Mountain Views News          Saturday, September 26, 2015

10

JUST FOR BEST FRIENDS

Mountain Views-News Saturday, September 26, 2015 


LOOKING FOR A BEST FRIEND?

OJAI RAPTOR CENTER

Rescue. Rehabilitate. Release. Educate.

Happy Tails

by Chris Leclerc

To watch football games with? Chester is your guy! 

 It is a shame that any animal has to end up in a 
shelter, rather than in a safe and happy home. But it 
seems especially sad when an older animal is either 
surrendered by their family, or is found stray on the 
streets trying to fend for themselves. Unfortunately, 
this is not a rare occurrence, and many shelters become 
the only option for animals that are 
no longer able to stay in the homes 
they have known for most of their 
lives. It is also a sad reality that 
older animals have a much lower 
chance of finding a new home – 
most adopters want puppies or 
young dogs that can grow up in 
their families – so the seniors are 
most often passed over without a 
second look.

 Meet Chester – this sweet guy 
can’t help but melt your heart if 
you spend a little time with him. 
Chester was found as a stray dog in 
San Gabriel with no identification 
to help him locate his owner. He 
is estimated to be around 13 years old, and is a tan 
Chihuahua mix weighing almost 13 pounds. His 
coat is speckled with gray hairs, and his face is mostly 
white. 

 Besides his gray hair, Chester also has a bit of 
stiffness in his legs, probably from age related arthritis. 
It doesn’t discourage him from walking, though – 
he loves to get out of his kennel and get some mild 
exercise when he has the opportunity. He has a calm 
energy level and is very easy to harness and walk on 
leash.

 Chester also has some visual impairment. He does 
not seem to be blind, as he notices a few objects in his 
surroundings, but he needs some guidance when he 
walks, especially around steps and curbs and other 
changes in surfaces. In spite of his limited vision, 
Chester shows an interest in exploring his world, using 
his nose to find his way. 

 Chester is a loving dog, friendly with people, as 
well as with other dogs. He will happily sit in a lap for 
pets and will eagerly take treats if they are offered. He 
shares his kennel with another senior dog, and the two 
of them get along very well with each other. 

 Chester is a gentle, non-demanding dog and wants 
nothing more than a quiet home to call his own 
where he can spend his retirement 
years. He would enjoy a shady 
yard during the day, and a soft 
comfortable bed at night. Chester 
needs a loving person who is able 
to see beyond his age and mild 
disabilities. Please think about 
adopting Chester or another senior 
dog so they don’t have to spend 
the cold winter months sleeping 
in a kennel. They will reward you 
with love and loyalty, and will 
bring many blessings to your life. 
Chester qualifies for our reduced 
fee ‘Senior For Senior’ adoption 
rate.

 Since he doesn’t require a lot of 
exercise, he would make the perfect lap dog in a quiet 
environment. His adoption fee is $130 which includes 
his neuter surgery, a microchip, first vaccinations and a 
free wellness check-up at a participating veterinarian. 

 If you are interested in meeting Chester or any of 
the other available animals at the shelter, visit the San 
Gabriel Valley Humane Society at 851 E. Grand Ave., 
San Gabriel, Calif. 91776. It is open 10:00am to 4:30pm 
Tuesday thru Sunday. For more information, call (626) 
286-1159. See our website at www.sgvhumane.org for 
information and photos of all our wonderful pets. 

 Readers are also invited to join the San Gabriel 
‘Strut Your Mutt’ dog walking team and the ‘Race for 
the Rescues’ team to raise funds for shelter animals. 
The Walk is Saturday, October 10th at Exposition Park 
and the Race is Saturday, October 24th at the Rose 
Bowl. Go to the shelter’s website at sgvhumane.org for 
more information and how to sign up! 

There is nothing quite as captivating as seeing a huge 
hawk or owl, wings spread wide side-to-side, soaring over 
the treetops of our local foothills. When I am fortunate 
enough to catch a glimpse of such a beautiful sight, I can’t 
help thinking it is a good sign that nature has things well 
in check and in good balance. Knowing the raptors are 
plentiful and engaged in seeking out their next meal in our 
area indicates to me that the local prey must be plentiful 
as well, and on it trickles down to all of the species, both 
plant and animal in nature’s food chain.

 However, there are numerous risks in our suburban 
sprawl that can cause valid concern about the local bird 
populations. Freeway traffic is one example. Also, the 
dwindling population of trees due to clearing for building 
and development creates a problem for birds when they 
go looking for a good nesting spot. Pollution, both in the 
air and on the ground is yet another potential hazard to 
the healthy proliferation and survival of all wildlife in our 
area.

 I once read a statistic in an article telling the number of 
raptors killed each year by rapidly passing trucks on the 
freeway, entanglement in fences, electric cables and wires 
or other man-made obstructions. I can’t remember the 
exact statistical figures quoted, but I do remember being 
absolutely floored when I read that article. Suffice it to say 
there are way too many birds being killed or injured by 
vehicles and other obstructions versus those that die a 
natural death after a full life in the forest.

 The good news is there are people in the world who 
recognize the challenges birds of prey are met with by 
living so close to an urban setting and they realize the 
importance of doing everything possible to protect them. 
Ojai Raptor Center (ORC) is a state and federally licensed 
501c3 non-profit organization made up of just those 
kinds of people. Folks who are dedicated to the rescue, 
rehabilitation and release of birds of prey, as well as to 
providing educational programs about wildlife and our 
shared environment.

 ORC director, Kimberly Stroud started her training 
at the Raptor Rehabilitation & Release Program in 1992. 
Shortly after that she co-founded Wildlife Care of Ventura 
in 1994, where they received 
permits from California 
State and US Federal Fish & 
Wildlife Agencies, and went 
on to found ORC in 2000. 
There was no real ‘Center’ 
back then. In those days ORC 
operated out of volunteers’ 
homes, including Kim’s and 
a small outbuilding on the 
campus of outdoor clothing 
manufacturer, Patagonia. 
Thanks to the generous 
donations and help of many 
who care, today ORC has a 3 
acre facility where Kim leads 
a part time staff of 2 and great group of 200+ volunteers.

 The Center’s core goals are to rescue, rehabilitate and 
release birds of prey and other wildlife, but above and 
beyond wildlife rehabilitation, their Wildlife Education 
Program is of paramount importance to the work they 
do. They are committed to teaching the public about local 
raptor species, and how human interaction affects them. 
They carry out this mission by going to as many public 
events as possible with their ‘education ambassadors’ 
and every month they go to several schools to perform 
education programs for children in hopes that the next 
generation will have a deeper love and respect for birds of 
prey.

 ORC also holds fund raisers and open house events 
throughout the year, inviting the public to come and learn 
more about their facility and programs. On Thursday, 
October 1 from 6-9pm they are having an art show at 
the Bell Arts Factory located at 432 N. Ventura Ave. 
in Ventura. There’ll be refreshments including locally 
brewed beer, raptor ambassadors, and a variety of bird of 
prey-based fine art including photography and sculpture. 
$10 donation at the door. A second showing will be held 
the next evening as part of Ventura’s traditional monthly 
“First Friday” event, so if you can’t get away until the 
weekend, Friday night might work better for you.

 Another upcoming ORC event is their annual 
Raptors of the Valley Fall Open House on Sunday Oct. 
25th 12pm-4pm, to be held at the Ojai Raptor Center, 
370 Baldwin Rd. in Ojai, CA. The whole family is 
invited to come and meet the staff and volunteers who 
do all the good work and get up-close and personal with 
the raptors themselves! There’ll be refreshments, stage 
presentations, chumash stories, a silent auction and 
lots of activities for the kids. $5 at the door, children 
under 10 are free, no dogs please.

 For more information about Ojai Raptor Center, you 
can visit their website at www.ojairaptorcenter.org. You 
may want to consider making a donation while you are 
visiting their site. It’s as easy as 1-2-3, and you will benefit 
greatly from knowing that you have contributed to a very 
worthy and important cause. 


PET OF THE WEEK: PEPE -ANIMAL ID #A4875766

 Amazing things sometimes come in tiny 
packages! Meet Pepe (A4875766), a distinguished 
9-year-old black with white male Chihuahua who 
came to the Baldwin Park Animal Care Center as 
a stray on September 9th. Weighing 5 lbs, Pepe is 
a little bundle of senior-ness, which just means he 
is easy-going with a light-hearted energy – he is 
just an all-around awesome companion! He’s not 
all that fond of walking on a leash, at least not in 
the shelter environment; but he has absolutely no 
issue with being carried to his destinations. 

 He would like his life from here on to be calm, 
structured, and preferably devoid of children, 
and full of inviting laps and soft beds to sit and 
sleep on, as well as comfy purses and/or pockets 
as his conveyances of choice. Volunteers think 
he will thrive as an indoor pet and companion 
in a loving household consisting of one or more 
adults, all of whom should (ideally) have Pepe-
accepting laps. Pepe wants his next years to be 
truly soft and comfy, full of good food and peace 
and quiet. Pepe will reward those who provide 
him with that life with his total devotion and the 
pleasure they will no doubt derive from gazing 
upon his distinguished self. To see a video of 
Pepe please visit the following link: https://
youtu.be/o0dripiXfcs

 To meet Pepe in person, please see him at the 
Baldwin Park Shelter, located at 4275 N. Elton, 
Baldwin Park, CA 91706 (Phone: 626-962-3577). 
He is available now. For any inquiries about 
Pepe, please reference his animal ID number: 
A4875766. 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 Pepe or the adoption process, 
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/.


SAFE PET ALERT:

Safe Pet Alert is a mobile application featuring a community notification system alerting pet owners 
of potential wild animal threats in the immediate area. Designed originally to report local coyote 
sightings and attacks, we have already expanded our services to include all types of wild animals.

Safe Pet Alert free to download and easy to use. Once downloaded, users have access to:

Our national database of wild animal attacks and sightings.

Ability to report an incident

Push notification alerts advising of immediate threats

Local animal control contact information

Wild animal facts

A notepad to record your own information such as family vet contact info, rabies vaccine info, etc

In addition to reporting and receiving local threat information, we have integrated a "Lost & Found" 
system which functions the same way. If a pet is lost, users are able to immediately submit their 
pets description and photo along with the owner's contact information. Within minutes, other app 
users in the area will be alerted of your missing loved one.

The Safe Pet Alert creates a social network consisting of dedicated users working to protecting our 
neighborhoods, family and pets. Please join us and together we can make a difference. It all starts 
with your city block, one user at a time!


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com