Mountain Views News          Saturday, September 19, 2015

10

JUST FOR BEST FRIENDS

Mountain Views-News Saturday, September 19, 2015 


LOOKING FOR A BEST FRIEND?

THE MAGNIFICENT 
MIGRATING MONARCH

Happy Tails

by Chris Leclerc


To spend the Fall with? Meet 
Aldol! 

 Aldo is a sweet senior boy, about 
10 years old and weighs about 14 
pounds. Aldo is a Pomeranian 
mix with a lovely soft red coat of 
medium length. If it weren’t for 
his “frosted face” you would never 
guess that he is a senior. 

 When Aldo first arrived at the 
shelter, he had severely decayed 
teeth and was badly in need of 
dental care. Unfortunately, most 
of his teeth couldn’t be saved, so 
they were pulled. He is still able 
to eat food that does not require a 
lot of chewing, and he is very good 
natured in spite of it.

 Aldo has an easy-going 
personality and is friendly both with people and 
with other dogs he has met since being at the 
shelter. He has a bit of an independent personality, 
and likes to sniff and explore on his own. He is easy 
to harness and handle on the leash. He favors one 
of his front legs when he walks with a little hitch in 
his step, but it does not seem to bother him. 

 Aldo recently went to an off-site adoption event 
and behaved very well meeting new people and 
was featured at the Sierra Madre Kiwanis breakfast 
adoption event this weekend. He is a calm boy 
who just takes life as it comes. His kennel mate is 
another senior boy and the two of them get along 
well with each other. 

 Aldo is waiting for his forever family to find him 
and give him the peaceful, loving home he deserves 
for his senior years. Aldo is not a demanding dog, 
just wanting some gentle activity with his family, a 
shady yard to relax on a nice day, and a comfortable 
bed to sleep in. Aldo might be just 
the companion you are looking 
for, so come in to meet him soon. 
Aldo qualifies for our ‘Senior for 
Senior’ adoption program. 

 Since he doesn’t require a 
lot of exercise, he would make 
the perfect lap dog in a quiet 
environment. Come in to meet 
this beautiful fluffy boy – you just 
might decide to take him home 
with you! 

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 
Aldo 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. 

 The Habit will open their newest restaurant 
in Alhambra at 100 Main Street on Saturday, 
September 27. Join us from 11:30 to 1:30 for lunch. 
All proceeds will benefit the shelter. 

 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! 

I have been seeing so many monarch butterflies 
flitting about in Sierra Madre recently. They seem 
to enjoy the flowers on the bougainvillea bushes 
growing along the fence in my back yard, and like 
a voyeur, I like to watch them through the window 
as they pass from one blossom to another before 
flying back up into the sky and on their merry 
way. They intently investigate each blossom on 
the bush with their bright orange wings striking 
a stark contrast against the green fauna. The way 
they fold their massive wings in and out with such 
grace somehow gives me a sense of peace.

 Seeing so many monarch butterflies in such a 
short period of time reminds me of an experience 
I had several years ago while visiting the beach in 
Carpentaria. There was a huge colony of monarchs 
lingering in clusters, hanging onto the bark and 
leaves of a very dense and shady eucalyptus grove. 
That was the first time I had ever seen so many 
butterflies lurking together in one area at the same 
time. I had to blink and take a second look before 
I could be certain of what I was seeing. All those 
butterflies clinging in clusters to the trees created 
a surreal scene that, from a distance looked like a 
colorful work of moving art. And, I guess that is 
indeed what it was. God’s art.

 Until I got close enough to see that the brilliant 
orange menagerie was actually made up of 
thousands of live butterflies, it crossed my mind 
for a split second that perhaps someone had 
come along and spray-painted that entire grove 
of trees with some sort of sophisticated stencil. 
But, in reality I was looking at a vast population of 
magnificent migrating monarchs taking a break 
to rest and restore their energies before resuming 
a very long and treacherous journey from their 
original spring season 
home, to their final fall 
destination.

 The monarch is the 
only butterfly in North 
America that is known 
to migrate north in the 
spring and south in the 
fall, much like various 
species of birds migrate 
semi-annually. I find it 
quite remarkable that 
such a small and delicate 
creature could have the energy and tenacity to 
travel so far without loosing it’s way or falling 
from the sky to it’s death before reaching the 
next resting spot. It is a phenomenon of nature 
that I find hard to wrap my mind around, and 
certainly one that is worthy of human attention 
and appreciation.

 The Monarch butterfly migrates for 2 reasons. 
One, they cannot withstand the freezing weather 
in the northern and central continental climates 
during the winter months. And two, the larval 
food plants do not grow in their over-wintering 
nest sites, so the spring generation must fly back 
north to places where the plants are plentiful. The 
south-bound monarch migration usually starts in 
about October of each year, but can start earlier if 
the weather turns cold sooner than that.

 When the weather changes again, and the 
temperatures in the south start to rise in the 
spring, the monarch knows that it is time to head 
back north, and off they go once again on that 
long journey to their next seasonal destination. 
This magnificent migration pattern explains 
the sudden appearance of the many monarch 
butterflies we have been seeing in Sierra Madre 
recently.

 It blows my mind to think that those little 
winged wonders I have had the privilege of 
observing in my own back yard will soon be living 
in a place very far away from here, planning their 
next move to survive the winter months! Nature 
never ceases to amaze me, and it really brings 
things into perspective for me when I take the 
time to notice and appreciate all of it’s wonders.


MAYOR ANTONOVICH’S PET 
OF THE WEEK: “STORMY” 

LOS ANGELES COUNTY — 

At the Board of Supervisors meeting, Mayor Michael D. Antonovich 
presents “Stormy,” a 3-month-old Chihuahua mix looking for a 
loving home. For more information about adopting a pet, please 
call the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and 
Control at (562) 728-4610. 


JOIN THE SIERRA MADRE 
KIWANIS CLUB, THE SAN 
GABRIEL VALLEY HUMANE 
SOCIETY AND BARK PARTY 
TODAY AS WE TRY TO 
FIND HOMES FOR A FEW 
ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE DOGS AND CATS

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19TH 

7 AM - 11 AM

MEMORIAL PARK - SIERRA MADRE


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