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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County often has a high number of animals in its animal shelter, but the holidays often bring an influx.
That's the case again this holiday season, with Animal Care and Control's kennels filling up with dogs and cats.
Director Bill Davidson said people typically surrender a high number of pets during the holiday season.
“People dump animals at the holiday for all kinds of reasons,” he said.
While issues with pets may have been going on for some time – an older animal may have been having health issues or a younger animal has behavior problems – Davidson said that in a lot of cases the decision to finally part with the pet occurs during the year's busy later months, as people are getting ready for celebrations and family visits.
He said he believes a lot of such owner surrenders of pets are a matter of convenience or an unwillingness to make a commitment to caring for the animal any longer.
In October there were 18 owner surrenders and 15 in November, numbers which Davidson said doesn't count all of the stray dogs taken in during that time.
One of Lake County's challenges, he said, is that it doesn't have much of an adoption base. “We just don’t have enough people that want to adopt animals.”
In October and November, there were 19 and 10 adoptions, respectively, Davidson said.
He said the way most animals are saved is by transferring them to other agencies and rescue groups. Davidson credited his staff for their work with those other organizations to get the animals placed.
That work resulted in 36 animals being transferred in October, with 25 more transferred in November.
“If it weren’t for the transfers we would be really hurting,” he said.
Coinciding with the high holiday incidence of more animals ending up in the shelter are national observances that remind people of how they can get involved with addressing these challenges.
Those include Adopt A Senior Pet month in November.
Organizations like the ASPCA encourage people to consider senior pets, and remind potential adopters that while kittens and puppies are cute, older pets are just as loving and loyal as their younger counterparts.
Senior pets also have the advantages of not needing constant monitoring, with many of them already being house-trained. Adopters also can easily ascertain their personalities and grooming needs.
Because senior pets often are the last to be adopted from shelters, they're also at greater risk of euthanasia, so giving one a home saves a life.
Davidson said Animal Care and Control current dog population includes three older dogs needing homes.
They include an 8-year-old hound/lab/shepherd mix in kennel No. 9, ID No. 6517; a blue female pit bull named Kali who is 7 years old in kennel No. 27, ID No. 6424; and a 4 and a half year old male black lab mix in kennel No. 15, ID No. 6463.
On the cat side, the shelter currently has a lot of young cats and kittens, with a few adults also available, but no seniors reported to be in the group.
In parts of the country including California, “Operation Santa Paws” is observed in December. The event encourages people to donate food, blankets and other needs to local shelters to help animals.
Lake County Animal Care and Control features a Christmas tree in its lobby during December, and takes donations of pet supplies to benefit the animals in its care.
To see all the available animals at Lake County Animal Care and Control visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .
To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .
Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake Area Rotary Club Association, one of the groups leading fundraising efforts for Lake County's fire recovery, has made a large donation to the effort to reforest areas devastated by the 2015 wildland fires.
On Nov. 18, the Lake County Resource Conservation District received a donation totaling nearly $36,000 from the Lake Area Rotary Club Association, or LARCA.
This funding will allow the district to take delivery of 100,000 conifer seedlings that have been grown to transplant size by the El Dorado Resource Conservation District for reforestation of areas ravaged by wildfire in 2015.
Delivery to Lake County is expected in January or February, weather permitting, with distribution to private landowners in the burned-over area during the following six weeks.
The district also expects to reserve several thousand seedlings to replant portions of Trailside Park near Middletown.
Nearly all the trees in the park, a popular recreational destination for hikers and equestrians and for many years the location of the EcoArts sculpture walk, were burned in the Valley fire.
Although most of the oaks are regenerating strongly from their bases, conifer regeneration is spotty and limited.
The replanting project will allow restoration of a species mix similar to that prevailing in the past.
Volunteers from Rotary, local high schools and the community will be enlisted to plant the seedlings under the supervision of a forester employed by the Resource Conservation District.
LARCA is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization comprised of the four Rotary Clubs in Lake County: Lakeport, Kelseyville, Clearlake and Middletown.
The Fire Relief Committee was formed just two days after the outbreak of the Valley fire and to date has raised more than $900,000 with nearly $625,000 distributed so far to the businesses, individuals and communities affected by the fires Lake County wildfires.
These figures include Clayton fire efforts that have raised approximately $120,000 to date.
As has previously been reported, Lake County Resource Conservation District’s reforestation projects have also benefited from donations from #LakeCountyRising, a collaborative the Lake County Winegrape Commission, the Lake County Winery Association, and the Lake County Wine Alliance, Damon and Jaime Matthews, owners of Walnut Creek Fireplace, and Mike Steen of Coyote Ridge Farms in Guerneville.
To learn more or to donate to LARCA, visit www.larca5130.org .
For more information about the Lake County Resource Conservation District, visit www.lakercd.org .
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Caltrans will host a community open house this week on a proposed safety project for a portion of Highway 175.
The public open house will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1, in the multipurpose room at Middletown High School, 20932 Big Canyon Road.
The drop-in style open house will have displays describing the project, and Caltrans staff will be on hand to answer questions.
The $12.5 million project is slated to take place along a 2.5-mile section of Highway 175 from Putah Creek to Dry Creek, Caltrans reported.
Caltrans said proposed highway upgrades include widening shoulders by 4 to 6 feet, adding rumble strips, removing objects near the roadway – including moving utility poles and removing some trees – and improving sight distance.
In early November, the Middletown Area Town Hall hosted a presentation on the project by Jaime Matteoli, Caltrans' Lake County projects manager, as Lake County News has reported.
Matteoli said Caltrans is pursuing the project due to a fatal collision rate in that area that's five times the state average, and that the goal is to reduce both the number – and severity – of crashes in that stretch of highway.
The project's final environmental documents are scheduled to be approved on Dec. 15, with Caltrans to begin right-of-way acquisitions along the project area the same day, Matteoli reported.
Matteoli said project design is scheduled to be done by March 1, 2018, and construction could begin later that summer.
Building the project will take two construction seasons, so early estimates place the completion in the winter of 2019, he said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Chi Council for the Clear Lake Hitch will resume meetings for the fall starting on Wednesday, Nov. 30.
The group will meet at 3:30 p.m. at the Lake County Agriculture Center, 883 Lakeport Blvd., Lakeport.
Minutes from the May 25 meeting are posted at http://lakelive.info/chicouncil/pdffiles/5.25.16minutes.pdf .
Lake County has a program for memory challenged adults which provides activities and meals in a social atmosphere.
This program offers respite for the caregivers as well as support group meetings. There are openings in all three programs countywide (see below).
November is Alzheimer's Awareness Month. Many people are affected by this disease and many more are in the entrance stage.
A person with a memory problem may not remember when to eat or if they have taken their medications. Many of them wander away and get lost. They may get confused about where they live or how to get home.
They probably do not remember how to use the telephone. They can’t follow directions as they can’t remember them.
Some advance to not knowing who their spouse is or recognizing their children. It is not safe to leave them alone. When they can’t live alone they must have a full-time caregiver. This caregiver is responsible 24 hours a day.
Some of us caregivers have found a wonderful solution to help us through our days with a little bit of respite.
We take our loved ones to the Elder Day Care Program on Memory Lane in Clearlake. At the program, they are given breakfast and lunch, social conversation time, exercise, games, music and friends. They are welcomed and become part of the group.
The group meets from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday in Clearlake, Thursday in Lucerne and Friday in Middletown.
We caregivers have this time to attend to our other responsibilities like grocery shopping, appointments and other projects. We also are part of a support group to help each other with ideas of how to handle our new found situations.
My husband has a memory problem. I am his caregiver. He needs me to fix his meals, give him his meds, watch over him to keep him safe.
We have had a beautiful marriage of 66 years. This new direction our lives have gone has been very tiring for me as it leaves me responsible for everything both of us used to do.
Another group friend’s husband has a memory-related illness. She has the same problems I have – but in addition her husband has gone for walks in the woods and been lost all afternoon. He also forgets where the bathroom is. He is “mister fix it” so takes working things apart to fix them.
Still another group friend’s wife has an Alzheimer’s situation. She is always on the move, going out the door, going into the kitchen, emptying drawers, packing suitcases. She has trouble sleeping so he must be up at night to keep her safe. He is exhausted taking care of her.
We also have in our group a couple who have brought the wife’s father to live with them as he is no longer able to live alone. This has altered their lives and they are making adjustments.
Also attending the program are moms who are now living with their daughter or son’s family, another life altering situation for both of them.
All of these folks have enjoyed many years of living wonderful, interesting and fulfilling lives, but now need care because of Alzheimer's or memory problems.
We caregivers are so thankful to be living in Lake County where we have a program for our loved ones for happy times to spend with friends.
There will be a pizza party fundraiser for scholarships for the Adult Day Care group in Clearlake on Dec. 14 at DJ’s Pizza in Lower Lake from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
For information on the Day Care Program on Tuesday and Wednesday in Clearlake or Friday in Middletown call Jenny at 707-350-3030. For information on Thursday’s program in Lucerne, call Caroline at 707-263-9481
Dee Parker lives in Clearlake, Calif.
U.S. Air Force Airman Emma P. Mitcham graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas.
The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.
Airmen who complete basic training also earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.
Mitcham is the daughter of Andrea Powers of Oakley, Calif., and Jack Mitcham of Clearlake Oaks, Calif., and granddaughter of Helen and Jack C. Mitcham of Clearlake Oaks, Calif.
She is a 2016 graduate of Lower Lake High School, Lower Lake, Calif.