Mountain Views News          Saturday, April 5, 2014

Mountain Views-News Saturday, April 5, 2014 11JUST FOR BEST FRIENDS Mountain Views-News Saturday, April 5, 2014 11JUST FOR BEST FRIENDS 
DOGGIE DOOMSDAY 

Are Your Pets Prepared For a Happy Tails Potential Disaster? 


LOOKING FOR A BEST FRIEND? 

Looking For A Feline Friend?? 

So is Tigress! She is a beautiful Tabby short hair mix with a very
sweet and affectionate temperament. She will ask for attention,
but is polite about it, not demanding. She is an owner surrender 
and very much wants a loving, forever family.
She is spayed, up to date with all routine shots and ready to move 
in. Please consider making Tigress a special part of your family! 


She currently resides in Meow Manor at the San Gabriel Valley 
Humane Society located at 851 E. Grand Avenue in San Gabriel. 
We are located off San Gabriel Blvd., north of Mission and south 
of Las Tunas. 


To arrange a rendezvous with Tigress (aka… 5232), please stop 
by any time from 10:00am to 4:30pm Tuesday thru Sunday. Her 
adoption fee is $99 which includes her spay surgery, a microchip, first vaccinations and a free wellness 
check-up at a participating veterinarian. Feel free to call us at (626) 286-1159 for more information 
on Lola. 


See our website at www.sgvhumane.org for information and photos of all our available pets. 



PET OF THE WEEK 

REMBRANDT: ANIMAL ID #A4687192 

Meet a charming and eloquent canine, the lovable 

Rembrandt! Rembrandt (A4687192) is a perky seven


year-old tan male Silky Terrier mix who was found in 

Hacienda Heights and brought to the Baldwin Park 

Animal Care Center on March 19th. Weighing ten 

pounds, Rembrandt is a medium-energy dog who 

has best been described as an “all around great guy.” 

Curious and confident on the leash, he is also attentive 

and responsive to his handlers—giving them kisses 

and tail wags as signs of his affection. He also gets 

along happily with other dogs and shows signs of 

being housebroken. This handsomely scruffy gent will 

make a wonderful indoor pet for absolutely anyone in 

any living situation. Meet Rembrandt today! For a 

video of Rembrandt, please visit the following link: 

http://youtu.be/e-zHDOYfdCM 

To meet Rembrandt in person, please see him at the Baldwin Park Shelter, located at 4275 N. 
Elton, Baldwin Park, CA 91706 (Phone: 626-430-2378 or 626-962-3577). He is currently available 
now. For any inquiries about Rembrandt, please reference his animal ID number: A4687192. 
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 
Rembrandt or the adoption process, please contact United Hope for Animals Volunteer Adoption 
Coordinator Samantha at Samantha@hope4animals.org. 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/. 


by Chris Leclerc 

Being prepared to successfully endure, survive 
and thrive through a major earthquake, tornado, 
hurricane or any other type of “doomsday 
disaster” is by no means a new concept to us 
these days. However, if you are anything like me, 
you will agree that it can’t hurt to re-visit the issue 
now and then, and allow yourself to subscribe 
to any fresh ideas or suggestions on doomsday 
preparedness, when and if one should occur.

 I read an article in the June 2012 issue of “Dog 
Fancy” magazine entitled “Ready for Anything”, 
by Kitson Jazynka, about a true experience had 
by the Anastasias, a Maryland family who found 
themselves dealing with three very frightened 
dogs, two of which went missing during 
Hurricane Irene last year. For a while, during 
the ordeal, the Anastasias began to think that 
they might never see their precious pups again. 
It happened while they were running across the 
yard, trying desperately to escape their home 
after a huge oak tree had been pushed over by 
the high winds and landed on their roof. They 
ran to find refuge at a neighbor‘s house, and 
were making their way across the field when two 
of their three dogs broke away and ran randomly 
without direction in the dark night.

 I could so relate to how the Anastasias must 
have felt when their dogs got away and ran in 
fear, and I could so imagine that happening at 
my house if I should find myself in a similar 
situation. That article forced me to face the fact 
that, although I love my pets, and I like to think I 
am a responsible pet owner, I am no where near 
as ‘pet-ready’ for a major disaster as I should 
and could be. It also brought to mind the fact 
that I would never forgive myself if my pets went 
missing or perished during a major disaster, 
knowing that I had not done everything possible 
to avoid loss of life or limb on their behalf.

 Fortunately, the Anastasias did mange to find 
their two frightened dogs and gathered them in 
to safety before they were lost or hurt, but the 
end result could have been grim, considering 
their lack of preparedness. The key element of 
advantage that came from that experience was 
the fact that the family realized how important 
pet preparedness is for potential doomsday 
disasters and shared what they learned. First and 
foremost, they realized that it is very important 
not to wait until the night of the ‘storm’ or 
disaster, to prepare! To really be ready for a 
potential disaster, one must take the time to plan 
ahead.

 Preparing your cats and dogs for a “doomsday” 
event includes several factors and should begin 
with writing 
out a plan. 
Ideally, the plan 
will include a 
list of various 
scenarios with 
correspondingactions to be 
taken. For 
example, how 
can you be best 
prepared to 
care for your 
pets in the 

case of a mandatory evacuation due to a fire 
or flood? Or like in the case of the Anastasias, 
what if you are forced to flee from your home 
during a raging storm? Conversely, what steps 
of preparation should you take to protect your 
pets if you are forced to stay inside your house 
without power after a blizzard? We may not have 
blizzards in Sierra Madre, but this could happen 
while you are on vacation in the mountains, or 
visiting a friend or family member in another 
part of the country. Preparation plans will vary 
depending on the specific needs of your pet, 
but here are a few basic tips that will pertain to 
nearly any home with domestic pets: 

.• 
Microchip your dog. Collars and tags 
can easily fall off and get lost, and the appearance 
of your pet may vary depending on the elements 
and whether your dog is injured. A registered 
chip implanted under your dog’s skin will ensure 
its unmistakable identity, should s/he get lost. 
Ask your veterinarian about microchip implants 
and registering.
.• 
Crate train your dog, or at least train 
him to be accustomed to walking in and out of 
a storm cellar or underground crawl space. If 
a dog if fearful of small spaces, he may not be 
willing to take shelter.
.• 
Keep extra copies of your pet’s 
vaccination records and photos on hand to help 
identify and prove ownership of your pet.
.• 
Establish a buddy system with one of 
your neighbors to keep your dog out of harm’s 
way in case you are unable to get home during 
a disaster. 
.• 
Keep a box of extra pet foods and any 
other pet necessities you may need in case the 
stores are closed for an extended period of time 
after a disaster. The pet supply box should be 
stored along with your own “human” survival kit 
for easy retrieval in case of an evacuation.
.• 
Regardless of the circumstances, it is 
very important that you secure your pet on a 
leash or in a crate, at the onset of a major storm 
or earthquake. If your pet is not secured, he is 
much more likely to escape and run out into the 
street where he could be hit by a car, or roam 
randomly out into the neighborhood or up into 
the forest where you may not be able to find 
him.

 Animals often become very nervous during 
a storm or earthquake and they also pick up on 
our own vibrations if we ourselves are nervous 
or afraid. If you plan ahead, and practice the 
basic steps of preparedness before a disaster 
hits, you will be much more apt to remain calm 
throughout the ordeal, and in that way help 
your pets to do the same. Do what you can to 
be prepared and let your pets depend on you to 
keep them safe in the case of an emergency. And, 
as always remember to love and let live!