sutton078

Courtesy Google Images Food issues are a thing. People eat with a purpose which can be ideological, health based, weight loss related or simply trendy. One can be vegan for heart health reasons, environmental concerns or because of a philosophical belief that it is wrong to eat animals. There are conscientious omnivores, pescatarians, fruitarians, an entire panoply of diets from Zone to Paleo and of course endless food allergies real and imagined. Planning menus for organizational events is just as challenging as hosting a dinner party at home where everyone attending has very particular food issues. As a toddler my son would only eat food that was green, my friend won't eat beige food, another is kosher and so on and so forth.  I thought that I dealt with it all until a guest pronounced himself a   flexitarian ! In case you are wondering - a flexitarian is a vegetarian who sometimes eats meat. Is that even a thing? Is it different than a carnivore who sometimes eats vegetable...

  A 22-year-old Huntington Park man who was caught on v ideo  repeatedly striking his 2 year old German Shepherd, “Sam” in the head, pled guilty today to animal cruelty charges.  2 year old German Shepherd, Sam Victor Almendariz (DOB: 06-19-1992) was convicted on one count misdemeano r animal cruelty in case #5FF00619 before Judge Gustavo Sztraicher at the Metropolitan Court House.  Deputy District Attorney Kelly Sakir prosecuted the case. Charges were brought against Mr. Almendariz as a result of an animal cruelty investigation by Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles (spcaLA).  Video  shot by an anonymous tipster was sent to spcaLA Humane Officers in January of 2015.  Upon investigation of Mr. Almendariz, three German Shepherds including Sam were found, removed, and brought to spcaLA for medical care. Mr. Almendariz was sentenced to 500 hours of community labor; 5 years probation; Level II animal abuse counselin...

spcaLA.com UPDATE : City attorney directed to draft a regulation allowing the maximum number of cats one can have to go from 3 to 5   BUT - it must include " any required analysis required by the California Environmental Quality Act as part of said ordinance ". This would be easier if the amendment required that all cats must be indoor only, sterilized and wearing visible identification. At lease they listened to us and abandoned the idea of clowders of 20 or more cats! The PAWS committee of Los Angeles city council has once again come up with an ill-conceived scheme and will ask the entire council to support it. They want to raise the cat limit per household to 5.  We have no issue with 5. As you know, there are those who should not be allowed to have even one cat and those who can keep many more than that in a safe humane environment. There is no magic number! The devil is in the details, and the details here are nuts. As always, demagoguery to special interest groups and ...

Courtesy Google Images California has prohibited the trade of kangaroo parts since 1971. However, lobbying from the Australian government, sports equipment manufacturers and the kangaroo industry led to a temporary exemption of this longstanding ban.  Kangaroo skins are most commonly used for high-end soccer cleats, gloves and other leather products. The existence of new high-tech synthetic materials have rendered kangaroo leather unnecessary for superior performance. In fact, these new materials and greater awareness of the inherent cruelty in the kangaroo hunting industry, have inspired some professional soccer players like David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo to stop wearing cleats made from kangaroo skin. This exemption is due to expire at the end of 2015 thus reinstating the ban! We, along with a multitude of other organizations around the world, are watching closely to see if a move is made by Australia to submit legislation that would extend the exemption and/or repeal the ba...

Aaron Blaise's (Lion King animator ) tribute to Cecil the lion, who was killed recently. The utter tragedy of Cecil’s’ death notwithstanding, interesting things have resulted.  Air lines have announced a refusal to ship such animal trophies from Africa. The list includes JetBlue, CargoJet, Air Canada, Air France, American Airlines, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Comair, Delta Airlines, Emirates Airlines, Ethiopian Airways, Etihad, IAG Cargo, Iberia Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Qantas, Qatar Airways Singapore Airlines, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin America, and WestJet with hopefully more to come. Newscasters pundits, celebrities, and corporate executives have loudly denounced the "sport" of trophy hunting. People around the world through petitions and social medial have condemned the practice as well. So - what have we learned? We learned that ideologues aside, the enlightened position of this country is against trophy hunting and for the p...

Cecil, a beloved lion, known by all for his black mane was lured out of his protected habitat in a Zimbabwean national park by a Minnesota dentist, Walter Palmer , and his guides, and killed. Not just killed - but shot with a bow and arrow and left in pain for 40 hours until put out of his misery via gunshot.  courtesy google images The fact that Cecil was used to tourists and trusted them to some extent, relegates this heinous act to that akin to those characteristic of a canned hunt, which is not even considered a sport by other sport hunters, and an act of extreme cowardice and overcompensation. It is certainly not a fair fight. What is really disturbing is his defense. In a statement to the media, Palmer claimed that he didn't mean to kill Cecil specifically, and that, whoever he killed, he killed legally. As to the latter, not so fast- as his guides were arrested for poaching. As to the former - unbelievable!  How many prosecutors would release a murderer from ...

UPDATE: CONVICTED!   Menjivar, 52, pled no contest to one count of unlicensed practice of veterinary medicine. Judge Leland Harris sentenced Menjivar to 36 months of probation, 30 days jail, 500 hours of community service and 16 sessions of animal cruelty counseling. Menjivar is scheduled to surrender on October 16, 2015.  Congratulations City Attorney Mike Feuer and Supervising Attorney Don Cocek for prosecuting the case! Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer has brought charges against  Hector Antonio Menjivar, of Holiday Humane Society , for allegedly posing as a veterinarian and operating an unlicensed after-hours veterinary clinic in Van Nuys. The amount of pain and suffering caused to the pets and their human companions is unimaginable.  It is particularly despicable, if Mr. Menjivar was using the humane society as a shield to deflect suspicion. My heart goes out to those pets and families who were caused pain by this organization and urge anyone else who ...