•  Paws for Reading presented at Foster Library is a great way to get children reading, especially ones having a difficult time with their reading when they read aloud to registered therapy dogs.

Saturdays from noon to 1:00 on the second floor in the children’s area.

Sign up is required. For more information on the program or to schedule an appointment please call Phillip 648-2716.

•  Storyfest is a wonderful event held at the VUSD facility on Stanley Ave. on the very large grass area. Because it is on school grounds no dogs (except service dogs) are allowed at the event. I’m sure that all of the families and kids attending would love to bring their dogs so maybe an exception could be made for this one event (by insurance company and attorneys?).

•  I have heard Donald Trump say, “he begged like a dog, he is sweating like a dog, he choked like a dog and he was fired like a dog.” He is obviously concerned about me running for president so is disparaging dogs. I would never say a person “snorts and sweats like a Trump”. Or think that the election is rigged in favor of humans over dogs.

•  by Victoria Usher

A new California bill has passed which states that if a person witnesses any animal in danger of serious injury or death because of being left in a vehicle then that person is legally allowed to break into that vehicle in order to save the animals’ life. The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office and the Humane Society of the United States are both big supporters of this new bill because even though we teach people not to, the amount of animals that continue to be left in vehicles unattended and in horrible weather is astounding. Senator Steve Glazer has also said that this bill is important because heroic actions such as saving an animal in danger of serious injury or death should not be sued.

•  Ever wonder why us dogs lick things? Licking is related to smell said Dr. Horowitz a professor of cognitive science who runs the Dog Cognition Lab at Barnard College. Dogs have a second smell system called the vomeronasal organ (VNO). Sniffs pick up airborne odors, but the sensitive VNO can detect the smell of molecules that have been absorbed in tissue. Now Isn’t that interesting?

•  Wow, I have been writing for the Ventura Breeze for nine years as we complete our ninth year anniversary (cats and the Breeze have at least nine lives). I was just a kid when I started.

I want to thank my wonderful readers, Scampclub members, my remarkable publisher-editor( I had to say that to get snacks), Victoria Usher for her contributions and Savana for leaving me alone while I am working at the computer. And those of you that are voting for me as president.

•  East Ventura Animal Hospital, located at 10225 Telephone Rd. is having a Spooktacular Open House on Saturday, October 22nd from 12-4pm.

There will be many free activities including pet costume contests, pet photo booth (from 12:30 – 2), hospital tours, trick-or-treat stations and lite refreshments. In addition to this there will be raffles and prizes, pet adoptions and discounted microchips while you are there as well. Come join the fun and bring your pets!  647-8430

•  The Tinker’s Treat Project, started by long time Ventura resident, John Darling, has created a Go Fund Me page to help raise funds to pay the adoption fees of senior dogs. Isn’t that wonderful?

The project started with enough funds to pay the adoption fees for 23 animals.   Since its launch in June of this year, 18 dogs have found homes with the fund paying the adoption fees for each.

The first recipient of the fund was a 13 year old, toothless, Chihuahua named Penelope who was adopted along with her longtime partner, Jack, an 8 year old Chihuahua.

The Go Fund Me Page is https://www.gofundme.com/2r2uuv8

For more information about how you can help, visit Tinker’s web site www.tinkerstreat.com .

I have written before about the National Police Dog Foundation. They have a new website

www.nationalpolicedogfoundation.org so check it out.

The needs of law enforcement agency K-9 units is growing at a rapid pace. They get grant requests almost on a weekly basis and are committed to help these agencies meet their needs. And so as their needs grow, so must our efforts to meet their needs. This new website is part of their efforts to raise more funds to ensure the proper purchasing, training and medical needs of the K-9s, during active duty and retirement.

•  by Victoria Usher

The city of Fillmore now has more than $40,000 in city funding which they intend to use to help fund a dog park. On October 11th the Fillmore City Council voted on where the location for the new dog park will be. The City Council were supposed to vote on the location for the new dog park earlier than October 11th, but they decided that they wanted to find out more information on how big or small the dog park would be.

The Fillmore Parks and Recreation Commission approved the idea of a new dog park, which now leaves the final say in the hands of the City Council. As of right now there are no dog parks in the Fillmore or Santa Paula area so all five of the council members were very much in favor of the new dog park idea. Dog owners living in Fillmore and Santa Paula must drive to Ventura or Santa Clarita if they wish to take their dogs to a dog park.

This is beloved Charlee … Sept.13, 2003 to Aug.28, 2016. a wonderful companion to Kyle for 12  years.  He will be sorely missed by all.

Charlee ~ Sept.13, 2003 – Aug.28, 2016

•  I want to thank all of you that attended my presidential rally and who are supporting me for president. It was pawsitively wonderful. A great turn-out of young and old and many honks from people driving by.

A special thanks to Gloria owner of a Secret Garden (981 E. Main) for hosting the event and to my friend Lyn Fairly and Ana Baker for drawing my posters.

The bad part is that the puparazzi won’t leave me alone so I don’t have any privacy. The drones follow me night and day.

•  There will be an exclusive fundraiser event like no other in Ventura County to raise money for low income pet owners..

The 3rd annual Halloween @ Bard Mansion with a formal dinner, magic, psychics, séances (I don’t know what they are), ghost tours and silent auction!

At the  historic Bard Mansion on the Port Hueneme Navy Base from 6 pm – 11 pm on both Oct. 28 & 29.

Hosted by the Herman Bennett Foundation & Save-A-Life Thrift Stores to help control the local animal population and prevent the needless death of cats and dogs. Proceeds go towards their voucher programs that cover 100% of procedure cost for low income pet owners to spay/neuter their cat or dog. They also provide funding for the spay/neuter of feral cats.

Tickets are available by phone at 445-7171. Only 100 tickets offered each night!  Your contribution is tax deductible! Visit hermanbennettfoundation.org for more information.

•  Mended Sisters MC presents the Hogs for Dogs Poker Run to benefit Ventura County Animal Services (VCAS) on Saturday, October 15 from 9am-4pm.

9am – Arrive at Ventura Harley-Davidson, 1326 Del Norte Rd., Camarillo
11am – Non-Riders meet at the finish line, Ventura County Animal Services
600 Aviation Drive, Camarillo, CA 93010

1/2 off adoption fees for dogs and cats 8 months and up!

There will be dog, cat and bunny play areas, face painting, jolly jump, food trucks, music and much more. Riders $25 . Call Jann 818-298-8488 for more information.

•  Walden Surfboards is raffling off a custom 9’0 surfboard with the proceeds going to the Ventura Police Departments K-9 unit. The K-9 unit is mostly self-funded and it is very expensive to train and outfit the K-9 dogs. All of the officers reach into their own pockets to pay for some of the K-9 units cost because they love these dogs and they know how vital the dogs are to their own safety and the safety of our community. They are selling raffle tickets, the winning ticket will be chosen at the Bark Out Loud K-9 fundraiser, Sept. 9th.

Raffle tickets: 1 ticket for 10.00, 3 tickets for 25.00 or 15 tickets for 100.00  Available at Walden Surfboards, Cash only. Please consider buying a raffle ticket and please help me spread the word.

Walden Surfboards
853 E. Front Street

•  A big thank you Professor Scamp for including LostCatVentura.com and LostdogVentura.com in the Ventura Breeze. Your help promoting these resources is very much appreciated!

Cheers Debbie

•  I sure hope that this isn’t applicable to dogs who have been raised with treats (maybe my home companions won’t read this). Like I like praise but no treats?

In an experiment designed to explain the relationship between humans and dogs — whether it’s defined by a true bond or a love of food — researchers found most dogs anticipate the praise of their owner as much or more than a food reward.

“One theory about dogs is that they are primarily Pavlovian machines: they just want food and their owners are simply the means to get it,” Gregory Berns, a neuroscientist at Emory University, said in a news release. “Another, more current, view of their behavior is that dogs value human contact in and of itself.”

In the early 1900s, psychologist Ivan Pavlov trained dogs to associated food with a stimulus, like a bell. Eventually, Pavlov was able to make dogs salivate using only the stimulus.

But the latest research, detailed in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (which I read all the time), suggests dogs aren’t so single-minded.

Berns and his colleagues began their experiment by training dogs to associate three objects with three different rewards: a pink toy truck with food; a blue toy knight with verbal praise; and a hairbrush with the absence of a reward.

Over the course of 32 trials, the 13 participant dogs were presented with the three objects. The dogs’ neural responses to each stimulus were measured using an fMRI machine.

All dogs preferred a reward to none at all. Four dogs showed a particularly strong response to the blue toy knight, while nine dogs responded equally to the two types of reward. Only two dogs were consistently more excited about the pink toy truck and the food reward(my kind of dogs).

In a second experiment, researchers allowed dogs to follow one of two simple maze paths: one leading to their owner, the other to a bowl of food. Owners sat with their backs turned and praised their dog when he or she arrived.

“We found that the caudate (do they mean pawdate?)response of each dog in the first experiment correlated with their choices in the second experiment,” Berns said. “Dogs are individuals and their neurological profiles fit the behavioral choices they make.”

“Most of the dogs alternated between food and owner, but the dogs with the strongest neural response to praise chose to go to their owners 80 to 90 % of the time,” Berns continued. “It shows the importance of social reward and praise to dogs. It may be analogous to how we humans feel when someone praises us.”

Spay Neuter Animal Network is behind Rite Aid off the Avenue.

Spay & Neuter Clinic of Simi Valley will be performing the surgeries.  The cost is only $10 for low and no income cat and dog owners.

Please call  584-3823 to make your appointment.  Cats must be in carriers and dogs must be in carriers or on leashes.

Thank you for supporting Spay Neuter Animal Network thrift store that makes this clinic possible.

•  All for Love Animal Rescue (AFLAR) is a 501c3 nonprofit all-volunteer animal rescue organization. AFLAR concentrates on the most at risk for euthanasia dogs and those in the most need, which includes pit bulls, seniors, Chihuahuas, pregnant mommas, and dogs needing medical care or surgery.

A special fundraiser is planned for September 11 at Paddy’s, 2 West Main St.  The event starts at 6 p.m. Get there early to get a good seat!  Ages 21 and over.  Cost is only $10 to play 10 rounds of bingo.  There will be 10 prizes to win, and several special auction items to bid on. Cash only for everything—to play bingo, bid on auction items, drinks in the bar, etc.  100% of the proceeds go to AFLAR, to help with medical care, surgeries, and to continue their life-saving work.

For more information, please call  445-3535.

•  Forever Friends Golden Retriever Rescue has announced that its annual Adopter’s Reunion/Fundraiser will take place on Sunday, Sept. 11th at Camarillo Grove Park – 6968 Camarillo Springs Rd, Camarillo from 11a.m. – 4p.m. Tickets are available for purchase online at http://www.ffgrrescue.org/. Purchases may be made online by credit card, PayPal or send a check to the post office box listed at the website, but must be purchased by Sept. 1st so you can receive them by mail in time for the event.

A 7 year history with the mission of  helping alleviate the suffering of Golden Retrievers in need: those who have been abandoned, abused, neglected, have lost  their homes or families, or are in need of medical treatment.  The fundraiser is open to the general public and their dogs and all supporters are invited to attend.  There will be great Bar B Q, soft drinks and desserts.  Games with Goldens and humans, a kissing booth, silent auction, raffle, and a Talented Dog Contest are scheduled.  All dogs must be on a leash.  Kong or tug toys, or gently used blankets and towel donations for the Ventura County Shelter will be collected at the event.  Visit the website or call 222-6059 with any questions.

•  As you know we are having very warm winters and summers and some of the hottest weather ever recorded (I think this what is called global warming but some of my dog friends don’t believe that we are having that)). This means an earlier flea and tick season. And I should know because they love me (can you blame them?).

Ticks survive the winter in microclimates and a breeding female tick can lay hundreds to thousands of eggs at one time. Fleas can even survive freezing temperatures on wild or feral animals, cocooned as immature pupae, or inside houses and buildings. An early spring also means an early season for these bloodsucking parasites (ugh)  that also bite some humans.

When you and your family enjoy the warm weather of spring and summer, don’t forget to take steps to help protect your dog (and cat)against fleas and ticks. So be sure to keep us well bathed and treated with flea stuff to kill those nasty little creatures.

•  Paw’s Corner by my friend Sam Mazzotta
(Actually I don’t know him but I’m sure that we would be friends if he met me)

Dear Paw’s Corner:

I’m in a dilemma. I’ve had my dog for about five years. “Shera” stays with me in my apartment, and there have been no problems until now. Now, a new owner has bought the house and told me I cannot have a pet: I must either get rid of Shera or move out. What can I do? — Desperate in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Dear Desperate:

I feel for you, and I hope I can give you some useful advice in this limited space. My first tip is to act fast, and the sooner the better. I recommend immediately contacting your state’s legal services or aid resource, if there is one, to discuss the problem. You also could find free or low-cost legal advice through the state’s bar association or perhaps at a local university. Your local library can be a great resource, too — you can get online for free, and the librarians can be very helpful.

Renters have fairly extensive rights in most states. A new landlord usually cannot simply walk in and demand you get rid of your pet. The existing lease typically cannot be changed suddenly, either. And even if you don’t have a signed lease the landlord typically must still give reasonable notice of a change in the terms. If you don’t have a lease he will be able to remove you by following your state’s legal procedures.

You also might try offering your landlord a non-refundable pet deposit. These are sometimes required in rentals that accept pets.

•  The Canine Adoption and Rescue League(CARL) 19th annual Pooch Parade at San Buenaventura Beach State Park was another great event and day.

League President Mary Saputo, of Ventura, said they hoped the event would raise at least $25,000 for the nonprofit that has helped more than 6,500 dogs since its inception in 1996.

On Sunday, about 150 dogs participated in the parade and some participated in four contests, best kisser, best costume, best tail wag and the most obedient.

I wasn’t there because I was at the Surf Rodeo looking for some cute lady French poodles in bikinis.

And speaking of CARL they are the proud temporary home of 26 dogs under the care of the Linda Blair Worldheart Foundation (LBWF). The dogs were evacuated from a Santa Clarita Valley facility in the face of the encroaching Sand Fire.

The dogs, primarily American Staffordshire Terriers, are safe at CARL’s Santa Paula boarding facility. The evacuation effort was the result of cooperation between CART,  LBWF, and Shelter Transport Animal Rescue Team , a non-profit that transports dogs from high-kill shelters to out-of-state homes.

CARL  is well-equipped to aid neighboring rescues in times of need with the use of its 112-pen boarding facility.  “Rescues need to stick together,” commented CARL Executive Director Sharon Clark. “We’re all in this together to save lives, and we’ll never forget when we had our own time of crisis in December 2014 when an industrial accident at a nearby waste water treatment plant spread toxic chemicals across the area.”

There are so many wonderful people helping us 4-legged ones I would cry if I could.

•  Honor our 4-legged friends (the dog type) and promote dog-friendliness on Saturday, August 6th, 8:00 am-12:00 pm at the VBG trail head.

There will be  the funniest, smartest, silliest and down-right cutest dogs to adopt from the Ventura Humane Society. There will also be dog treats! For the little human ones, there will be face painting by Monica Diaz-Valenzuela along with face and body painting from Paint Me Please.

Bryce Kulzer, VBG event coordinator, will be hosting this free event. All donations will go to the “Dog Fountain Campaign”.

Bring your family, friends and, of course, your dogs (on leashes please)! If you have any questions, please contact Bryce Kulzer at  [email protected] or 754-9596.

•  Herman Bennett Foundation’s Fundraiser ticket pre-order!

3rd Annual Halloween @ Bard Mansion on Oct. 28th & 29^th.
Formal dinner, psychics, séance, ghost tour and magic at bard mansion benefiting the Foundation’s Spay & Neuter Programs across Ventura County.

Tickets available by phone at 445-7171.
$10 off until August  31!  Only 100 tickets offered each night!

Visit hermanbennettfoundation.org for more information.

A very loved dog who used to go to the gym every day with her Dad, Larry.
She will be greatly missed by all.

Primo – 2006-2016

•  I received this from a reader that I want to share.

“On page 6 (last issue) you mention the Paws For Reading program. Would appreciate it if you would issue a correction in the next issue that the dogs are Certified Therapy Dogs, not Service Dogs. Service Dogs are trained to serve one person and their specific needs.”

“Certified Therapy Dogs are all AKC Canine Good Citizens, and have been certified as Therapy Dogs by passing a fairly rigorous evaluation with lots of training. Love On A Leash, for example, recertifies its animals and handlers every year. Many of our therapy dogs have advanced degrees to work with young children and seniors.”

•  Buddy Nation helps homeless dogs! Fabulous, fantastic, fun yard sale benefitingand helping homeless pets and their human companions will be held Saturday, July 30th from 8am-4pm. 545 San Clemente(between Ocean & Channel) Come and shop and help a Buddy!

•  A fundraiser will be held on July 24th, 6:30-9:30 at the Ventura Improv Company 34 N. Palm for the All For Love Animal (AFLAR)rescue group. A fun evening at a fun venue. serving Santa Barbara and Eberle Wines for a small price. Desserts and tasty tidbits will be complementary!

$25 per ticket and it helps animals that are rescued, cared for and fed. Volunteers take them to vets for care, back and forth to foster homes and to the weekend animal adoptions all over the county, not to mention all the walking and loving these special animals get. Contact 445-3535 for reservations

•  Canine Adoption and Rescue League (C.A.R.L.) has announced its new “CARL’s Golden Oldies” program. CARL’s Golden Oldies is funded in part by a grant from The Grey Muzzle Organization. The program focuses specifically on the unique needs of dogs aged 10 years or older (I guess I’m a senior citizen but don’t look it). The program was designed to save the lives of senior dogs who might otherwise be overlooked by potential adopters in the overcrowded shelters.

CARL’s Golden Oldies is a partnership between them and The Grey Muzzle Organization, in close cooperation with Ventura County Animal Services (VCAS) and Santa Paula Animal Rescue Center (SPARC).

Senior dogs are historically considered difficult to adopt, with most families gravitating towards younger animals. Under the new program, VCAS and SPARC identify these less-adoptable senior dogs. C.A.R.L. will then either place the dogs in pre-approved foster homes, or board them at CARL’s Pet Care Center, a public boarding facility that doubles as the temporary home for a number of rescue dogs.

The funds provided by The Grey Muzzle Organization are used solely for the medical and dental care of  Golden Oldies dogs. Food and board is $10 per day per dog, and is paid by tax-deductible donations from the community. To learn more about C.A.R.L. and how to volunteer or donate towards CARL’s Golden Oldies, visit http://www.carldogs.org.

VCAS is hosting its annual blockbuster Adopt-A-Thon and it’s going to bigger and better than ever! This year they have merged this event with the nationwide Clear the Shelters event sponsored by NBC4, Telemundo52 and the Petco Foundation.

The event will be held on Saturday, July 23, 2016 from 11:00am – 4:00pm at VCAS

at 600 Aviation Drive, Camarillo. All dog and cat adoption fees will be fee-waived ($20 license fee if applicable). VCAS operates two shelters within the county. The shelter in Camarillo houses over 400 pets and the administrative offices. Their smaller facility in Simi Valley houses nearly 40 pets at a time.

•  A Ventura man has pled guilty to Failure to Properly Care for Animals a misdemeanor (better than nothing I guess). He must spay and neuter all personal animals, agree to a search by probation or peace officers and complete 36 months of probation. Humane Officers worked with Animal Control Officers, Code Enforcement Officers and Ventura Police Department to bring charges against him.

Ventura County Humane Officers are at the Humane Society of Ventura County in Ojai, where cases of animal neglect and abuse throughout the county are investigated.

To become a Humane officer hundreds of hours of training is required as well as an extensive background check performed by an outside investigations agency.

Jolene Hoffman Shelter Director, Humane Society of Ventura County stated “We would like to thank all of the deputy district attorneys for their hard work in prosecuting animal abuse cases from the past to present. “

•  by Victoria Usher

A ten-year-old Anaheim police dog by the name of Bruno needs to be recognized for his heroism. This brave German Shepard has recently passed away due to complications from a shooting that happened two years ago. Bruno had recently been taken to a hospital where he had to have emergency surgery related to the injuries that he got from the shooting. It wasn’t too long after the surgery that his organs started to shut down and a heartbreaking decision was made to bring an end to his pain, that same day Bruno was euthanized.

When Bruno was shot he was in the process of helping his handler, Officer R.J. Young search for a suspected parole violator. The man had been hiding behind a trashcan with a gun and he had caught both of them by surprise. Bruno is without a doubt responsible for saving the lives of at least a couple police officers who were at that shooting. The brave police dog had been living with the Young family and Young’s wife, Rachel, actually wrote a children’s book about Bruno and dedicated it to all law enforcement officer families.

A very loved dog who used to go to the gym every day with her Dad, Larry.
She will be greatly missed by all.

Primo – 2006-2016

•  Local non-profit dog rescue Canine Adoption and Rescue League (C.A.R.L.) will host its 19th Annual Pooch Parade fundraising event on July 17th, from 9:00am-4:00pm at San Buenaventura State Beach. The theme of this year’s event is “Friends are Fur-Ever”, highlighting the lifelong commitment between a family and their pets.

The Pooch Parade is a Ventura County tradition, with attendance in the thousands. The event begins with the parade itself, which is a 3-mile fundraising dog walk from San Buenaventura State Beach to the Ventura Pier and back. In 2015, approximately 250 dogs and their owners participated, many in costume. Registration numbers are expected to increase this year.

The event continues at San Buenaventura State Beach for the rest of the day, featuring:Live blues music by Kelly’s Lot, DJ and MC Marty Glassman, Over 50 booths, pet-related arts, crafts, and services, Local animal rescues, food trucks, silent auction, agility and disco dog demonstrations, dog contests, including best costume and best kisser.

“The Pooch Parade is our biggest and my favorite event of the year,” said C.A.R.L. President Mary Saputo. “It’s like a fair, but everything is all about dogs and other pets. C.A.R.L. runs entirely on volunteers and donations, so the Pooch Parade is vitally important to the work we do saving the lives of homeless dogs. We’re very grateful to the community for welcoming C.A.R.L. and the Pooch Parade, and everyone gives 100% to make it a big success.”

Admission is free, and community members are welcome to volunteer to support the rescue. To learn more about the Pooch Parade, how to register, or how to volunteer, visit http://www.poochparade.org or call 644-PETS.

To learn more about C.A.R.L., how to donate, how to adopt, or how to volunteer, visit http://www.carldogs.org or call  644-PETS.

•  I’m so sorry to read that Long Beach Police K9 Credo has been killed in the line of duty. Both the Belgian Malinois and the suspect were killed while officers attempted to take the wanted man into custody.

•  I have always wondered why Savana is such a funny eater. When I am served my dinner I eat it in 2 minutes while she kind of looks at hers, take a bite or 2 leaves it, goes back a bit later nibbles some more and maybe by midnight she is done eating.

Maybe this is why, cats have evolved to eat foods with a certain ratio of protein to fat so maybe she needs to check it out each time to make it is the correct ratio. So evolution is the reason.

Aroma, taste and texture of food are less important to cats than is nutrition, according to a new study that helps explain not only finicky feline behavior but also what primarily controls cat cravings.

Cats as it turns out are driven to eat foods with a preferred ratio of protein to fat 1 to 4. This translates to about 50:50 in terms of percentage of energy from protein and fat, according to the authors of a study, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

What’s more, “Cats can display neophobia,” lead author Adrian Hewson-Hughes wrote “This means they are unwilling to try a food that is new or different to their normal food, which may make them appear fussy.”

But for me the only ratio is the amount of food compared to the size of the bowl. It needs to be 1:1.

•  by my friend Victoria Usher

New Hampshire had their 100th Newport Winter Carnival  and many attended and had a wonderful time with their family and friends. There was however a bit of an issue when an international animal advocacy group decided to protest against a specific event that was at the carnival which was billed as “Greased Pig on Ice”.

They did end up backing down once they discovered that that there were in fact no real pigs involved in the event, only a man on skates dressed in a pig costume. One of the organizers of the carnival, Steve Smith, explained that that he did actually tell a PETA investigator in an email that there would be no real animals involved at all.