Los Angeles Animal Services Important Pet Alert

Over-eating during Thanksgiving can be serious for pets too!

Thanksgiving is the time of year when family and friends get together to enjoy each other’s company and a myriad of delicious foods. We have a tendency to include our four-legged family members in this feast, which often results in overindulgence. Even when we don’t purposely include them, the agile and creative dog or cat can capture a special treat from the kitchen counter, trash or even the dining room table!

Thanksgiving weekend is also a busy time for emergency veterinary clinics. Dogs and cats suffer very serious and sometimes fatal consequences from turkey bones, too much rich and fatty foods and just plain overeating. If your pet is not acting like himself or herself, consult your veterinarian. Your best friend could be seriously ill.

It is difficult to comprehend, but when giving pets treats you must consider the relative size of their body compared to yours. If you weigh 150 pounds and your dog weighs 25 pounds, he or she is only 1/6th of your total weight. If you visualize yourself as a whole pie, comparatively your dog is only one slice of pie. Consequently, sharing an unfinished plate that still holds a generous serving of mashed potatoes with gravy, a side of very rich dressing, a few bites of turkey and a small slice of pumpkin pie with your best friend can make him or her feel miserable.

You do want your pets to enjoy the holiday. Stop by a pet food store and purchase some new dog biscuits or cat treats; then reduce the amount of their regular meal to accommodate the treats they will be getting throughout the day. Remember, biscuits and treats are usually much higher in calories than regular pet food so having them skip dinner may be a prudent choice if they have been snacking all day.

If you are planning a quiet holiday at home without a lot of company and confusion, and you don’t already have a dog or cat to share your life with, this could be the perfect time to visit one of our six Los Angeles City Centers and fall in love with your new best friend. You can get him or her settled in while you have a couple of days off work. What better way to give thanks than to give an orphaned shelter pet a home? You will be repaid with unconditional love and laughs for years to come.

Stuffing on the Veranda

President Obama salutes the Democratic National Committee Chairman

Posting light over the holiday but here are a few nuggets for you to chew on.

Phil Jennerjahn drops out of the race for CD 4 and predicts a Tom LeBong victory.

Before Mayor Sam came to LA there was not this level of political coverage as seen in a Weekly story on Rudy Martinez's race for CD14. We've even made Mike Trujillo famous. You're welcome.

Here are some opportunities for you to help your fellow man and make Thanksgiving a little bit nicer for those down on their luck. It's also a great opportunity to see your favorite local elected get their picture taken.

Not realizing there are hungry people in their own city or a massive AIDS scourge in Africa, time on their hands NIMBYs in Encino are lamenting the free market has transformed an ailing Barnes and Noble into a CVS Drug Store. In the future people will not read but they will need stimulants. Just watch Idiocracy.

It's not exactly the death of high culture but Disney is giving up making animated fairy tales after its latest Rapunzel based feature Tangled is released this holiday season. Again, the march to Idiocracy continues.

Thanksgiving Photo Opps Continue

Nothing like the holidays to bring out celebrities and politicians to get some photo opps feeding the homeless.  Council Members Dennis Zine, Jan Perry and Tom LeBong were ready for the cameras as the LA Mission served their annual Thanksgiving meal, as seen on the pages of the excellent blog, Downtown Los Angeles Central City East. 

Indeed, it's a wonderful thing to make the holiday as best as can be for those who are down on their luck.  All of us have got the call from a friend "We're going downtown to feed the homeless before we go over to Grandma's!" have been inspired to help.  The truth is however, as nice and as well intentioned as these acts are I believe they serve only to assuage a certain amount of guilt that we've yet to find real solutions to these social ills, let alone get past the fraud, waste and abuse of government that at least contributes to if is not the cause of these roadblocks to human welfare. 

I am certain by chanllenging these random acts of kindness it puts me in the "hater" category but I can't easily accept some of the inherent phoniness around it when on the days that are not Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. bad things are ignored and allowed.

Postscript: Two years ago Joel John Roberts, CEO of PATH Partners, wrote an excellent post on this topic.  It still is true.

Zuma Dogg Participates in Huizar's Turkey Giveaway!

This holliday Council Member Jose Huizar provided hundreds of turkeys (yes, the kind you eat for Thanksgiving) to families in Council District 14.

But the newest resident to CD 14 - Zuma Dogg - didn't get his turkey so a Huizar staffer was nice enough to drive out to Casa Princesa and present Zuma with his official turkey.

Zuma Dogg says he doesn't eat turkey so he's donated the turkey to a low income family.

Open Thread: What Are You Thankful For?

How To Be Thankful from WikiHow

1. Pay attention to the people around you. You will find that everybody has something to worry or complain about, not just you. It's easy to focus on those who seem to have it all, but you never know what's going on inside. They might look happy, but they might be miserable as well. Don't look at others and think "I should have it like they do." Look at those who aren't as fortunate as you are and take note of how blessed you are. Count your blessings. If it helps, consider volunteering or start a friendship with someone who is not as fortunate and find small or gradual ways to help them.

2. Practice acceptance. Stop dwelling on how things should be, what could've been, and what you don't have. Recognize what you do have--whether you like it or not, it's yours to keep or to change. Accepting your lot in life is not about resigning yourself to unhappiness. It's about not wasting time wishing for what you don't have. You could try writing a list of things you want, and things you have. Consider the thought that many less fortunate people will want some of the basic things that you have.

3. Become a problem solver. Use your lemons to make lemonade. Get in the habit of asking yourself how you can turn the negative into a positive. The most successful people in life, and those who have the most to be grateful for, are also those who've endured tremendous trials and managed to persevere and turn it all around.

4. Learn to see hardship as a chance to develop character. Imagine yourself looking back ten years from now and recounting your difficult circumstances, and being proud of how you handled it and worked through it.

5. Develop a gratitude journal. It's pretty simple. At the end of every day, write down five things that have made you happy or appreciative that day; not necessarily big things, even small ones count.
* For example: 1) nice weather, 2) being thanked by a customer at work, 3) my pet, 4) having people who love me, 5) a funny joke or a song you like.

6. Take joy in the small things. Blow bubbles. Walk the dog. Get lost in the park. Goof off or watch a funny movie and have a good laugh. Life's treasures are the small pleasures; give thanks for each small gift you receive!

Better Than Turkey! The Side Dishes!

From Wikipedia:
Many other foods are served alongside the main dish—so many that, because of the amount of food, the Thanksgiving meal is sometimes served midday or early afternoon to make time for all the eating, and preparation may begin at dawn or on days prior.

Traditional Thanksgiving foods are sometimes specific to the day, and although some of the foods might be seen at any semi-formal meal in the United States, the meal often has something of a ritual or traditional quality. Many Americans would say it's "incomplete" without cranberry sauce, stuffing or dressing, and gravy. Other commonly served dishes include sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes or rice (in the South), dumplings, corn on the cob or hominy, deviled eggs, green beans or green bean casserole, peas and carrots, wheat flour bread rolls, cornbread (in the south), or biscuits, rutabagas or turnips, and a Waldorf salad. For dessert, various pies are often served, particularly apple pie, mincemeat pie, sweet potato pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate meringue pie and pecan pie, with the last four being particularly American.
Traditional Thanksgiving meal in New England

There are also nontraditional regional differences as to the stuffing or dressing traditionally served with the turkey. Southerners generally make their dressing from cornbread, while those in other parts of the country make stuffing from white or wheat bread as the base. One or several of the following may be added to the dressing/stuffing: oysters, apples, chestnuts, raisins, celery and/or other vegetables, sausages or the turkey's giblets. The traditional Canadian version has bread cubes, sage, onion and celery. Rice is also sometimes used instead of bread in Canada.

Other nontraditional dishes reflect the region or cultural background of those who have come together for the meal. For example, many African Americans and Southerners serve baked macaroni and cheese and collard greens, while some Italian-Americans often have lasagna on the table and Ashkenazi Jews may serve noodle kugel, a sweet dessert pudding. It is not unheard of for Mexican Americans to serve their turkey with mole and roasted corn. In Puerto Rico , the Thanksgiving meal is completed with: Arroz con gandules (Rice with pigeon peas) , pumpkin flan , roasted white sweet potatoes and spanish sparkling hard cider. Vegetarians or vegans have been known to serve alternative entree centerpieces such as a large vegetable pie or a stuffed and baked pumpkin or tofurkey. Many Midwesterners (such as Minnesotans) of Norwegian or Scandanavian descent set the table with lefse and green bean hotdish.

Is The Turkey Done?

Learn how to tell if the Thanksgiving turkey is done cooking in this video.

Happy Thanksgiving!