Long Beach Recreation Dog Park Assn.: News 2004

Donations made: As in years past, the association gives 25% to 35% of the net proceeds of the annual Pet Fair to other local animal assistance organizations. The Board of Directors voted in September to present checks of $400 each to the Golden State Humane Society, the Long Beach K-9 Officers Assn., and Paws LA's Long Beach office. The board also decided to give the leftover collars and leashes from the Pet Fair to the Seal Beach animal shelter.

Kidnap victim assisted: The Board of Directors has agreed to pay the $273 emergency vet bills of a 68-year-old Lancaster woman whose dogs were injured during an August kidnapping ordeal. Patricia Wilfong had rented a room in her mobile home for about a year and a half to Jeffrey Mark Worden, 47, who faces charges in the case.

Wilfong returned home after grocery shopping Aug. 10 to find Worden sitting outside the trailer with her two miniature dachshunds. She told him to leave the dogs alone but he started pedaling a bike as fast as he could down the street, dragging the leashed 6-month-old puppy, "Scooby-Do," behind, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies said. Wilfong called deputies but before they arrived, Worden returned and reportedly threw the dog at her saying, "It's got a broken leg. You better go fix it."

As deputies arrived, Worden returned, grabbed Wilfong and forced her to drive him away in her car, deputies said. Wilfong was forced to drive out into the desert where her abductor told her he was going to kill her. But Wilfong, who brought the injured puppy along, begged him to take her back to get treatment for the dog, reports state. Worden agreed several hours later and allowed Wilfong to drive back to the trailer where they were met by authorities.

Wilfong's older dog, "Noodles," suffered a dislocated shoulder and pulled leg muscles. Both dogs were treated at the North Valley Veterinary Medical Clinic in Lancaster and are improving, Wilfong said. Funds to pay those bills were taken out of the association's A to Z Fund, which was set up in 2002 after a Long Beach family's two dogs -- Adabisi and Zoeie -- were shot in retaliation for assisting police with a neighborhood drug problem.

The association collected about $6,000 to assist the Garcia family in 2002. A surplus of donations enabled us to establish the Adabisi-Zoeie Emergency Animal Assistance Fund, which can be used in extraordinary cases of animal cruelty. If you'd care to contribute to the fund, write a tax-deductible check to Recreation Dog Park Assn., put "Adabisi-Zoeie" on the memo line and send it to us: P.O. Box 8337, Long Beach CA 90808.

Pet Fair: Receipts from this year's Pet Fair show that the event raised $3,796 -- and was our second-most successful to date. Treasurer Fred Nicas reported that the event raised $3,796,

Auctions and opportunity drawings were the biggest draw, bringing in $2,142. The dog walk brought in $1,129, and the bulk of that -- a record $939 in pledges -- was raised by Carolyn Gallobruno, owner of "L.C.," Gallobruno, who was awarded a special basket of goodies for her contribution. Food and drink concessions brought in $706, sales from Lillian Estrada's Paws & Tails Sales booth netted $320, and T-shirt sales raised $253. An additional $160 came from vendor fees.

Robin Alexander: sight-seeing flight, $105; dinner at Bubba Gump's and Aquarium of the Pacific for two, $65
Lisa Bradley: yoga/pilates sessions, $40
Shannon DeGraff: treat jar, $24

Sabrina Harper: three gift and grooming baskets, $155; Delius restaurant gift certificate, $75; Queen Mary brunch for two and Aquarium of the Pacific for two, $70
Daniel Hummel: food basket, $65
Mike Katreeb: salon gift basket, $45
Lisa King: dog gift basket, $45

Jill Kessler: gourmet food basket, $40
Sherry Leach: gift basket, $45
Joy Moss: sculpture, $8; coffee cup, $8
Victoria Ott: dog-grooming basket, $19
Lynn Riperti: gym bag and food baskets, $109
John Wong: Gondola Getaway & dinner at Belmont Brewing Co. for two, $80

Expenses for the fair totaled $970: $537 was spent on food, drinks, ice and supplies; city permits totaled $82; and table and chair rental was $191. An additional $159 paid for balloons, helium, ribbons, tape, tissue and other miscellaneous items.

As in years past, the association will give 25% to 35% of the net proceeds to other local animal assistance organizations.

Election results: The Board of Directors has one vacancy to fill following the spring election. Of the three announced candidates, incumbents Pablo Drobny ("Zenny") and Buzz Minnich ("Sage"), both of Long Beach, were re-elected with 44 votes each; Lee Mania ("Nomar" and "Ted"), also of Long Beach, received 38 votes. Mania moved to Albuquerque, N.M., in the final days of the election and will not be accepting her seat on the nine-member board.

Those getting write-in votes were incumbent Shirlee Hitchcock ("Wolf" and "Timber") of Long Beach who decided not to seek another term, 3; Sheila Finch (the late "Rosie") of Long Beach, 1; and Lori Edwards ("Mojo") of Long Beach, 1.

Election: Three nominations for this spring's Board of Directors election have been received. Incumbents Buzz Minnich and Pablo Drobny have decided to seek a second three-year term; Lee Mania is the third nominee. Shirlee Hitchcock, who was elected in 2001, decided not to seek another term. Ballots will be mailed to members on June 14 and must be postmarked by July 18.

Yard sale: Happy shoppers couldn't wait to purchase the odds and ends on sale at the association's spring sale in the Carson Park area of Long Beach. Under the careful supervision of Gale Nowak, Marcia Rohan, Jackie La Barre the Saturday morning even went off with nary a hitch. The association reaped $625 for the general fund.

Election: Nominations are now being accepted for this spring's Board of Directors election. Seats up for election this year are currently held by Shirlee Hitchcock, Buzz Minnich and Pablo Drobny, who were all elected in 2001.

Bees: Once again we've had a swarm of unfriendly guests at the Dog Park. Early Sunday morning parkgoers were dodging bees who'd moved into one of the big eucalyptus trees in the middle of the park. The Fire Department arrived on the scene within a few minutes of the call and decided to summon a beekeeper to evict the colony. If you see a swarm, call the Fire Department's non-emergency number -- (562) 570-2500 -- to report it.

Winners all around: Our Saturday night fund-raiser turned out to be a winner in more ways than one. A total of 40 hockey fans joined our outing at Long Beach Arena enabling us to raise $200! One member of our contingent, Marti Dill, won more than $300 in a drawing during the third period of the game -- and donated $100 of it to the association! Than you, Marti! Another, Chris Majus, won a health club membership. And just as icing on the cake, Ice Dogs defeated the Titans of Trenton, N.J., 2-0. Quite an evening!

Dog Zone at the beach: An ordinance that will expand hours at the beach facility from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Memorial Day received its second and final reading before the City Council The new hours will go into effect March 1.

Dog Zone at the beach: The City Council gave its first reading to an ordinance that will expand hours at the beach facility from dawn to dusk through Memorial Day. The new hours would go into effect 30 days after a second reading -- probably early March. Stay tuned.

New pans and bag boxes: After months of replacing watering pans that keep disappearing from the park, new board member Clair Mc Dowell hit upon the idea of chaining metal pans to the faucets and performed the task in a day! Our jack-of-all trades treasurer, Fred Nicas, constructed the dozen new, gray bag boxes that have been installed around the parameter fence.

Board Members: The Board of Directors has appointed three members of the association to fill vacancies. Clair Mc Dowell, at far left with Tinker in his wagon, and Ray King, at left with Scooter, Lucy and Dougal, were voted in to fill openings left by Nancy Sheriff, who resigned because of scheduling conflicts, and Richard Ulibarri, who stepped down because of an illness in the family. Jackie La Barre was named to the seat vacated by Jim Knutson, who served as board president for nearly four years and has moved out of the area. The following officers were selected for the '03-'04 fiscal year: