Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, March 7, 2020

7

Mountain View News Saturday, March 7, 2020 

CAT OF THE WEEK


BOBBY

 Would you like more beauty and 
softness in your life, and a sweet kitty 
to go with it? Then meet Bobby, age 
1. Bobby is a gorgeous buff orange 
color, with soft, soft fur, just purr-rect 
for petting. He is well-behaved and 
loves to be cuddled and pet. He gets 
along with other nice kitties or would 
be fine by himself. He would love a 
forever home soon, and will come current on vaccines, healthy, and 
neutered. Please call his foster mom at 626-991-6619. You can see 
more pictures of Bobby at www.lifelineforpets.org, the More Cats 
page.

Good news: Hopper & Lady Bug have been adopted.

Pet of the Week

 
Shadow was surrendered to the shelter at the age of seventeen. 
Originally adopted from us when she was just a year old, she 
hasn't known anything other than a home for sixteen years. 
We're excited to see her progress as a part of the Jackson Galaxy 
Project's #CatPawsitive program, so come see what she's been 
working on! Shadow is proof that a mature kitty can definitely 
learn new things. This beautiful girl enjoys head scratches and 
has so much love to give in return. Will you take her home?

 The adoption fee for cats is $90. All cats are spayed or neutered, 
microchipped, and vaccinated before being adopted. 

 New adopters will receive a complimentary health-and-
wellness exam from VCA Animal Hospitals, as well as a goody 
bag filled with information about how to care for your pet.

 View photos of adoptable pets at pasadenahumane.org. Adoption hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday; 
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

 Pets may not be available for adoption and cannot be held for potential adopters by phone calls or 
email.

LOOKING FOR A 
BEST FRIEND?


Riven is a striking 3-year-old white and brindle 
American Bulldog and Boxer mix. Her ear to ear 
smile and boundless energy are infectious, and 
lets volunteers and staff know she is ready to 
play at all times! She has heterochromia, which 
means each eye is a different color, one light 
blue and one deep brown that only adds to 
her big personality. Riven is highly intelligent, 
practicing commands with one of our staff 
members and learning how to sit, stay, and army 
crawl! See here in action here - https://youtu.
be/GwqqnkqqXFc . Riven needs a home with 
owners who will take her out for walks, jogs 
and the running she needs. We recommend 
a household with older children and a 
home where Riven will be the only dog. Meet 
Riven at the shelter today! Her adoption fee is 
$145, which includes spay surgery, microchip, first 
vaccinations and a free wellness check-up at a participating veterinarian.


WHO’S WALKING YOUR DOG?

I have had the privilege of traveling many happy 
trails with my canine companions over the past 
10+ years since I’ve been in the pet-care business, 
and I’ve enjoyed many hours playing with my feline 
friends as well. Overall, this dog-walking, pet-
sitting venture has been nothing but pure pleasure 
for me, and I consider it a gift to keep the company 
of the animals I get to spend time with.

I’m not going to lie though, there have been a few tears shed here and there, mainly because caring for animals has 
the potential to render one emotionally vulnerable. For me, the most painful part is saying goodbye to the furry four-
leggers I’ve formed friendships with, when it’s their time to cross the rainbow bridge. Losing a pet, whether it be my 
own or that of a client, is one of the hardest things I’ll ever have to do, but most certainly worth the love we get to 
share during their short lives on earth.

Otherwise, I’ve only had to experience one particular issue of emotional concern since I embarked on my journey as 
a pet-care professional. It all started when I struck up a random relationship with a stranger (for the purpose of this 
story, I’ll just call him “The Guy”) whom I happened to meet on my street one day about 7 years ago. At that time I 
was quite impressed with his ability to keep a big pack of dogs in full compliance as he strode proudly along, chest 
forward, shoulders back, leashes tied tightly to his belt.

I approached and asked him how he was able to maintain such calm-cool-collectedness while walking so many dogs 
at the same time, and I remember thinking it was odd, the curt little grunt he gave me in response. Regardless, I 
was impressed and being the gregarious and perhaps somewhat naïve person that I am, I decided to befriend this 
stranger who seemed to have honed a skill of working with dogs, that I very much admired. The Guy seemed shy and 
reserved. It made me want to draw him out and encourage him. I would later regret that I failed to vet him out first.

Soon I was sharing clients with The Guy, in an effort to help him grow his dog-walking business. I even found him 
an affordable back house to rent from one of my friends as he apparently had no place to live. In retrospect, I can’t 
tell you why I felt so compelled to help The Guy, other than I got the impression he was “different” and could use a 
little random kindness. I was raised to live by the golden rule of doing unto others as I would have them do unto me, 
so in my mind I was going about the business of being kind to someone who needed a leg-up in life and had similar 
aspirations to my own.

It wasn’t long before I got the first call. It was from a client I’d shared with The Guy. She’d just returned from Europe 
and was very upset because her little corgi was under the bed refusing to come out! It wasn’t like that little dog to hide 
under the bed. She’d never done that before. I was confused as to why that would be, but since The Guy had been the 
one who pet-sat the dog during the trip to Europe, it was decided he should not return to her home again.

Soon after that, another pet owner told me their dog was refusing to go for a walk, but kept laying down - apparently 
in fear - every time they tried to take him out on the leash. Again, that had not been a problem before The Guy 
had walked their dog. By now I was quite dumb-founded. As much as I wanted to be kind and help The Guy out, I 
couldn’t imagine recommending him to anyone after that.

A few weeks went by before I saw The Guy again. He happened to be on my street while I was out walking my 
bloodhound, Tater. Now it’s a well-known fact that bloodhounds are pullers, probably because they were bred for 
tracking. Anyway, it’s what they do, so I basically tolerated it with Tater until I later discovered she responded well to 
a Gentle Leader. But on that day, Tater was pulling in her typical way and The Guy came rushing over, grabbed her 
by the loose skin under her chin, and yanked her head down to the pavement!

I yelled, “What are you doing? Let go of my dog!”. At which time, he continued to hold Tater’s head down and asked 
me if I trusted him. “No”, I replied, “Now let go of my dog.” He finally did let go and we parted ways. It was then 
that I decided never to deal with The Guy again. I began to warn people that he had a very heavy hand, and I would 
definitely not recommend him as a dog walker.

Since then I’ve heard many more horror stories told by locals who’ve either observed The Guy behaving inappropriately 
with dogs, or have had their own dog show signs of physical or emotional trauma after being on his watch. One 
neighbor told me they saw him through their upstairs window, kicking a little dog in the yard next door. Another 
saw him dragging a small dog behind his bike in busy traffic. One by one, folks have recounted their experiences and 
one by one those who’ve hired him have since quit letting him walk their dogs.

But The Guy is skilled at the art of tugging on the strings of your heart, so as soon as one person or group of 
people learns of his ill-doings, he turns on the charm in another niche of our community and gets plugged into a 
whole new group who hire him to walk their dogs. The Guy always presents as a shy person who just wants to be 
helpful by “leash-training” difficult dogs, and before you know it, he’s got a whole new pack belonging to yet another 
unassuming group of people who’ve fallen for his bleeding-heart magnetism. Sadly, it always seems to end badly.

In May of 2015, the inevitable happened. Some of you who’ve been reading my column since then may remember 
‘Justice For Gracie’, an unfortunate, not-so-happy true tale about a dog who died after a walk with The Guy. Gracie 
was a healthy, happy 1-. year-old Husky who lived in Monrovia. The Guy took her, along with a bunch of other 
dogs, out for a walk that day in May and Gracie died on the table at Best Friends Veterinary Clinic that evening. The 
necropsy would later prove that Gracie had succumbed to injuries consistent with blunt-force trauma - aka: kicking.

Who’s walking your dog? Be sure to vet them out before you leave them alone with your beloved pet. Ask for a list of 
client references. Get personal contact information including phone number, e-mail and street address. Ask for proof 
of insurance. Get a background check. Ask for a copy of their business license. Do everything in your power to get 
to know the person you plan to entrust with caring for your “best friend”. Unfortunately Gracie’s owner did what I 
did - trusted him blindly, and paid the ultimate price. 


Happy Tails

by Chris Leclerc


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