sutton078

Uber - now a noun - "order an Uber". A verb - "let's Uber". An adjective - "it's an "Uber like" system and probably more. On October 29th, one can Uber Kitten . Yes - click on the kitten option on your app and an Uber will arrive with kittens for 15 minutes of love, stress relief and some adorable in your day. A portion of the proceeds will benefit your spcaLA! Fun notwithstanding, it is an opportunity to spread the message of adoption, the significance of your local shelters and, the critical importance of corporate philanthropy. Uber - a good corporate citizen and spcaLA Friend for Life!

Abusers use everything at their disposal to terrorize and control those they batter - including the family pet, often threatening to harm or kill an animal if the domestic violence survivor dares leave. We are now in the worst of it as incidents of domestic violence increase exponentially with the start of footbal season and extreme heat - both occuring right now! Since the mid 1990s spcaLA’s Animal Safety Net (ASN)™ provides a safe refuge for the domestic violence survivors’ pets, free-of-charge, so that they may leave a dangerous situation without fear for their animals’ lives. Unfortunately, there is great demand for this help and we must expand these services.  There are 3 ways to help us help these human and animal victims, one of which is to help us win a contest! 1. Vote . Help spcaLA earn $100,000 to help expand ASN in the LA2050 Challenge - with enough votes between now and November 3, 2015 , we can make LA a safer place to live. 2. Donate . Help sur...

Courtesy Google Images In his message vetoing the ban on bullhooks, the governor stated that he did not want "to create a new crime", lamenting that there are so many, and that " our jail and prison population have exploded ". For the most part I agree that we should not criminalize every individual type of behavior when such behavior would be subsumed under a general, elastic, broad statute. The reason is that when there is a list of specific prohibited conduct, and a criminal does something not on the list, the door is opened for the defense to argue that if the legislature intended this to be wrong - it would have added it to the list. Bullhooks however, though instruments of torture, were universally accepted as a necessary training device, a likely defense to the crime of animal cruelty, and therefore needs its own statutory language. But that is NOT the reason for the veto. Prison overcrowding is the reason to the detriment of elephants and the rest us. Our co...

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...