Mountain Views News          Saturday, January 16, 2016

9

JUST FOR BEST FRIENDS

Mountain Views-News Saturday, January 16, 2016 


LOOKING FOR A BEST FRIEND?

CIRCUS PACH’S FINALLY 
PACK THEIR BAGS 

FOR RETIREMENT

Happy Tails

by Chris Leclerc

Your wish has come true….He 
is a 1 1/2 year old Chihuahua 
mix weighing about 10 
pounds. He came to the 
shelter as a stray from Temple 
City with no identification. 
No one has claimed him so he 
is now available for adoption.

 Wish is a sweet boy who 
is friendly with people and 
other dogs he has met during 
his time at the shelter. Wish 
has a very playful nature 
and appears to enjoy playing 
with toys, chasing them and 
bringing them back to have 
them thrown again. He is 
a good-natured boy with a 
happy disposition, and he 
is interested in making new 
friends – both human and 
canine.

 Wish is easy to harness and 
does well walking on leash. He loves exploring the 
world around him and lets his nose lead the way 
as he discovers new smells. Wish seems to be a 
smart boy who is very responsive to treat training, 
catching on quickly to new commands. He has a 
lot of playful energy, typical of the young dog that 
he is, and he would benefit from getting regular 
exercise as well as some basic training to help him 
direct that energy in a positive direction.

 Wish is looking for an active family to take him 
home, and give him the attention he needs. some 
time getting to know Wish – he is wishing for 
his forever Wish would probably do well having 
another dog as a playmate 
and companion. Come in to 
spend family to discover what 
a great little dog he is!

 His adoption fee is $130 
and includes neuter surgery, 
vaccinations, microchip and 
a free wellness exam at a 
participating veterinarian. 
Feel free to call us at (626) 286-
1159 for more information on 
Wish. He currently resides 
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 ‘Meet and Greet’ 
with Wish, please stop by any 
time from 10:30am to 4:30pm 
Tuesday thru Sunday. 

 If you are interested in 
meeting Wish or any of the other wonderful pets 
at the shelter, visit the San Gabriel Valley Humane 
Society at 851 E. Grand Ave., San Gabriel, Calif., 
91776, Tuesday through Sunday from 10:30am to 
4:30pm. See our website at www.sgvhumane.org for 
information and photos of all our wonderful pets. 

 2016 calendars are available at the shelter for 
a $10 donation. The photos were selected among 
hundreds submitted by shelter supporters. If you 
would like to order a 2016 calendar on line, you can 
stop by the shelter or do so through Paypal. Go 
to the shelter website at sgvhumane.org for more 
information. 


It’s been a long time coming, but the hard work and 
tenacity of many dedicated animal lovers over several 
decades is finally paying off. Ringling Brothers 
has finally agreed to allow their performing circus 
elephants to retire for the remaining duration of their 
lives. It is an enormous victory for those gorgeous 
beasts and yet another battle won in the on-going war 
against animal cruelty in general.

 I remember going to the circus with my dad when 
I was 8 years old. It was an exciting event for me, as it 
is for most children. Remarkably, however, the thing 
I remember most about that day is going to the back 
parking lot of the civic center before the show, to visit 
the animals. In spite of my excitement and anticipation 
to see the show, I clearly remember secretly crying 
when I saw those poor elephants shackled to posts 
behind fences in their holding pens. I remember 
thinking how sad they looked, and how unnatural it 
was to see them in that setting. Honestly, it broke my 
heart.

 When I grew up and became more aware of how the 
elephants and other circus animals are treated behind 
the scenes, I felt a deep sense of guilt over having taken 
part and supported the cruel fiasco as a spectator 
when I was a kid. It became clear to me that our 
culture is capable of some pretty disgusting behavior 
when it comes to how we treat our fellow beings, and 
an uncanny way of justifying it and making it seem 
acceptable if it means making money. I believe it was 
then that a burning desire to become an advocate on 
behalf of the animals began to grow inside me.

 Fast forward to 2016. It has been 45 years since my 
childhood visit to the circus, and still the performing 
elephants are being shackled to their posts, waiting to 
make their way into the tent to entertain the “entitled” 
masses who are, in turn biting at the bit to witness 
the hideous spectacle. The use of wild animals of any 
kind in a circus act is absolutely barbaric at it’s roots, 
if you ask me. Whoever thought of it first had to have 
been one sick soul. Then again, it should come as no 
surprise. I’ve been taught all my life that a greedy man 
has the capacity to do just about anything and will 
always find a way to justify it as a means to an end.

 But I don’t wish to digress from the good news in 
this happy tale. In May of this year, 1 . years sooner 
than originally planned, Ringling Brothers will be 
discontinuing their elephant acts and will transport 
the 13 performing pachyderms remaining in their 
show to the Center for Elephant Conservation. The 
Conservation Center is a 200-acre ranch located in 
central Florida, where the 13 retirees will join 30 other 
elephants already residing there. Then, at long last they 
will be able to live out the rest of their 
lives in peace. God knows they’ve more 
than earned it.

 The Center for Elephant 
Conservation will become host to 
the largest concentration of Asian 
elephants in the Western Hemisphere 
when the retired 13 arrive in May. An 
endangered species, Asian elephants 
are second only to the African elephant 
in being the largest mammals on earth. 
Last year, the WWF (World Wildlife 
Fund) estimated approximately 32,000 
Asian elephants remaining, about 250 
of which live in the USA, mainly in 
zoos. The import of Asian elephants 
into the US was ceased back in 1975, when an 
international treaty prohibited their trade.

 Not all of the elephants residing at the Conservation 
Center retired from the circus. Some had been used 
for the sole purpose of breeding, to proliferate the 
population so they’d have more elephants to choose 
from as future prospective performers. This is the part 
where I struggle to stay focused on the happy side of 
the tale. I must remind myself - the good news is that 
13 elephants that have been worked nearly to death all 
their lives, will soon be granted the right to simply live 
and be cared for. Finally, they will get to enjoy a sense 
of freedom alongside others of their own kind, in a 
setting that will allow them a semblance of peace and 
tranquility. Finally!

 That is definitely good news, but at the mention 
of breeding, I am reminded of the reality that those 
beautiful, sensitive, family-oriented gentle-giant 
mammals were, for so long, treated like objects to be 
exploited by ignorant humans who somehow deemed 
themselves worthy of choosing their unnatural birth, 
and an alternate lifestyle for them. To think those 
people assumed the right to breed elephants just to 
have plenty of potential performers to choose from 
just makes me sick inside.

 They showed no regard for what goes on in the 
mind of the animal. An animal with the capacity 
for feelings and emotions very much like our own. 
They showed no regard for what the Creator would 
have intended for the animal‘s life, which would 
have been to live it freely in it’s natural indigenous 
environment. They showed no regard for anything 
other than padding their own bank accounts. For 
me it is difficult to feel any sort of connection to 
such humans. Indeed, I find it much easier to feel a 
connection to the elephants.

 Regardless of what has happened in the past, we 
must do our best to stay focused on the good that is 
happening today, and on what we as individuals can 
do to ensure that more good will occur in the future. 
I wish I could give each one of those elephants a great 
big hug and tell them that not all humans are selfish, 
greedy and thoughtless. Some humans really do 
want to show them love. The kind of love they share 
with each other. The kind of love our Creator shares 
with all of us. From what I read and heard about the 
Center for Elephant Preservation, it sounds like those 
elephants will be blessed with the presence of people 
who will, indeed, show them the love they deserve 
and that makes me very happy.

PET OF THE WEEK: THEODORE: ANIMAL ID #A4908367

The animal shelter can be a loud and scary place, 
and it’s not surprising to see some dogs shut 
down there. That is not to say those dogs are 
not amazing, because more often than not, those 
same shy dogs at the shelter actually blossom 
and flourish once adopted or rescued! Theodore 
(A4908367) is one of those pups. Theodore is 
a bashful 2-year old caramel male Chihuahua 
and Dachshund (aka 
“Chiweenie”) mix whose 
owner left him and two 
sons Simon [A4908366] 
and Alvin [A4908365] 
at the Baldwin Park 
Animal Care Center for 
no known reason on 
December 30th. Weighing 
14 lbs, Theodore is a 
tender little dog who finds 
the shelter environment 
understandably 
overwhelming. He will 
be so much happier being 
back in a home again! Theodore shows signs of 
being housebroken and knows how to walk on a 
leash (although he’s equally happy to be carried); 
additional obedience training will help boost 
his confidence. Theodore will be an outstanding 
indoor pet and addition for any individual or 
family who’s seeking a calm, sweet, small dog to 
call their own. To watch a video of Theodore, 
please visit the following link: https://youtu.be/
NPHioeszJ-M

 To meet Theodore 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 currently available now. For 
any inquiries about Theodore, please reference 
his animal ID number: 
A4908367. 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 Theodore 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, 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/.


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