Dogs aren't welcome in Redondo Beach's city parks (but dog owners want to change that)

We know Huntington Beach has a reputation for being the most dog-friendly city in Southern California.  But what city is the least dog-friendly? Vying for that dubious title, at least if you ask some residents, is Redondo Beach. All of Redondo's 20-plus parks (with the exception of its excellent off-leash dog park) have a strict no-dogs-allowed policy, but a group of dog-loving residents is working to change that. Our colleague Jeff Gottlieb has the story; here's an excerpt:

"We've been described as the most dog unfriendly city in the South Bay," Councilman Bill Brand said.

Although there are other cities that have dog bans, such as Gardena, Hawthorne and Culver City, where they are permitted in only one park, the policy is uncommon enough that Linda Barth, assistant general manager for the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services, said she had never heard of a city with regulations as strict as Redondo Beach's.

"There's not enough park patrol or animal control officers to proactively monitor parks, and taking your animal to the park under the appropriate conditions ... many people would argue, is almost a protected right," she said.

There are many people in Redondo Beach who would agree, many of them owners of the 3,600 dogs licensed in the city.

Three petitions with several hundred signatures each have been submitted to the City Council in the last several months asking the city to loosen its leash on the dog policy.

This week, the council asked the Recreation and Parks Commission to study whether the 1979 law should be modified to allow leashed dogs in Czuleger Park, a 2.1-acre space near King Harbor.

THERE'S MORE; READ THE REST.

Photo: Redondo Beach resident Kathy Burke carries Kai, her 8-month-old puppy, on her way out of the Redondo Beach dog park. Credit: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

Your morning adorable: Three bumps -- er, Siberian tiger cubs -- on a log

Germany's Nuremberg Zoo welcomed Rangar, Khan and Domur, Siberian tiger cubs, back in August. Since Siberian tigers (also called Amur tigers) are endangered -- it's believed that only about 400 to 500 animals remain in the wild in eastern Russia and parts of China and North Korea -- these three healthy cubs have given the zoo great cause for celebration.

Siberian tigers are the largest of the tiger subspecies still in existence today. There were once eight subspecies, but three (the Caspian tiger, Javan tiger and Bali tiger) became extinct during the 20th century.  The five remaining subspecies are all considered endangered.

More photos of Rangar, Khan and Domur after the jump!

So long, Mary; hello, Terry. Cleveland zoo tortoise, thought female for 50-plus years, turns out to be male

A tortoise's zookeepers in Cleveland are the ones feeling slow because after more than 50 years, they've discovered "Mary" is actually a male. Officials at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo say it can be tough to establish the sex of a giant Aldabra tortoise because the reproductive organs normally aren't visible. But Mary's maleness was unexpectedly revealed earlier this month during a routine exam.

Spokesman Tom O'Konowitz said Wednesday that the zoo has decided to rename the tortoise Terry.

When the 400-pound reptile arrived at the zoo in 1955, it was assumed he was a she because of a flatter shell, shorter tail and all-around smaller size than most males.

The tortoise is estimated to be between 75 and 100 years old.

-- Associated Press

Photo: Mary, now Terry, at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.  Credit: Associated Press

Reader photo of the day: A broken back didn't slow down Anna Marie, a rescued dog from Romania

Submitter Nancy Janes shares this wonderful shot of Anna Marie, a rescued dog with an amazing story we couldn't keep to ourselves. 

Janes found and rescued Anna Marie in Galati, Romania, when she was just a puppy; Anna Marie had suffered a broken back as a result of being hit by a car. "Now, she is the 'wild child' of our family," Janes says of Anna Marie, who lives alongside six other rescued dogs from Romania.

Janes, a California resident, founded the group Romania Animal Rescue after visiting Romania on a hiking tour in 2001. In the capital city of Bucharest, she took time out to feed some stray dogs -- an abundance of strays is one legacy of Nicolae Ceauşescu's rule -- and encountered a young Romanian woman who was also feeding the animals. 

"I told her I would go back to America and help Romania's dogs," Janes explained of the encounter. "She said, 'Everyone says they will help the Romanian dogs. Then they go home and forget.' Well, having heard this, I had to keep my word!"

Animal lovers' calendar: Weekend of Nov. 21-22 and beyond

Is it animal-inspired art that interests you?  Helping homeless pets that floats your boat?  We've got you covered with options like these (and many more) in the coming days and weeks.  (Are we forgetting something?  Let us know by leaving a comment!)

This Weekend:

Saturday, Nov. 21, multimedia artist Rachel Schmeidler hosts the art exhibition "Hollywood Least Wanted 3D" at downtown art gallery Rivera + Rivera, 1100 S. Hope Street, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.  Schmeidler aims to raise awareness about homeless pets facing euthanasia at animal shelters with the exhibition, which showacases her anaglyphic 3D photos of shelter dogs.  Adoptable pets from L.A. Dept. of Animal Services shelters will be present, as will special guests Zachary Quinto ("Heroes"; "Star Trek") and his dog Noah.  Schmeidler's earlier series, "Hollywood Most Wanted," will also be on display for the first time in 3D.  Attendees are encouraged to RSVP online and make a $20 donation in advance of the event (you'll receive a raffle ticket and 3D glasses).  All donations and 50% of art sales will benefit the Animal Welfare Trust Fund, which provides support, supplies and veterinary equipment to L.A.'s municipal city shelters.  More information at HollywoodLeastWanted.com.

Uga VII, University of Georgia's bulldog mascot, dies

Uga VII, the white English bulldog mascot for the University of Georgia's football team for almost two seasons, died Thursday of heart-related causes, the dog's owner said.

The 56-pound dog, nicknamed "Loran's Best," was known as a laid-back mascot who seemed oblivious to crowd noise during boisterous games and would sit patiently as excited fans snapped photos of him. He often roamed the sidelines in a shirt with a "G" stitched on it, sometimes resting on a bag of ice to cool off in his customized doghouse.

The school said that there would be no mascot at Saturday's game in Athens against Southeastern Conference rival Kentucky, but that a wreath would be laid on Uga VII's doghouse on the field's sidelines. Sonny Seiler, the dog's owner, said he probably wouldn't name a replacement until next year.

"We are all in a state of shock," Seiler said in a news release issued by the university. "We had no warning whatsoever."

Your morning adorable: Clever tortoise's home invasion strategy

We couldn't believe our eyes when we first saw this video; once we convinced ourselves that what we were seeing was real, all we could think was that we've been entirely too lax in dismissing reptiles as potential home-invasion threats.  (We're only marginally comforted by the fact that, should one of these creatures manage to break in and steal something from us, we could probably catch up with it.)

We're deeply impressed by this crafty tortoise and its deft maneuvering of its front legs! 

-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: Pettubedotcom via YouTube

Alaska bookseller will donate profits from Sarah Palin's book, 'Going Rogue,' to Defenders of Wildlife

Now, this is mavericky.

An independent bookseller in Sarah Palin's home state is donating the proceeds he makes off her book to a group that is among the biggest critics of the former Republican vice presidential candidate.

Don Muller owns Old Harbor Books in Sitka. He's selling Palin's memoir, "Going Rogue," for $28.99, and says he will donate profits to Defenders of Wildlife.

The wildlife conservation group often butted heads with Palin over her support of the state's predator control program, in which bears and wolves are shot from aircraft.

Muller says he's not a fan of Palin. He tells the Daily Sitka Sentinel that donating proceeds to Defenders of Wildlife is a way to "carry the book and do something positive."

-- Associated Press

Photo: Palin listens as John McCain addresses supporters during his election-night rally Nov. 4, 2008.  Credit: Jim Watson / AFP / Getty Images

Reader photo of the day: Feral cat feeding frenzy in Morocco

Submitter Rog shares a photo he took earlier this year in Essaouira, Morocco. On a visit, Rog explains, he stumbled upon an elderly woman who regularly feeds parts of fish we'd rather not think about to a group of stray cats.  (And who, we ask, loves parts of fish we'd rather not think about more than cats?) 

"You could watch for hours," Rog says. "The cats all have a pecking order, and there never seems to be any fights. [Their caretaker] is very sweet and very grateful for any contributions." 

To submit your photos, head to the Pets & Animals category of Your Scene, The Times' photo-sharing site. Select the appropriate album, click the "submit" link at the top of the page, choose your photo (.jpg format) and include a caption that tells us a bit about the animal you've photographed. 

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Rog / Your Scene

San Diego Zoo's giant panda cub gets a name

The suspense is over: In a ceremony Tuesday, San Diego Zoo officials announced the recently selected name of the giant panda cub born there in August. (In accordance with Chinese tradition, the cub couldn't be officially named until he was 100 days old.)

The zoo held a contest to allow members of the public to submit name suggestions for the cub, a healthy male born to mother Bai Yun and father Gao Gao.  Once the submission period closed Oct. 19, zoo staff members selected their five favorite names from more than 6,000 offered by panda fans, which then had to be approved by the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Assn. 

That done, the zoo turned once again to the public to decide on the cub's name, allowing visitors to its website and Facebook fan page to cast their votes for one of the five  finalists: Xiao Long ("Little Dragon"), Xiong Wei ("Extraordinary Bear"), Fu Sheng ("Blissful San Diego"), Yong Xiang ("Eternally Blessed") and Yun Zi ("Son of Cloud"). 

According to the zoo, nearly 18,000 votes were received during the voting period, and the winning name received 28% of the vote.  That name is...

Tammy the Turnpike Turkey, we hardly knew ye: Wayward wild turkey caught on New Jersey Turnpike

A wild turkey that's taken up residence at a New Jersey tollbooth and spends its days scooting around 18-wheelers won't have to dodge Thanksgiving traffic. State Fish and Wildlife officials netted the bird Wednesday after failed attempts during the weekend.

The turkey had been trotting around the busy toll booth since the spring, weaving around traffic at the 14B interchange in Jersey City.

"Apparently, this turkey decided to make Jersey City her home, alongside of one of the top five busiest toll roads in America," said turnpike spokesman Joe Orlando. "She didn't want to leave, she was a regular, and to be honest with you, she probably had better attendance than a lot of the employees."

Wildlife officials believe the 11-pound female turkey may have taken a wrong turn out of Staten Island and become disoriented. She spent her days causing stunned truck drivers to slam on their brakes and prompting some spectators to run across several lanes of traffic to pose for pictures with her.

Public outcry follows ASPCA decision to euthanize Oreo, 'miracle' dog who survived six-story fall

Over the summer, animal lovers were outraged over a shocking incident of animal cruelty: A man threw his 1-year-old female pit bull, Oreo, from the roof of the six-story Brooklyn, N.Y., building where he lived.

Fabian Henderson, 19, was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, criminal trespassing and "overdriving, torturing and injuring animals," charges that could result in a sentence of up to two years in prison, according to the Brooklyn district attorney's office; he pleaded guilty to a felony animal-cruelty charge in October and will be sentenced Dec. 1. 

Officials of the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals told the New York Daily News that they'd first received a complaint that an animal was being beaten on the third floor of the building, where Henderson shares an apartment with family members, and shortly thereafter heard from witnesses who reported seeing Oreo thrown from the roof. (For her part, Henderson's mother told the Daily News that she believed her son was not guilty and that he was "basically a quiet person, good with animals.")

Oreo became something of a celebrity and recovered from the physical injuries that resulted from the fall, which included "multiple fractures in her two front legs, severe ligament damage, bruised lungs, a fractured rib, liver injury and internal bleeding," according to the indictment against Henderson. 

Citing harassment of wildlife, Wyoming officials consider a ban on 'antler hunting'

Wildlife officials in Wyoming are considering implementing a ban on the practice of "antler hunting" from January to April. Antler hunting doesn't involve killing wildlife; instead, "hunters" just gather the antlers the animals shed naturally. Even so, officials say the practice can amount to harassment of wildlife and be detrimental to the animals' welfare. Our colleague DeeDee Correll has the story; here's an excerpt:

As a boy, Terry Reach used to traipse the land around his Pinedale, Wyo., home, searching for antlers shed by deer and elk.

It was a solitary pastime; he never saw anyone else, and he always found plenty of antlers, which he'd drag home and pile in the yard.

But now, each winter, western Wyoming is thick with people intent on snatching up as many antlers as they can find. They follow the bucks, waiting for them to shed their impressive headgear. Sometimes people chase the animals in all-terrain vehicles or on snowmobiles, believing the exertion will force them to drop their antlers.

"They run the wildlife off," said Reach, 53.

Such tactics, say Wyoming officials, can be destructive for deer and elk struggling to survive the lean winter months. Already starving, they can use up their reserves pushing through deep snow to avoid humans.

Now Wyoming is considering a ban on the popular activity from January through April, the months when the herds are most vulnerable.

THERE'S MORE; READ THE REST.

Photo: A chandelier made from antlers in Cheyenne, Wyo.  Credit: Mead Gruver / Associated Press

Your morning adorable: Walk like a man, giant panda

How do you prepare giant pandas for mating season?  Well, if you're the staff of the Shaanxi Wild Animal Rescue and Research Center in China's Shaanxi province, you start by strength-training.

So how do you strength-train a panda?

Apparently, you teach him to walk on his hind legs, a mode of locomotion he probably wouldn't try on his own. The method may seem strange, but we're not inclined to scoff -- after all, giant pandas are so endangered that it's believed there are fewer than 2,000 of them left in the wild, so any effort to help the species survive seems worthwhile (even if it does look a little odd).

After the jump, check out more photos of this fellow, an 18-month-old male, getting the hang of walking upright!

Deal to limit Atlantic bluefin tuna catches not good enough, say environmentalists

BRUSSELS – Environmentalists on Monday said an international deal to reduce catches of Atlantic bluefin tuna didn't go far enough to protect the species from extinction.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas decided at a meeting Sunday in Brazil to limit 2010 catch quotas to 13,500 tons to prevent overfishing of the much sought-after tuna, the European Union said.

The commission sets annual fishing limits in an effort to save the fish stock from extinction.

Signatory countries had previously agreed to cut catches from 28,500 tons to 22,000 this year, but scientists and environmental groups argued a total ban was needed to salvage a viable tuna stock.

"Only a zero catch limit could have maximized the chances that Atlantic bluefin tuna could recover to the point where the fishery could exist in the future," said Susan Lieberman, from the Pew Environment Group.

Raul Romeva, who sits on the European Parliament's fisheries committee, said European delegates to the Brazil meeting "deserve to be condemned" for agreeing to continue fishing the sushi favorite.

Reader photo of the day: Sprinkler + puppy + curiosity = wet puppy

Submitter Victor shares this swell shot of Ozzy, his 3-month-old golden retriever puppy, apparently transfixed by the sight of a sprinkler.  (We're sure that if we were a 3-month-old puppy, we'd find the concept of a sprinkler puzzling too.)

Think your animal-related photo should be our reader photo of the day?  Show us by submitting it to the appropriate album in the Pets & Animals category of Your Scene, The Times' photo-sharing site.  (For instance, Victor submitted his photo to the Man's Best Friend album.)  Then click the "submit" link at the top of the page, select your photo (.jpg format) and include a caption that tells us a bit about the animal you've photographed.  We can't wait to see it!

— Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Victor / Your Scene

Happy reunion between dog and returning soldier takes YouTube by storm

More than four years after it was recorded, a home video uploaded to YouTube so it could be shared with family members has become a big hit with animal lovers virtually overnight. 

The video, filmed in September 2005, shows the ecstatic reaction of family dog Gracie when owner Andrew Schmidt, then a lieutenant in the Air National Guard, returned to his Virginia home after a five-month tour of duty in Kandahar, Afghanistan.  (Schmidt, now a captain, will return to Afghanistan next year.)  Schmidt's wife, Jen, filmed the clip, which has since racked up more than 840,000 views, most of them just in the past few days.

Gracie, now 6 years old, was an only "child" at the time the video was filmed (the Schmidts now have a son named Anthony), and the couple told The Today Show that the dog, much like many human children whose parents have shipped out, began to exhibit some behavior problems after Andrew left. Dogs "really do act like kids," Andrew said in the Today interview. 

Writing on YouTube, Schmidt said he's "glad that this clip of Gracie has made so many people happy. If it makes you smile, it's a good thing." 

It's the time of the season for manatees: Florida boaters are urged to watch out for gentle giants

Florida wildlife officials are urging boaters to be on the lookout for manatees that are migrating to warmer waters for the winter.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says boaters should stay in marked channels and obey speed zone signs during the winter migration period. Kipp Frohlich, a leader of the FWC's Imperiled Species Management Section, says boaters should also give a manatee plenty of room in the water because it might not be traveling alone.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission website, manatees generally travel along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts during the fall and spring.

-- Associated Press

Photo: A manatee and her calf lounge in western Florida's Crystal River. Credit: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times

Food fight: Sarah Palin ticks off vegetarians and vegans in her new book, 'Going Rogue'

Sarah Palin's highly anticipated book, "Going Rogue," is not likely to win any literary awards, but it's very likely to sell a gazillion copies.  (It's currently Amazon's No. 1 bestselling book, besting even the likes of Stephen King and Dan Brown.)  

But very few of those copies, we suspect, will be purchased by vegetarians or vegans.  In his review, our colleague Tim Rutten explains that a large portion of "Going Rogue" covers Palin's life before she emerged as a well-known public figure, "so there's a lot of winter, guns, fish guts, long hours at the nets under the midnight sun and a great deal about Palin's fondness for meat.... There's even a photo of her father teaching her to skin a harbor seal, an activity the caption informs is now forbidden for all but native peoples under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Ah, for the good old days."

That part about Palin's love of meat products, perhaps unsurprisingly, is raising the hackles of some animal-loving vegetarians and vegans, according to our colleague Johanna Neuman of The Times' politics blog, Top of the Ticket.  Especially offensive to the animal-byproduct-free set?  Palin's comment that "If any vegans came over for dinner, I could whip them up a salad, then explain my philosophy on being a carnivore: If God had not intended for us to eat animals, how come He made them out of meat?"  (Humorous news-aggregation site Fark.com's snarky rejoinder: "In other news, Sarah Palin endorses cannibalism.")

Bobby Frankel, Hall of Fame thoroughbred-racehorse trainer, dead at 68

Thoroughbred-racehorse trainer Robert "Bobby" Frankel died at his Pacific Palisades home Monday after a battle with lymphoma.  Frankel was a Hall of Fame trainer and a five-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer who worked with horses including Belmont Stakes winner Empire Maker.  Here's an excerpt from our colleague Eric Sondheimer's obituary of Frankel:

"He was a horse whisperer with racehorses," fellow trainer Barry Abrams said.

For more than 40 years, Frankel was one of the best in his sport. His horses earned $227,947,775 in purses, second on the money list to D. Wayne Lukas' record. He was a five-time recipient of racing's Eclipse Award for outstanding trainer, and he won 30 training titles.

Born July 9, 1941, in New York, Frankel was the son of New York caterers. He grew up in Brooklyn and was a maverick teenager who loved racing, handicapping and gambling.

He started training in 1966 in New York, moved to California in 1972 and was known as the "King of the Claimers" for his ability to select horses before a race to purchase regardless of the outcome.

"He was very smart," trainer Julio Canani said. "He'd claim a horse for $20,000 and run him for $8,000. He had everyone confused. They didn't know what he was doing."

Frankel's horses won a record 60 times during the Hollywood Park spring meeting in 1972, one of 10 training titles he won at the Inglewood track.

THERE'S MORE; READ THE REST.

Photo: Frankel looks out from his barn at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., in 2003.  Credit: Ed Reinke / Associated Press