fences. So he and his film team secretly broke into the restricted area — which is in a national park — at night to set up cameras that capture the slaughter.

Japanese government officials have defended the fishermen’s right to hunt dolphins and called the film unbalanced.

"There are some countries that eat cows, and there are other countries that eat whales or dolphins," said Yutaka Aoki, fisheries division director at Foreign Ministry. "A film about slaughtering cows or pigs might also be unwelcome to workers in that industry."

— Associated Press

Stay up-to-date on animal news: Follow Unleashed on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo: Oceanic Preservation Society

Local Muslim leaders on Sunday applauded the arrest of Adam Gadahn, a U.S. citizen who worked as a propagandist for Al Qaeda.

“It’s good for us, good for the country,” said Shakeel Syed, executive director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, an umbrella group for mosques and Muslim organizations in the region. “Any person who is engaged in any unlawful and illegal activity needs to be held accountable.”

Syed said people who lack knowledge of the religion are easily manipulated and develop their own logic and ideology. “He has demonstrated to have mastered that twisted logic,” Syed said.



Gadahn’s path from Orange County to Pakistan, where he was arrested, makes the work of the council more important, Syed said. “It even further strengthens us to continue the work we are doing, which is to share objective information on our faith and our community with all people,” he said.

The head of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles said his organization welcomed the arrest of Gadahn, a Riverside County native who appeared in videos defending Al Qaeda, including the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

“We welcome the arrest,” said Salam Marayati. “This is one step closer to defeating Al Qaeda and defeating the mentality of death and despair, which is alien to Islam.”

Marayati said Gadahn ended up under the influence of the wrong Muslims and had used the religion to make political statements for Al Qaeda. “I don’t think that what he has been saying has any merit in Islam,” he said. “It is a political ploy.”

Gadahn prayed at the Islamic Society of Orange County mosque as a teenager but was barred in 1997 after hitting one of the organization’s leaders, according to Muzammil Siddiqi, religious director of the organization.

"We called Garden Grove police and we did not allow him to come back,” Siddiqi said Sunday afternoon. “This is very unfortunate that he came here and did not learn anything good.”

Gadahn pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and was sentenced to two days in jail and ordered to perform community service, which he did not complete, according to court records. 

Siddiqi said Sunday that he didn’t know how Gadahn ended up with Al Qaeda but said he and the terrorist group have done a lot of harm to Islam, to Muslims and to the United States.

Siddiqi welcomed the arrest but said he hoped that the news would be confirmed. There were false rumors last year that he had been killed, he said. 

“I hope they caught the right person,” he said. “Any success to eliminate the evil of terrorism from the world is welcome news.”

Gadahn is wanted in the U.S. for treason. He became a Muslim after he moved to Orange County.

Gadahn’s aunt, Nancy Pearlman, who is on the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees, declined to answer any questions about Gadahn.

Told about the arrest, which was announced by Pakistani authorities Sunday, she said, “You know more than I do.”

[Updated at 8:30 p.m.: As of late Sunday, U.S. officials said
the reports could not be confirmed. American intelligence agencies
spent the day sorting out conflicting reports on the purported arrest
of Adam Gadahn of Riverside. By late Sunday night, U.S. officials said
the picture remained unclear.

“In terms of who may have been arrested, the Pakistani rumor mill
belched out three very different possibilities in about six hours,” one
U.S. official said. “That should tell you something right there. It’s
by no means clear who, if anyone, the Pakistanis may have captured.”]

— Anna Gorman

Related:

Al Qaeda agent from Southern California arrested in Pakistan

Police say a bear bit off a woman’s fingers at a Wisconsin zoo after
she ignored barriers and warning signs to try to feed the animal.

The Lincoln Park Zoo in Manitowoc closed after the incident Friday
morning. Police say the 47-year-old woman lost a thumb and a
forefinger, and two other fingers were partially severed.

The woman’s boyfriend was bitten as he tried to pry the bear’s mouth
off her hand, but he didn’t lose any fingers. Her 3-year-old
granddaughter wasn’t injured.

It’s unclear which of two Asiatic black bears bit the women when she
put her hand through their enclosure’s fence. Police tell the Herald
Times Reporter the bears likely won’t be euthanized.

Manitowoc is about 80 miles north of Milwaukee.

Animal news on the go: Follow Unleashed on Facebook and Twitter.

— Associated Press

Some like it hot. Apparently, the endangered mountain yellow-legged frog is not among them.

The
3-inch-long amphibians much prefer it cold as melting snow. So
conservationists at the San Diego Zoo have placed two dozen of the
nearly extinct frogs in refrigerators they joshingly refer to as
"Valentine’s Day retreats" in hopes the amphibians will emerge with the
urge. To mate, that is.

The big chill at the zoo’s Institute for
Conservation Research represents one of the nation’s most ambitious
wildlife reintroduction experiments.

If it is successful, the
frogs could produce upward of 6,000 tadpoles next month — all of them
scheduled for a spring homecoming in a remote San Jacinto Mountains
stream from which they have been absent for a decade.

Scientists hope many of those tadpoles will mature and produce new generations in the wild, paving the way for the Rana muscosa population to reestablish residency in Southern California and grow exponentially.

"Will
it work? We think so," said Jeffrey Lemm, a zoo research coordinator.
"A month from now, there could be tubs of tadpoles all over the place.
Eventually, we may have thousands of adult frogs in self-sustaining
populations for the first time in half a century."

Mountain
yellow-legged frogs thrived for thousands of years in hundreds of
streams cascading down the San Bernardino, San Gabriel and San Jacinto
mountains.

Since the 1960s, the species has been decimated by
an array of threats: fires, mudslides, pesticides, fungal infections,
loss of habitat as a result of development, and the appetites of
nonnative trout, bullfrogs and crayfish.

Today, fewer than 200
of their descendants are believed to exist in nine isolated wild
populations, including a group in the San Gabriel Mountains’ Devils
Canyon that survived last year’s devastating Station fire.

Their
minuscule, scattered population gives mountain yellow-legged frogs the
distinction of being one of the most endangered amphibians on the
planet. The most intimate details of their mating behavior are the
focus of a master’s thesis project being conducted at the institute by
research technician Frank Santana.

In their native habitat, the
frogs flock to streams gushing with spring snowmelt. Males announce
their availability for amphibian amour with a low-pitched underwater
bark.

Parental discretion is advised for what follows: "A male
gets a good grip of a female with his forearms, and the female, if
she’s in the mood, let’s him," Santana said. "Then the male thrusts his
whole body to stimulate the release of her eggs. The female goes into
contractions as both arch their backs to line up their cloacae."

Sperm
and eggs are released simultaneously. Tadpoles emerge from the eggs
about three weeks later. In the wild, only 3% to 5% mature into adult
frogs.

"In the laboratory, the hard work comes when we’ve got a
bazillion 2-millimeter-long tadpoles on our hands in need of daily
water changes, and meals of frozen lettuce and fish food," Santana said.

The
zoo’s recovery program was launched in the summer of 2006, with 82
tadpoles rescued from a drying creek in the San Bernardino National
Forest.

Two years later, institute researchers discovered a
clutch of 200 eggs in one of their tanks. However, the frogs were
younger than is typical for breeding and only a handful of the eggs
were fertile. The institute became the first to breed a yellow-legged
frog in captivity when one of those eggs produced a tadpole that
matured into a still-surviving adult.

Now the institute has 61
frogs, including the 16 females in the refrigerator — each one of
them, Lemm said, "looking nice and healthy and bulging with 200 to 300
eggs."

All the tadpoles produced in the laboratory will be
reintroduced into a mountain stream that U.S. Geological Survey
biologists have determined is free of predators.

The recovery
effort has been funded by the California Department of Transportation
to mitigate for emergency work to stabilize a slope near the frog’s
habitat on California 330 in the San Bernardino Mountains. It is part
of an ongoing collaborative effort of government and nonprofit partners
to increase the number of frogs in native habitat and in captive
breeding programs.

The Fresno Chaffee Zoo recently received about 100 tadpoles rescued last summer from the Station fire area.

The Los Angeles Zoo and the Living Desert in Palm Desert will each get 10 adult frogs for captive breeding purposes.

In
the meantime, federal wildlife authorities are developing measures to
reduce the effect of human activities in areas where the yellow-legged
frog is still found and may be reintroduced. That includes a remote
stretch of Tahquitz Creek in the San Jacinto Wilderness near Idyllwild,
where two yellow-legged frogs were discovered last year.

"A few
years ago, there wasn’t even a captive breeding program for these
frogs," Santana said. "Now, we are hoping to reestablish populations by
mimicking their natural cycles. For these frogs, that means winter
hibernation, spring thaw and lots of tadpoles. Hopefully."

— Louis Sahagun

Stay up-to-date on animal news: Follow Unleashed on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo: The endangered mountain yellow-legged frog prefers it cold.
Credit: Ken Bohn / San Diego Zoo / March 3, 2009

From adoption events to pet-friendly parties to animal behavior seminars, the coming weeks are full of opportunities for animal lovers to keep busy. We’ve got the details on a number of events — oh, and something about some little-known award show we’ve heard of. (Are we forgetting something? Let us know by leaving a comment.)

Saturday, March 6, spcaLA invites potential "foster parents" to learn about its fostering
program from 10 a.m. to noon at its South Bay Pet Adoption Center,
12910 Yukon Ave., Hawthorne. "Foster parents" are needed to care for
puppies and kittens that are too young to be adopted, as well as older
dogs and cats with special needs. More information at spcaLA.com.
(The L.A. Department of Animal Services offers a similar program for
underage puppies and kittens; more information on that program is
available at the department’s website.)

Saturday, March 6, the L.A. Department of Animal Services holds a mobile pet-adoption event at the Canoga Park Petco location, 6615 Fallbrook Mall Ave., from noon to 4 p.m. See photos of adoptable pets at the department’s website.

Sunday, March 7, the L.A. Department of Animal Services holds a mobile pet-adoption event at Moorpark Park, 12061 Moorpark Ave. in Studio City, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sunday, March 7, tune into the Academy Awards from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on ABC to see if animal-related films win Oscar gold. "The Cove," which tells the story of an annual Japanese event at which dolphins are systematically slaughtered (and prominently features Unleashed guest blogger Ric O’Barry), and "Food Inc.," which examines the way food gets from the farm to the plate and offers an insightful look at factory farming, are both nominated in the feature documentary category. Pixar’s "Up," which features both a chocolate-loving exotic bird and a pack of dogs whose thoughts are translated into human speech through high-tech collars, is nominated in both the best picture and best animated feature categories. "The Cove" director Louie Psihoyos told Unleashed that the film’s Oscar nomination is important "because [the Academy Awards telecast is] the most watched program in Japanese television. I didn’t get into movies to win awards. I got into making this movie to start a movement to save the ocean. I’ve been trying to give the oceans a voice and an Oscar nomination amplifies that voice."

Upcoming:

Saturday, March 13, spcaLA hosts PAWS to Read at the Hermosa Beach Library,
550 Pier Ave., from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Beginning and
independent young readers up to age 12 are eligible to participate; the
program is free, but advance registration is recommended. More information at spcaLA.com.

Saturday, March 13, the L.A. Department of Animal Services holds mobile pet-adoption events in Rancho Palos Verdes at Fred Hesse Jr. Memorial Park, 29301 Hawthorne Blvd., from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; in West Hills at Sunrise Senior Living Community, 9012 Topanga Canyon Blvd., from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and in West Hollywood at AHF Pharmacy, 8212 Santa Monica Blvd., from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 13, the Four-Legged Friends Foundation hosts its first St. Patrick’s Day block party for dogs and their people in Culver City on the 11800 block of Teale Street. The block party is a fundraiser for the group and includes a "Pinups for Pups" fashion show, a dog costume contest, pet-themed vendors and animal-loving celebrity guests including host Debra Skelton (MADtv). Cost is $25 and includes the price of admission for your leashed, well-behaved dog. For $50, you and your dog can have access not just to the block party, but also to a private VIP party in the adjacent Zoom Room agility training center. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit FLFF.org.

Sunday, March 14, the city of Beverly Hills hosts "Woodstock 90210," a community event for people and pets, at Roxbury Park, 471 S. Roxbury Drive, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event features a pet parade, agility and disc-catching dog demonstrations, adoptable pets, animal-themed vendors and more. Pet parade begins at 1 p.m. Event is free, but participation in the pet parade is $5 per dog. Actor/natural dog food mogul Dick Van Patten and his dogs will pose for photos with event guests. Free parking is available at nearby Beverly Hills High School, with pet-friendly shuttle service to Roxbury Park. More information at BeverlyHills.org.

Saturday, March 20, spcaLA hosts a low-cost vaccination and microchip clinic from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. behind West Hollywood City Hall, 8300 Santa Monica Blvd. The clinic will offer rabies vaccinations for cats and dogs ($5); DHPP
vaccinations for dogs ($15); bordetella vaccinations for dogs ($10);
FVRCP and leukemia vaccinations for cats ($15 each); and microchipping
for cats and dogs ($25). In honor of Spay Day U.S.A., goodie bags will
be available during the clinic while supplies last. More information at
spcaLA.com.

Sunday, March 21, the California Wildlife Center, which rescues and rehabilitates orphaned and injured wild animals in the L.A. area, invites the public to an open house event at its Calabasas facility, 26026 Piuma Road. Guests can meet CWC staff and ask questions about wildlife, take a guided tour of the facility and see some of the animals being cared for there. Event is free; refreshments will be served and children are welcome. Arts and crafts projects and face-painting will be available for youngsters. More information at CaliforniaWildlifeCenter.org; to RSVP, email [email protected] or call (818) 222-2658.

Friday-Sunday, March 26-28, the Pasadena Humane Society hosts "The Well-Adjusted Cat and Dog Workshops" at its shelter facility, 361 S. Raymond Ave. The workshops’ featured speaker is Dr. Nicolas Dodman, author and director of Tufts University’s Animal Behavior Clinic. Dodman will cover issues ranging from phobias in dogs and cats, feline medical problems that may be mistaken for behavioral issues, strategies for dealing with litter-box and furniture-scratching issues in cats and dominance issues in dogs. The workshops’ three days will be divided into one daylong cat-behavior workshop and a two-day dog-behavior workshop. More information and registration at ThePetDocs.com.

Saturday, March 27, spcaLA hosts PAWS to Read at the Redondo Beach Public Library, 303 N.
Pacific Coast Highway, from 10:30 a.m. to noon.  Through the PAWS to
Read program, children practice their reading skills by reading to a
decidedly nonjudgmental audience: certified therapy dogs.
Participation is free; sign-up begins at 9 a.m. at the Children’s
Information Desk. More information at spcaLA.com.

SpcaLA is taking reservations for its two weeklong "Friends For Life" spring day camps for children ages 9 to 12. Campers will learn about pet care and develop animal training skills by participating in obedience and agility classes with spcaLA’s adoptable dogs. Guest speakers, training demonstrations and animal-related games and crafts are also on the schedule. First session runs from March 29 through April 2 at the organization’s South Bay Pet Adoption Center, 12910 Yukon Ave., Hawthorne; second session runs from April 5 through April 9 at the South Bay Pet Adoption Center. Camp hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. Cost is $250 per child; for more information or to register, visit spcaLA.com.

Mark Your Calendar:

Friday-Sunday, April 16-18, America’s Family Pet Expo returns to the Orange County Fair and Event Center, 88 Fair Drive in Costa Mesa. The event features informational displays on dog breeds, adoptable animals, pet-themed vendors, a petting zoo, pony rides and demonstrations of activities ranging from dog grooming to K-9 police dog work to dock-diving dogs. Tickets are $12, $10 for people over age 60, $6 for children ages 6-12 and free for children 5 and younger. More information at PetExpoOC.com.

Sunday, April 18, local rescue group New Leash on Life presents its fifth annual Nuts for Mutts 5K walk-a-thon in conjunction with the Calabasas Rotary Club and the Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center. The walk-a-thon is a fundraiser for New Leash on Life’s work on behalf of needy pets in the L.A. area and includes pet-themed exhibits, children’s activities, a canine fashion show, a dog training clinic and more animal-related activities. The walk begins at 8 a.m. at the Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center, 27040 Malibu Hills Road, and continues through the hills of Calabasas. Well-behaved and leashed dogs are welcome to participate. For more information or to register, visit NewLeash.org.

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County will open its newly restored 1913 Building with a brand-new "Age of Mammals" exhibition beginning July 11. The exhibition traces the history of evolution "from the extinction of the dinosaurs to the rise of humans — within
the context of epochal changes in the Earth’s geology and climate,’ John Harris, the Natural History Museum’s head of vertebrate
studies and chief curator of the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits, told our sister blog Culture Monster. Visitors will get to see specimens like the Simi Valley mastodon, a saber-toothed cat and a brontothere (a species with possibly the most rock ‘n’ roll-sounding scientific name: "thunder beast"). 

Ongoing:

Through Earth Day, April 22, 2010, secondhand-clothing store chain Buffalo Exchange and the Humane Society of the United States jointly host Coats for Cubs. Animal lovers are encouraged to clean out their closets (or parents’ and grandparents’ closets) and donate any real-fur items found there (including fur trim, accessories and shearling) back to the animals. Of course, it’s too late to give the fur back to its original owner, but it can still be used as bedding for orphaned and injured wildlife — and it doesn’t do your conscience any harm, either. Fur in any condition is accepted and can be taken to any Buffalo Exchange location. (If you’d like to claim your fur donation as a tax deduction, you’ll need to mail it directly to the Humane Society rather than dropping it off at Buffalo Exchange; mailing information is available at HSUS.org.) More information at BuffaloExchange.com.

— Lindsay Barnett

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Photo: A foster "parent" holds two puppies from Santa Fe, N.M.’s Animal Shelter and Humane Society. Credit: Ben Swan / Associated Press

State wildlife officials Wednesday ruled that the California tiger salamander deserves protection as a threatened species, subjecting landowners to more scrutiny if they want to build or farm in the amphibian’s habitat.

The California Fish and Game Commission made the decision after finding roughly 400,000 acres of the amphibian’s habitat are threatened by future development and the expansion of farming. The tiger salamander lives in nearly half the state’s counties, in a region that stretches from Yolo County north of Sacramento to Santa Barbara County.

"We have learned over the years, at our peril, that remoteness is no guarantee of conservation," Commissioner Michael Sutton said. "What is remote today may well be suburban sprawl tomorrow."

The 3-2 vote came over the objections of the wine industry, business groups and homebuilders, which complained scientists were unable to show accurate population counts for the salamander and had exaggerated how much rural land might be developed in the future.

"This recommendation relies principally on anticipated loss of habitat," Tim Schmelzer, who oversees regulatory affairs at the Wine Institute, told the commission. "That projected loss is considerably overstated."

For example, similar federal protections and local city and county plans that guide future development were not consulted, Schmelzer said.

The tiger salamander breeds in seasonal pools and ponds but spends most of its 10-year life underground primarily in the Central Valley. It was listed as a federally protected species in 2004 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The state commission, which met in Ontario, east of Los Angeles, had twice previously denied listing the salamander and was sued in 2004 by the Center for Biological Diversity. A state appellate court ordered the Department of Fish and Game to reconsider the issue.

"I think we are beholden to the law, beholden to the biology and I think we have no choice," said Commissioner Richard Rogers.

— Associated Press

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Photo: A California tiger salamander at Los Vaqueros Watershed near Brentwood, Calif., in 2001. Credit: Michael G. van Hattem / Associated Press

One hundred sheriff’s deputies and 400 part-time deputies were laid off. SWAT officers were ordered back to the streets. Narcotics and gang units were disbanded. Helicopters were grounded.

K-9 survived.

To absorb more than $30 million in losses, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department had to focus almost exclusively on answering 911 calls, but police dogs and their handlers survived the cuts. It’s a scenario that is playing out among the thousands of K-9 teams across the country that have survived deep budget cuts to stay on the job.

In part that’s because dogs are winning the popularity contest. In a few towns where cutbacks targeted K-9 dogs, citizens rallied to raise money to keep the animals at work. They’ve even had help from celebrity friends such as Ozzy Osbourne, who donated a K-9 dog to the Muncie Police Department in Indiana in September.

But there are other advantages to keeping animals on the job. They protect the officers they work with, do jobs that people can’t and use bites, not bullets.

"When you look at the tremendous savings in man-hours that are achieved by using trained dogs to search for suspects or victims or narcotics or explosives, it’s very easy to recognize the fact that they are the probably the most cost-efficient tool we have," said Officer Bill Cassell of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

Dogs can run faster, get into tighter spots and look more menacing than most humans. Plus they have stronger noses, better hearing and better vision, at least under low light conditions.

"They are so valuable, so important to what police officers do," said Pamela Reid, vice president of the ASPCA’s Animal Behavior Center in Urbana, Ill.

In San Diego, police eliminated 12 dogs from its K-9 corps to save about $500,000 of the $15 million it had to cut. But the department still has 27 dogs on the force in a city where a use-of-force panel recommended more K-9 units because of the number of people being shot by officers.

That was 20 years ago, and things have changed, said Assistant Chief Bob Kanaski.

"I don’t expect to see a rise in officer-involved shootings," he said. "We’ll miss the dogs, no doubt about it. We’ll have to use different tactics to slow things down until we get the dogs there."

Cleveland, Ohio, reduced its K-9 unit in 2004 when the department lost 252 jobs, but the dogs were all reinstated, said Tom Ross, recording secretary for the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Assn.

To a street officer, the benefits of a dog are immeasurable, Ross said. "If they [suspects] think you’re going to let that dog go, it’s going to influence their decision" to run or surrender, Ross said.

No K-9 in the country has more job security right now than Nitro of Aberdeen Police Department in Washington. Nitro was laid off in May as police struggled to wring every last cent from a shriveling budget, Chief Robert Torgerson said.

But the German shepherd was back two months later because the department received $14,000 in donations from around the country and a $43,000 check from the philanthropic Tamaki Foundation in Seattle. That was enough to buy a new dog vest and a new K-9 car, as well as guarantee Nitro four more years on the job, Torgerson said.

"It was great. We were blessed," Torgerson said.

The Bloomsburg Police Department in Pennsylvania laid off its three dogs one year ago, Chief Leo Sokoloski said, when town fathers chose to eliminate them instead of the department’s 26 sworn and civilian personnel. It saved $5,000 to $6,000, the chief said.

A lot of people heard about it and sent money. Several thousand dollars came in.

"But in the interest of fairness to the goodwill of the people, we sent the money back with gratitude. The council’s decision was not to re-implement the program," Sokoloski said. "We decided it was prudent to wait and see if the economy gets better."

A K-9 dog costs between $10,000 and $20,000 and must be trained along with its handler, said Sacramento Deputy Brian Amos.

Even so, dogs are the "cheapest employee that any agency will ever have," said Russ Hess, director of the United States Police Canine Assn.

"He only works for the love and his food," he said.

Every department in the country is cutting everything it can, said Jeff Meyer, the publisher of Police K-9 Magazine in Lakewood, Colo., but you don’t see the public support for other programs the way you do the dogs.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s foundation has donated money to that city’s police department for K-9s and equipment. Roethlisberger also donates a dog to all the cities where the Steelers play each year.

The 22 K-9 teams with the St. Paul Police Department in Minnesota became mini-celebrities when their unit was featured in the "Animal Planet" TV series.

"It was one of the first opportunities for people to see what police dogs do, not only here, but across the country, every day," Sgt. Paul Dunum said.

Dunum said he is constantly amazed by what the dogs do. One of the best things is winning over people.

Money, Dunum said, can’t buy that kind of goodwill.

— Associated Press

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Photo: Jesse, a Belgian Malinois police dog with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, poses with his handler Brian Amos on Feb. 17. Credit: Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press

— Celebrity polar bear Knut is in the spotlight once again: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ German wing is calling for the young bear to be castrated over concerns that a potential mating with his current roommate would amount to inbreeding. In September, Knut was introduced to a female polar bear, Gianna, from Munich’s Hellebrunn Zoo. The two are expected to live in the same enclosure until a renovation on Gianna’s enclosure in Munich is complete later this year. According to PETA Germany’s Frank Albrecht, a mating between Knut and Gianna could have dire consequences, since the bears have a grandparent in common. Problem: Neither Knut nor Gianna has yet reached sexual maturity, making the point a moot one, at least for another year or two. Last year, a custody dispute between two German zoos that both claimed Knut was rightfully theirs was resolved when the Berlin Zoo agreed to pay 430,000 euros to keep him. (Spiegel)

— A miniature dachshund named Spork has become an unlikely cause célèbre after he was issued a vicious dog citation last year for biting a veterinary technician in Lafayette, Colo. Spork’s owners, Kelly and Tim Walker, are fighting the citation — which could mean a lifetime in a kennel, or worse, euthanasia — tooth and nail (no pun intended). The Walkers say Spork, who is 10 years old and neutered, panicked at the vet’s office where he was to have five teeth and a cyst removed, and bit the technician not out of viciousness but out of fear. "A fearful dog or a hurt dog is your No. 1 candidate to bite," Tim Walker said. "Most bites are out of fear and anxiety, and people who work with animals understand that. You need to be able to take a hurt, sick dog into a vet and feel confident they know how to handle that." The Walkers have spent thousands of dollars defending their beloved dog; they’ve also taken to Facebook and Twitter to tell their side of the story. A "Save Spork" Facebook group currently has more than 20,000 members. (Westword)

— Conservative Christian blogger Bryan Fischer’s reaction to the death of SeaWorld Orlando trainer Dawn Brancheau in an incident involving an orca outraged many animal lovers and, Fischer now says, was taken out of context. The day after the Orlando incident, he wrote that "animal rights insanity and … the ongoing failure of the West to take counsel on practical matters from the Scripture" were responsible for Brancheau’s death because SeaWorld officials had failed to obey a passage from the book of Exodus. "If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit," the passage reads. But if the offending ox lives to kill again, it continues, its owner should be held responsible and "the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death." Since Tilikum, the orca that killed Brancheau, had been involved in previous human deaths, Fischer’s logic goes, he should have been killed prior to last week’s incident. Had he been killed earlier, Brancheau would still be alive. Fischer takes issue, however, with the idea that he advocated the stoning of the orca; he says he simply thinks Tilikum should be humanely euthanized. Best line: "Plus even if you wanted to stone a giant dolphin to death, I’m not sure exactly how you’d go about doing it." (American Family Assn.)

— A species of octopus called the Atlantic longarm octopus has been found to mimic another species, the peacock flounder, apparently as a defensive maneuver meant to disguise it from predators. The octopuses typically swim with their tentacles trailing behind them, but several members of the species have been observed folding their tentacles and moving them in a way that resembles the motion of the flounders’ fins. "It’s a very athletic move," said researcher Roger Hanlon of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass. More intriguing still: A lab-raised Atlantic longarm octopus, which had never been in the open sea, was also found to display the mimicry behavior, suggesting that "there might be an innate component to this swimming behavior … that maybe this is hardwired," according to Hanlon. (National Geographic)

— A Shropshire, England, chicken is taking over where a mother dog left off, roosting on a litter of puppies "like they were her own chicks," according to her owner, Edward Tate. The year-old hen, named Mabel, has been living inside the Tate family home due to an injury. It was in their home that she met Nettle the dog and her litter of puppies. "Mabel observed Nettle’s [behavior] and, as soon as there was a chance, she hopped into the dog basket to roost on the pups," Tate said. "She keeps them and herself warm, while Nettle is outside on the yard." (Telegraph)

— Actress Denise Richards and model Joanna Krupa recently pitched in to help the Best Friends Animal Society transport 30 small dogs from L.A. County’s Baldwin Park animal shelter to a Salt Lake City shelter with a waiting list for Chihuahuas and other small breeds. The animal-loving stars helped to prepare the dogs for the 14-hour drive from Southern California to Utah — and when the work was over, Richards found herself unable to leave two dogs that didn’t make the trip behind at the shelter. She announced on Twitter that she’s fostering the brother-and-sister pair and hopes they’ll find a permanent home where they can remain together. Best Friends regularly transports small dogs from L.A.-area shelters, where they are often euthanized for lack of space, to Utah, where they’re placed in new adoptive homes. (PeoplePets)

— Lindsay Barnett

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Photo: Knut the polar bear rolls in the snow in his enclosure at the Berlin Zoo. Photo credit: John MacDougall / AFP/Getty Images

ORLANDO, Fla. — The 911 calls made after a SeaWorld Orlando trainer was pulled into a pool by a killer whale last week show an increasing awareness of the seriousness of the situation with each call.

The recordings were released Thursday by Orange County Fire Rescue.

The first call was made as the 12,000-pound whale named Tilikum swam in the pool with 40-year-old trainer Dawn Brancheau in his mouth.

"We actually have a trainer in the water with one of the whales, the whale they’re not supposed to be in the water with," said a female SeaWorld employee. "We don’t know what is going on. We were told just to have somebody here on standby once they get the person out."

The 911 dispatcher asked if other workers were trying to get Brancheau out of the water.

"There are people working on it … about two or three dozen people over there now," the SeaWorld worker said.

In the second call, the SeaWorld worker told the dispatcher that a defibrillator has been pulled out of its box for the trainer. In the next call, she told the dispatcher to send an ambulance inside the park.

Investigators have said Brancheau died from multiple traumatic injuries and drowning. The 22-foot-long whale pulled Brancheau into the pool by her ponytail last week after a performance.

— Associated Press

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Photo: The sign at the entrance to SeaWorld Orlando. Credit: Matt Stroshane / Getty Images

We’ve seen our share of rabbits with unexpected talents — like Momo the English Angora, for instance, whose impressive soccer abilities make him the David Beckham of pocket pets. We’ve seen a lionhead mix named Sherbet whose talent on the agility course rivaled some border collies we’ve known. We’ve even seen Elissa, a Flemish giant, play the piano.

But we’ve never seen a rabbit with Simon’s unusual ability to walk upright. (Maybe Elissa should learn to play "Walk Like a Man," and the two can go on the road together.)

For any remix fans out there, Simon can also be seen in another video in which footage of him walking is altered to appear as if he’s moonwalking. Moonwalking rabbits: A nice alternative to caffeinated beverages as a jump-start to your morning, we think.

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— Lindsay Barnett

Video: zacheh via YouTube

Wildlife experts say love could be in the air for a red-tailed hawk with a penchant for dive-bombing people in the town of Stonington, Conn.

The belligerent bird is probably trying to impress potential mates and protect its nest as it enters its mating season, they say — and woe to unsuspecting pedestrians in Stonington, a shoreline town bordering Rhode Island.

The hawk has attacked at least five people recently, including a woman who was cut on the head this week. It has also snatched a boy’s hat, snagged headphones from a man on a lawn mower and even attacked a car.

Stonington animal control officer Rae-Jean Davis and the director of a nearby nature center say there are no plans to kill the angry avian, but its nest may be moved to a less populated area.

— Associated Press

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Video: A March 3 news report on the hawk. Credit: WTNH via YouTube

BOSTON — The Massachusetts House has voted overwhelmingly to ban the surgical "debarking" or silencing of dogs or cats.

By a 150-1 vote, the House on Wednesday approved the bill which prohibits the devocalization of dogs and cats unless a licensed veterinarian certifies that the procedure is medically necessary to relieve an illness, disease or injury.

Animal rights groups pushed for the bill, saying the practice amounts to animal cruelty and poses only risks to the pets.

Some dog owners opt for the procedure as a last-ditch effort to try to quiet chronically barking dogs.

The bill now heads to the Senate.

— Associated Press

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Photo: Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times

YARMOUTH, Maine — Nike subsidiary Cole Haan has agreed to eliminate exotic skins like lizard, snake and alligator from its product lines.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said Thursday that Cole Haan is the first maker of high-end accessories and shoes to ban exotic skins. Cole Haan, which is based in New York and Yarmouth, Maine, defines exotic as including alligator, crocodile, lizard, snake and ostrich.

Nike spokesman Nate Tobecksen says products using those materials will be eliminated across the entire Nike line after the summer retail season.

PETA has successfully lobbied Nike and Cole Haan in the past. Cole Haan announced in 2008 that it would stop using fur in its product lines.

— Associated Press

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Photo: A shopper checks out the display window at a Cole Haan store in Los Angeles in 2009. Credit: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times

SYDNEY — A species of frog thought to have been extinct for 30 years has been found in rural Australian farmland, officials said Thursday.

The rediscovery of the yellow-spotted bell frog is a reminder of the need to protect natural habitats so "future generations can enjoy the noise and color of our native animals," said Frank Sartor, minister for environment and climate change.

A fisheries conservation officer stumbled across one of the frogs in October 2008 while researching an endangered fish species in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales state.

The officer, Luke Pearce, told The Associated Press he had been walking along a stream trying to catch a southern pygmy perch when he spotted the frog next to the water.

Pearce returned in the same season in 2009 with experts who confirmed it was a colony of around 100 yellow-spotted bell frogs.

Dave Hunter, threatened species officer with the Department of Climate Change and Water, said the find is very important.

"To have found this species that hasn’t been seen for 30 years and that professional researchers thought was extinct is great," he said. "It gives us a lot of hope that a lot of other species that we thought were extinct aren’t actually extinct — we just haven’t found them."

The find wasn’t made public until now to allow enough time to establish conservation measures to protect the frogs from many dangers, including poaching, Hunter said.

The discovery is "as significant in the amphibian world as it would be to discover the Tasmanian tiger," said Sartor, the environment minister.

The last known tiger — a cousin of the Tasmanian devil — died in a zoo in 1933, although unconfirmed sightings have been reported since then.

Seven of 216 known Australian frog species have disappeared in the last 30 years.

Mike Tyler, a frog expert at the University of Adelaide, said around a dozen species of Australian frogs are regarded as critically endangered.

"Most of them are on the east coast, mainly in Queensland and New South Wales," he said, but added there are probably other species that never have been identified.

Tyler said the cataloguing of fauna in Australia is still far from complete.

"In the last decade, three new species of frog have been discovered in the Kimberley," he said, referring to a northern region of Western Australia state. "I know of two more in the Northern Territory which haven’t even yet been described … one of the specimens is sitting here on my desk looking at me."

— Associated Press

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Photo: A pair of yellow-spotted bell frogs in an undated photo provided by the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service. Credit: David Hunter / Associated Press

We’re crazy about this musical Scottish fold cat, whose talent on the theremin is undeniable. (The theremin, for the uninitiated, is an electronic instrument controlled without physical contact by the musician playing it. It was created by Russian inventor Léon Theremin, whose fascinating life story is detailed in the documentary "Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey.")

If there were an all-cat Beach Boys cover band, we think we know who they’d call to play the theremin part on "Good Vibrations." (Although this cat, and these cats, would also be in the running.)

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— Lindsay Barnett

Video: blancbonn via YouTube

Neil Patrick Harris is the narrator of a PBS documentary exploring the bond between service dogs and those they help.

Harris recorded the narration this week for "Through a Dog’s Eyes," which is set to air next month.

The film details how dogs learn to serve people with disabilities and how animals and humans are paired. An Iraqi veteran who became a quadriplegic after a car accident and a 6-year-old with cerebral palsy are among those featured in the film.

The "How I Met Your Mother" star says he was impressed by the strong emotional connection between the service animals and those who rely on them. He owns two dogs.

"Through a Dog’s Eyes" debuts April 21 on PBS stations.

— Associated Press

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Photo: Neil Patrick Harris records audio
for "Through a Dog’s Eyes" on March 2 in Burbank, Calif. Credit: Rene
Macura / Associated Press