by Timothy Rutt
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.
