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LAKEPORT, Calif. – Shepherd, poodle and heeler mixes are waiting for new homes this week at Lake County’s animal shelter.
Dogs young and old, big and little, are ready to get out of their cages and into new families.
Thanks to Lake County Animal Care and Control’s new veterinary clinic, many of the animals offered for adoption already are spayed or neutered and ready to go home with their new families.
Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.
The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).
Male pit bull mix
This male pit bull mix is 3 years old.
He has a long brown and white coat, weighs 62 pounds and has not been neutered.
Shelter staff said he may have a case of mange.
Find him in kennel No. 3, ID No. 33777.
‘Budah’
“Budah” is an 8-year-old male Rottweiler-Australian Shepherd mix.
He’s got a short black and tan coat, weighs 70 pounds and has been neutered.
He’s in kennel No. 4, ID No. 33848.
‘Lucy’
“Lucy” is a 13-year-old female terrier-poodle mix.
She has a long curly coat, weighs nearly 16 pounds and has been spayed.
Find her in kennel No. 5a, ID No. 33868.
‘Terrace’
“Terrace” is a 6-year-old male American Eskimo Dog mix.
He has a long coat, weighs nearly 18 pounds and has not been altered.
He’s in kennel No. 5b, ID No. 33869.
Male poodle mix
This male poodle mix is 2 years old.
He has a short white coat and weighs just under 9 pounds.
Find him in kennel No. 7, ID No. 33894.
‘Fuego’
“Fuego” is a 4-year-old male shepherd mix.
He’s neutered, weighs nearly 94 pounds and has a long tricolor coat.
He’s in kennel No. 15, ID No. 33660.
‘Madi’
“Madi” is a 5-year-old female shepherd mix.
She weighs 76 pounds, has a long black and white coat, and has been spayed.
Find her in kennel No. 15, ID No. 33658.
‘Tacoma’
“Tacoma” is a 9-year-old female blue heeler mix.
She has a short blue merle coat, weighs 62 pounds and has been spayed.
She’s in kennel No. 20, ID No. 33744.
Adoptable dogs also can be seen at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dogs_and_Puppies.htm or at www.petfinder.com .
Please note: Dogs listed at the shelter's Web page that are said to be “on hold” are not yet cleared for adoption.
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, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
By now it’s old news that NASA’s new Mars rover Curiosity is resting safely on the surface of Red Planet after a daredevil landing that had the nation holding its breath.
Now, mission scientists are anxious to start moving.
With such a sweet set of wheels at their disposal and the “open road” before them, just where will they go first?
“We won’t have to travel far for excitement,” said project scientist John Grotzinger. “We landed in the best possible place within the landing ellipse – the bottom of an alluvial fan.”
An alluvial fan is a pattern of sedimentary rocks, dirt and sand deposited by flowing water – in this case, perhaps an ancient Martian river.
Since life as we know it requires liquid water, this is an excellent first place to search for clues of a Mars that was once hospitable to life.
“The alluvial fan indicates that water flowed across the surface, so we’ll head downhill to where water might have collected,” said Grotzinger. “We’ll be looking for minerals like salts that might tell us where water has been. It’s kind of like a scavenger hunt with minerals as clues.”
After that, Grotzinger said it’s “full-speed ahead” to the base of Mount Sharp, a 5,000-meter-tall mountain that holds within its ancient layers possible clues to life on the Red Planet.
“We’ll have to make a deal with ourselves not to stop too often along the way,” he said. “Mount Sharp is the reason we chose this landing site, so we need to high-tail it on over there.”
Deputy Program Manager Richard Cook described the temptation to stop along the way: “It’ll be like taking a family vacation, but instead of the family you have 400 scientists who want to stop and look at every sight.”
Curiosity is bristling with instruments custom-made to look for the chemical building blocks of life.
A laser on Curiosity’s mast can take aim at interesting rocks and vaporize small spots on them from up to seven meters away.
The micro-blasts produce plasma clouds, and the scientists can examine the light reflected off these clouds to learn what the rocks are made of.
The mast also sports a high-resolution camera called Mastcam, which has already begun observing and photographing the rover’s surroundings.
The rover’s robotic arm wields its own array of instruments.
The Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer will measure the abundance of chemical elements in the dust, soils, rocks, and samples the rover gathers.
The Mars Hand Lens Imager acts like a geologist’s magnifying lens that can take its own color photos.
Ultimately samples will be delivered to a pair of onboard laboratory instruments. One of them, SAM, short for Sample Analysis at Mars, will explore the Red Planet by “sniffing” the air, bird-dog style.
It has vents that open to the atmosphere to detect gases like methane. SAM can also “sniff” the gases released by rock or soil samples it heats in its own oven.
Can 400 scientists gripped by the thrill of the greatest “family vacation” ever really rush to their destination without stopping to savor every sight?
Grotzinger made just one guarantee: “In the coming months and years, Curiosity will tell us an incredible story.”
Dauna Coulter works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
NORTH COAST, Calif. – A complex of fires that began early Saturday in northern Mendocino County had burned hundreds of acres by nightfall.
The Pass Complex was reported at around 2:47 a.m. Saturday in Williams Valley, 10 miles northeast of Covelo, according to a report issued by Cal Fire Mendocino Unit spokesperson Julie Cooley.
By 8 p.m. Saturday, the two-fire complex – consisting of the Pass 1 and Pass 2 – had reached 510 acres, with containment at 10 percent, according to Cooley.
Personnel assigned to the complex Saturday totaled 255, with 13 fire engines, eight fire crews, four bulldozers, two airtankers, two helicopters and two water tenders, Cooley said.
The area’s hot, dry, windy weather is anticipated to lead to significant growth on the Pass 1 Fire, Cooley reported. The Pass 2 was holding at 10 acres.
The fires are burning in heavy timber with limited access for firefighters, said Cooley. Other challenges include crowning, torching and long range spotting.
Cooley reported that no structures have been destroyed and no evacuations were ordered, but three injuries were reported.
Cooperating agencies on the complex include Cal Fire, Covelo Fire Department, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation and the California National Guard.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Two small wildland fires continued burning near Upper Lake Saturday evening, with the largest of the two nearing full containment.
The Hunter and North fires were first reported early Saturday morning, according to Cal Fire.
Cal Fire spokesperson Suzie Blankenship reported that the Hunter Fire was in the Bachelor Valley Road area, while the North Fire was located in a U.S. Forest Service Direct Protection Area that Cal Fire is contracted to protect.
By early evening, the Hunter Fire was estimated to be between seven and 10 acres, with final acreage to be mapped later. It was then 85-percent contained, Blankenship reported.
She said it was burning in difficult terrain and heavy timber, with spotting and poor access.
Those factors increased the challenge for the 110 fire personnel from Cal Fire, the U.S. Forest Service and Northshore Fire who worked on the fire throughout the day. Ten engines were also part of the effort, Blankenship said.
Blankenship said the work on the Hunter Fire will continue through the night.
The North Fire was reported to be between three to five acres by Saturday evening, Blankenship said. A containment estimate was not given.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Cal Fire reported Saturday afternoon that firefighters were continuing to work on wildland fires near Upper Lake, with a fire in Middletown destroying two buildings.
The Hunter and North fires in Upper Lake began on Saturday morning, according to Cal Fire spokesperson Suzie Blankenship.
Blankenship said shortly before 2:30 p.m. that the Hunter Fire was being held at 10 acres, with 75 percent containment reported.
She said it was burning in the area of Bachelor Valley Road in heavy timber, with spotting reported.
On scene were 110 firefighting personnel and 10 engines from Cal Fire, Northshore Fire and the U.S. Forest Service, Blankenship said. The cause remains under investigation.
Northshore Fire Deputy Chief Pat Brown said the agency had two engines, two water tenders and two chief officers on the Hunter Fire.
While the district’s resources were getting stretched, Brown said all Northshore Fire stations were manned with engine crews on Saturday afternoon.
The North Fire, in the U.S. Forest Service Direct Protection Area also was burning in heavy timber, and was at three acres and holding, according to Cal Fire’s latest information.
In the South County, the West Fire had started in the 23000 block of Hildebrand Road on Saturday morning.
Blankenship said the fire destroyed one residence and an outbuilding, and burned a 50-foot by 50-foot area of vegetation.
Additional information on the fire incidents will be posted as it becomes available.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Firefighters are battling a three-structure fire in the Middletown area.
The fire, reported Saturday morning, was located off of Hildebrand Road, according to Cal Fire spokesperson Suzie Blankenship.
She said three structures were involved – one house and two outbuildings.
Blankenship said the fire additionally burned a small 50-foot by 50-foot area of vegetation.
Additional information about the fire will be posted as it becomes available.
Saturday has so far proved to be another busy one for firefighters, who are battling two wildland fires near Upper Lake, with mop up and work still continuing on the Wye Fire incident east of Clearlake Oaks.
Email Elizabeth Larson at