OK, follow this story:
Last week, three cairn terrier mixes were found wandering in the Chaney Trail neighborhood. One of them, a youngster, was captured almost immediately and taken to the Pasadena Humane Society, where she has since been adopted. The other two, which included an older female, were a little more wary, but after several days of concentrated effort, they were captured and are now looking to be fostered or adopted. Speculation is that the this was a mom dog and her two offspring.
But: Lori Paul (who with her husband Rob Stahle caught the first dog) writes to the newsgroups that two more terriers — of similar color and markings as the others — were found on Lake Avenue near Washington Boulevard. These two are currently in custody at the Pasadena Humane Society.
Since sightings of brown terriers have been reported at Hahamongna Watershed Park, Millard Canyon, and the Cobb Estate, speculation is that somebody dumped a mom dog and her four offspring, possibly at different trailheads. (It’s not too far fetched to think that dogs could make it from the mountains to Lake/Washington — after all, a 12 point buck made it down from the Cobb Estate to Eliot Middle School on Oct. 1).
In the midst of this rash of doggie dumping, Zahra Nealy, community relations associate at the Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA, wrote to Altadenablog saying — politely — that you shouldn’t bring lost Altadena animals there:
Reuniting animals with their lost owners is something staff at the Pasadena Humane Society loves to see. PHS provides shelter for the cities of Arcadia, Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, Pasadena, San Marino, Sierra Madre and South Pasadena. If you find a lost animal outside our service area, please bring them to the appropriate shelter so that their owners have the best chance to find their pets. Each city has an animal shelter for its lost pets—please use the right shelter so that more pets are reunited with their families.
Despite what Nealy says, Altadena doesn’t have its own shelter — Altadena’s designated animal shelter is run by Los Angeles County at Baldwin Park. It’s an open secret that people who find dogs in Altadena will frequently fudge the place where they were found so the animals will be taken in by Pasadena’s closer (and, some think superior) shelter, as opposed to the county lockup in far-away Baldwin Park. But you’re not supposed to do that, and the Pasadena Humane Society doesn’t have to take them.
So: if you have an issue with a lost or found pet, the dispatch line for service is (626) 962-3577. Artemio Menchaca, Altadena’s animal control officer, has a direct cellphone at 626-290-3635. Email is altadena@animalcare.lacounty.gov. The county shelter is at 4275 North Elton Street, Baldwin Park, CA 91706.
I know that Altadena is unicorporated LA County but can’t we lobby to get this changed? It does not serve animals or residents that Baldwin Park is the ‘closest’ shelter. I donate year after year to Pasadena Humane Society and would love to see an effort to get this changed.
I concur with Victoria, and we also are Altadenans who donate to the Pasadena Humane Society. How can we help get this changed?
The Pasadena Humane Society has become more flexible over the years; when I was growing up in Altadena, the line was very hard: if an animal was found in the county, it had to go to what we then called “the Pound,” the Baldwin Park shelter. I agree with Victoria and Sharon that it would be wonderful if we could soften the line even further.
I’m very unhappy about his. I, too donate to the PHS and adopt pets from there. Baldwin Park is miles away, I wouldn’t even know how to get there. Unfortunately the PHS gets paid by the cities it contracts with and I guess LA County won’t cough up. Altadena needs to incorporate.
Pasadena Humane Society is humane to dogs found in La Canada, but not Altadena. Hmmm……so they want our donations, but not our strays. A word to the wise……most dogs taken to Baldwin Park have to be euthanized. Often the “turnover rate” is less than a week. I know this because my daughter works with a group that goes there to rescue dogs on death row…..it is very sad. SPAY AND NEUTER!!
It should be noted that the County runs the shelter in Baldwin Park so there is no incentive for them to have PHS contract for Altadena.
For me, the answer is simple: we don’t donate the the Pasadena Humane Society. We found a wonderful family dog at Baldwin Park county shelter. The drive was a pain, and the place is understaffed, but if the Pasadena HS is going to operate as a “locals only” shelter rather than a resource for the community, then I’m not going to engage them.
I used to live in Pasadena, and PHS has always been a stickler. Once I found a dog and called them, and the employees spent about 10 minutes on the phone and then again at my house arguing with me about whether or not it was really my own dog that I wanted to get rid of. And this after I had spent an hour looking for its owner. A couple other times, I called for dead cats, and again the arguments. The thing is, PHS picks up strays for free but charges for your own animals.
PHS does really wonderful work–I’ve written a couple articles about them–and I did get a great dog there. I think it’s a worthwhile donation, but you know that you can donate to LA County shelters as well. Maybe that’s where Altadenans should send their $$$.