Scratch This: Foster the 4th needs your help!

It’s that time again. People who like noise and wreaking havoc have been setting off explosives weeks before the actual Fourth of July holiday and will for days after it. There’s no thought of waking up babies and people who go to bed early because of work shifts, triggering PTSD in military veterans, or sending cats and dogs racing off in terror into the night. Disturbing the peace? Some of them probably like the idea.

Setting off even “safe and sane” fireworks is illegal in Long Beach. Attempts at educating people about the dangers and damage to people and animals within earshot as well as the ones lighting them have the same predictable results as the just-say-no programs in schools: some people will take it in, and others won’t care. So, it’s up to us to keep ourselves, our neighbors and our pets safe. Our pets especially — they have no clue about what the heck is going on.

Foster the 4th wants you!

During the days leading up to the Fourth of July and for a few days after, shelters fill up with terrified lost pets.

“The volume of lost animals results in strained resources and limited kennel spaces at the shelter,” a press release from Long Beach Animal Care Services (LBACS) read. “Currently, LBACS is over capacity and encourages the public to foster or adopt ahead of the Fourth of July holiday to ensure their safety, well-being and space available at the shelter.”

Again this year, LBACS invites the public to make room for animals terrorized by pyrotechnic blasts and run off in fear and confusion. As a double-dip of good, you’ll be giving shelter pets a mini-vacation from the kennels. The big dogs will particularly thank you.

On Friday, June 20, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the shelter at 7700 E. Spring St., Foster the 4^th will kick off a special adoption and fostering event. People interested in fostering will receive information and resources for the project, and shelter staff will matchmake community members with temporary houseguests.

Rescue partners such as K9 Kismet, Blockhead Brigade and Zoom Room Long Beach will provide valuable fostering resources.

If you’re just reading this and it’s already after 4 p.m. on Friday, and you’re enthusiastic about fostering a shelter pet, no worries. Additional Foster the 4th opportunities are scheduled at LBACS from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, June 24, and Tuesday, July 1 by appointment only. Email PetFoster@longbeach.gov to schedule an appointment. To be a short-term foster, you’ll need to:

• Access the link to submit a foster application online.
• Commit to fostering a pet for a minimum of 30 days.
• Keep the foster pet separate from personal pets. This prevents diseases and ensures that all pets are safe.
• Communicate regularly with the foster coordinator or designated LBACS staff by sending updates and photos.

LBACS will provide fosters with veterinary care and supplies for four weeks, including food, toys, bowls and a crate.

Even if we can’t open a fool’s mind, we can close off our pets from fireworks danger

“LBACS wants to ensure that people and pets stay together,” said LBACS bureau manager Melanie Wagner. “Pets separated from their families can be devastating at any time, but especially during firework season. I encourage people to prepare their pets now by getting microchips, having current tags and also familiarizing themselves with the other pets in their community. Often, an animal's best chance of getting reunited is by the people in our own neighborhoods.”

If you’re lucky enough to have a program like Foster the 4^th in your city, your pets will have a safe haven if they should run off and get lost. This is assuming that they make it to the shelter alive. If an animal panics, runs into the street and gets hit by a vehicle, that may not make it in alive.

Best Friends Animal Society advises human companions to locate and save contact information for their local emergency veterinary clinic and nearby shelters ahead of time. This will allow swift action to be taken if a medical emergency occurs or a pet becomes lost. Long Beach Animal Emergency is located at the traffic circle at PCH and Lakewood Boulevard, etc., and several local clinics stay open past 6 p.m. To really prevent an emergency, keep your pets inside at all times, and keep an eye on them.

Best Friends provided a few tips to keep your pets safe at home during the fireworks season:

• Create quiet: Learn when your local fireworks displays are happening, and bring all pets indoors ahead of time. Dogs and cats alike will appreciate a quiet room, with the windows closed, curtains drawn, and the familiarity of their favorite toys, bed or blanket. To provide additional comfort, try playing calming music or turning on the television for background noise to help drown out fireworks outside.
• Stress less: Generally, pets aren't fans of noisy crowds, explosions, marching bands or fire trucks. When making plans for the holiday weekend, think ahead and make arrangements so pets can be comfortable at home instead of at a parade or fireworks display, as these can be stressful or even dangerous situations for them. [Let me add: Every year in Long Beach, dogs are found running around on or near the beach because their humans bring them along to enjoy a family outing during the fireworks display. Please don’t do this! The noise scares the bejeezus out of them. Create a quiet place for them at home, and maybe get a couple of terrier tranqs or a ThunderShirt for anxiety.]
• I.D. please: Always make sure pets are wearing up-to-date identification tags with your current contact information. Having updated contact information available on an ID tag or microchip will help pets and their people be reunited should they get spooked and run off.

Microchips are available for purchase at LBACS clinics every Monday, second Friday and fourth Friday of the month from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the shelter at 7700 E. Spring St., Long Beach.

Report illegal fireworks in Long Beach here. If you can get photographs of the people setting them off, provide them. If you can identify who’s setting them off, it will help with arrests. You will not need to come forth as a “victim.”

For more information about Foster the 4^th, fireworks and keeping your pets safe from them, visit the LBACS Fourth of July webpage.

YOURS DROOLY

You know how when you go into a bookstore and you see these little labels that read “Employee pick”? That’s what Yours drooly is featuring today— not books and employees but best doggies to foster according to the volunteers who spend days and hours with them. Three volunteers suggested dogs who’d make the best fosters, what distinguishes them, and why they’ll be good fosters.

Like bookstores, Long Beach Animal Care Services has tons of good selections. That’s great for bibliophiles, but not for dogs in shelters, especially big dogs. See the rest of the goodies on LBACS’ shelves here — note that there are fosterable (and adoptable) cats, too. Once you look beyond the cover, you’ll find joy and wonderfulness. You might even want to add one to your permanent collection.

Come to the Foster the Fourth event featured in the article and find your match. Email PetAdopt@longbeach.gov for information on adoption or petfoster@longbeach.gov for fostering. Better yet, peruse the choices at our shelter Wednesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 7700 E. Spring St., at the entrance to El Dorado Park (no parking fee for shelter visitors.

Volunteers Susan and Patti’s pick: “Meadow is as sweet as they come. She snores awake and asleep, or some say it’s a purr. She never had an accident in my house, never chewed anything but a toy, and she wasn’t crated. She is quiet, with the exception of her snoring. [Note: volunteer Susan hears it as a purr  don’t think I ever heard her bark. She enjoys being outside lying on a chaise longue chair. She met my dogs one at a time through the gate. and each time, she wagged her tail. She loves to cuddle. She pulls slightly upon exiting the kennel, and if there’s something she wants to sniff, she’ll keep you there until she does, but after that she enjoys a slow walk. She’s a doll!”

Volunteer Gusti’s pick: “Gabi (ID#A728906) is a beautiful camel/taupe color. She came in with a silver dog named Gabe [possibly a son or a brother, now adopted — shelter vets noted that she’d birthed a few litters], with whom she was found tied up and abandoned. Gabi has been at the shelter way too long. She gets overlooked since the shelter has a few others that look similar. Gabi’s pretty quiet and would probably love some quiet time to just chill and be cute. She liked her brother, but I’d rather see her as a solo pet.”

Volunteer Ashley’s pick: Silverado (ID# A720420), 3 years old, is an awesome fun guy who loves exercising in the yard and will motivate you to exercise, too! He walks nicely on leash with the proper leash tools and is an overall sweet, mellow dog who would do well with other dogs with the proper introduction and sound play supervision. He rides nicely in the car and has done great at big group event events with lots of people and other dogs. Please note: Experience with this breed or a solid understanding of what they require is highly encouraged.

TAIL-WAGGIN' AND NOSE-BOOPIN' EVENTS

Fix Long Beach extends neuter discount through June

See graphic for graphic details. Tasty meatballs are provided.

Cool Cat Collective’s Zine fest

Zines are DIY self-published booklets that can be about anything, and in this case, it’s cats. Cool Cat Collective, the Fourth Street boutique-cum-gallery-cum-kitty rescue, will present its first-ever Cat Zine Fest the weekend of June 27! The inaugural Cat Zine Fest will be a weekend long celebration of cats and the zine medium. Cool Cat Collective will donate $1 from every zine sold to their rescue partner @tippedears. The more zines that sell, the more kitties will be helped!

The Cat Zine Fest takes place on Fourth Friday, June 27, 6 p.m. at Cool Cat Collective, 2741 E. Fourth St., C, Long Beach

Frost Fund’s Sweat to Protect event

Frost Fund, the little nonprofit that could and does provide support to shelter dogs, will host another of their Sweat to Protect workout fundraisers. A few of our Long Beach Animal Care Services pups and their doting volunteers will showcase themselves, and you can adopt or foster any of them (the dogs, of course, and not the volunteers). This Sweat to Protect event will take place in an Orange County park.

Sweat to Protect takes place Saturday, July 19, 9 a.m.–11 a.m. at Grijalva Park, 368 N. Prospect St., Orange, donation-based.

Need a low-cost veterinarian, information about trapping community cats, places to volunteer, rescues and shelters to adopt from — anything pet related? Follow this link for resources. Please add your own ideas in the Comments section.