Mountain Views News          Saturday, September 15, 2012

10

JUST FOR BEST FRIENDS

 Mountain Views-News Saturday, September 15, 2012 


Last 

Saturday 
night, my 
husband and 
I were sitting 
on the front 
porch with 
our two 
dogs, watching the sun go down and enjoying the cool breeze 
blowing through the trees after a long hot day, when a neighbor 
stopped by with a beautiful beagle on a leash, asking if we knew 
who he belonged to. The dog was so friendly, it came right up 
to us and we both agreed that we did not recognize him. He 
was obviously very well taken care of, and didn’t appear to be 
exhausted or hungry, so I assumed he probably lived nearby. 
I offered to make a few calls, pound the pavement and do what 
I could to find his owner, in order to get him back home. My 
neighbor, whom I was so pleased to see had been kind enough to 
take the time to help the poor lost pup, thanked us for our efforts 
and said she would be willing to keep him at her house if we were 
unable to locate his owner by the end of the evening. I was relieved 
to know he had a safe place to crash that night.

My neighbor had already called the police to report a lost dog, 
after which she contacted the Humane Society, but I decided to 
start by making a follow up call to the Sierra Madre Police myself. 
The fact is, proper protocol for reporting a lost or found pet is 
to contact the local SPCA, which in our case happens to be the 
Pasadena Humane Society, but the police in our little town are 
willing to help if they can, when they are not too busy. The police 
dispatcher was kind enough to take my name and number in 
hopes that the owner might call them back, and for that I was very 
grateful. Next, I called the Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA, 
and spoke to the officer on duty who also took my information 
and told me he would pass it on to the owner if she called. I then 
prepared to start canvassing the neighborhood, however I never 
had the chance to start my door-to-door venture, because on my 
way out, I received a call from the dog’s owner, who had indeed 
phoned back in to the police and was given my name and number!

She was so happy to hear that her beautiful babe was safe with 
a neighbor who would hold him until she could come and pick 
him up. Laurel, the dog’s owner arrived just moments later, nearly 
in tears with joy to be reunited with her little boy whose name I 
then found out is “Bo”. Bo was equally elated to be reunited with 
his owner and his also-adopted “doggie sibling” who was waiting 
in the car to greet him. Before driving away, Laurel told me that 
she had adopted Bo from a previous owner who was unable to 
properly care for him, and that she’d had him “chipped” because 
he’s a bit of a “Houdini” who likes to sneak out when no one is 
looking, and wander about the neighborhood. That came as no 
surprise to me because I had read about how beagles do have a 
tendency to wander more than other dog breeds. Laurel explained 
that she had just bathed Bo that afternoon, which is why his collar 
was hanging in the sun to dry, rather than being around his neck 
when he made his great escape. I totally understood that too, as 
I do the same thing with my bloodhound when she gets a bath, 
because all her extra chin skin tends to get irritated by a wet collar.

Before I knew it, Laurel, Bo and Bo’s ‘doggie bro’ were on there 
way down the road headed back home. It warmed my heart to 
have taken part in reuniting that happy little family, and I thought 
how little it took to make such a big difference in a situation where 
the outcome could have been otherwise tragic. I made a point of 
reporting back to my kind neighbor who had initiated the effort 
to get a lost little dog back home, and she was very pleased to hear 
that the incident had wrapped up nicely with a happy ending.

While reflecting on my experience that evening, I thought how 
important it is to keep our pets safely detained to the best of our 
ability, and to make sure they have implanted ID chips, just in 
case they do go missing without their collars. I also thought of 
how important it is that we neighbors look out for one another’s 
pets when they do go missing and do our best to get them safely 
home. It is a community effort to be kind to the lost canine. I 
felt prompted to share this story with my readers, along with a 
bit of information about the proper protocol to follow should you 
find a lost dog, or if your own dog should go missing. We as local 
residents and pet owners should all assume responsibility, and 
do our best to be aware and prepared to report the incident in a 
timely & proper manner. Here are a few “good-to-know” helpful 
hints that might come in handy, if/when you find a wandering dog 
or if/when your own dog goes missing in Sierra Madre or one of 
the other towns near Pasadena:

First, look for an identification tag on the dog’s collar. Most 
dogs wear a city license tag, providing a serial number that can 
be traced to the owner by the city or the SPCA. Some pets also 
wear a personal ID tag bearing the owner’s name, address and/or 
phone number, allowing for direct & immediate contact. If there 
is no owner information available, call the Pasadena Humane 
Society & SPCA 24-Hour Hot Line at 626-792-7151 and report 
the found animal.

Having called the SPCA, you can also call the Sierra Madre Police 
Department at 355-1414. As I mentioned earlier, the police are 
not ultimately responsible, but many pet owners are not aware 
of the proper protocol, so they call the police 1st rather than the 
SPCA, so it can’t hurt to call them both.

If you the owner cannot be contacted through the SPCA or the 
police in a timely manner, you can also take the dog to Petco or 
the Humane Society to be scanned for an implanted ID chip. 
Some facilities offer this as a free service to help reunite lost dogs 
with their owners. There are even a few veterinarians that will 
scan a lost dog for chipping, at no charge.

On a final note I’d like to say thanks to all of the “Good Samaritans“ 
in our community who do care enough to take the time to show 
kindness to a lost canine. A true animal lover knows it is worth the 
effort to do what it takes to help a wandering or lost dog find it’s 
way back home! I was personally so very pleased to see Bo and his 
owner reunited last Saturday, it really made my day!

COMMUNITY KINDNESS FOR LOST CANINES

Happy Tails

by Chris Leclerc


PET OF THE WEEK: JADA - #A4485010


Meet a beautiful girl with the most amazing eyes, Jada (A4485010). 
Jada is a gorgeous three year old black and white female Siberian 
Husky mix who was found in Pasadena with Juneau (A4485009) 
and brought to the Baldwin Park Animal Care Center on 
September 7th. Weighing forty pounds, Jada walks very well 
on the leash and has a calm, gentle demeanor. She is good with 
other dogs and is particularly bonded to Juneau, and we think 
she will do well with children. Jada will be a spectacular indoor 
pet for an individual or family living in a large condo or private 
home, and she and Juneau would be a traffic-stopping pair. Full 
of love and kisses, Jada will be an amazing pet for anyone. To 
watch a video of Jada and Juneau please visit: www.youtube.com/
watch?v=E_Eg3EgnwGk

To meet Jada in person, please see her at the Baldwin Park Shelter, 
located at 4275 N. Elton St., Baldwin Park, CA 91706 (Phone: 
626-430-2378 or 626-962-3577). She is currently available now. 
For any inquiries about Jada, please reference her animal ID 
number: A4485010. The shelter is open seven days a week, 12 
pm-7 pm Monday-
Thursday and 
10am-5pm Friday-
Sunday. This is a 
high-intake shelter 
with a great need 
for adoptions. For 
more information 
about Jada or the 
adoption process, 
contact United 
Hope for Animals Volunteer Adoption Coordinator Samantha 
at samanthasayon@gmail.com or 661-309-2674. To learn more 
about United Hope for Animals’ partnership with the Baldwin 
Park Shelter through its Shelter Support Program, as well as the 
many dogs of all breeds, ages, and sizes available for adoption 
in local shelters, visit http://www.unitedhope4animals.org/
about-us/shelter-support-program/.


SPORTS


ALVERNO 
CROSS 
COUNTRY 
COMPETES 
IN 12TH ANNUAL 
DON 

BOSCO 
INVITATIONAL 

The 2012 Alverno 
cross country team 
debuted at the 12th 
Annual Don Bosco 
Tech Cross Country 
Invitational 
held at Santa Fe 
Dam, Irwindale 
on Saturday September 
8, 2012. 
The Varsity Team, 
the 2011 Horizon 
League Champions, 
did not field 
their entire team. 
Senior varsity runners 
Eryn Blakely, 
Adrianna Martinez, 
and newcomers Madi Mennie and Vanessa Serrano along with juniors Victoria Pintado, Brett Richey and Francesca 
Rueda competed in the Small Schools Juniors-Seniors race. This season’s Jaguar team has four returning seniors and two 
rookie seniors; four juniors; two returning and two coming back from knee issues that forced them to miss all of part of 
last season; a returning sophomore and three freshmen with some running experience. Alverno competed in the Small 
Schools Division fielding seven runners in the Junior-Senior race and four runners, sophomore Rose Boubion and freshmen 
Kimberly Ganivet and Natalie Valencia in the Soph-Frosh race. 

The Don Bosco Invitational marks the start of the fall high school cross country season and gives teams the opportunity to 
test themselves and compare themselves against their Horizon League opponents. Alverno runners improved their times 
over their 2011 performances on the 3-mile course that has a variety of terrain which includes sand, bike trails, asphalt, 
dirt, rocks and grass. This year’s race was made a bit harder by slightly altering the terrain, removing about a mile of dirt 
trail and replacing it with small rocks.

This season’s team consists of returning Seniors Eryn Blakely, Ashley Haylett, Katherine Haysbert, Adrianna Martinez 
and new to the team, Madi Mennie and Vanessa Serrano; Juniors Jessica Lopez, Victoria Pintado, Brett Richey, Francesca 
Rueda (returning after a year’s absence due to knee injury); returning Sophomore Rose Boubion and Frosh runners Kimberly 
Ganivet, Adriana Nava and Natalie Valencia. Head Coach Ken Berry and Assistant Coach Alex Fanara train the 
cross country team.

Alverno’s top finisher at this year’s Don Bosco Tech XC Invitational was senior Eryn Blakely. Blakely earned a medal by 
placing 6th from 166 runners in the Small Schools Junior-Senior race with a time of 19:18. This marks the 4th consecutive 
medal (2009 – 2012) earned by Blakely at this Invitational meet. After a slow first 2 miles and behind her 2011 pace, 
Blakely quickly picked up her pace (6:00 3rd mile) and finished in 6th place. “My friend said that at the mile mark, there 
were at least 50 runners ahead of me. I spent the rest of the race going faster and passing runners”, Blakely said after the 
race.

The next test for the Alverno runners will be at the Bellarmine/Griffith Park (Bell-Jeff) Cross Country Invitational on Saturday, 
September 22nd. At this Invitational, Alverno expects to see runners from their Horizon League teams compete 
and others that they will see at the October 19th Mt. Sac Invitationals.

Horizon League competition gets under way on Wednesday, September 26th at 4:00 PM at Griffith Park, hosted by Bishop 
Conaty. Member schools of the Horizon League are Alverno High School, Bishop Conaty-Our Lady of Loretto, Holy 
Family, Sacred Heart of Jesus and San Gabriel Mission.

Alverno Senior Varsity runner Eryn Blakely (#1656) after the 2 mile mark, passing runners 
towards a 6th place finish at the 12th Annual Don Bosco X-Country Invitational 
held on Saturday, September 8th at Santa Fe Dam.