Animal lovers’ calendar: Weekend of Dec. 19-20 and beyond

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The holiday season is in full swing, and what better way is there to celebrate than by helping animals in need? We’ve got the details on a number of events in the coming days and weeks; let us know if we’re missing something by leaving a comment!

This Weekend:

Saturday, Dec. 19, local charity the Found Animals Foundation sponsors its second annual ‘Save a Stray for the Holidays’ event, a low-cost adoption festival at 14 area animal shelters, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Adoption fees will be dramatically reduced for the hundreds of adoptable animals available, and special gifts and free informational booklets for new pet owners will be given to adopters. More information and a list of participating shelters available in English and Spanish at FoundAnimals.org.

Saturday, Dec. 19, Long Beach organization Haute Dogs brings holiday cheer to needy animals with its Operation Santa Paws. Haute Dogs has been collecting dog and cat toys, pet food and supplies (think cat litter and litter boxes, dog and cat carriers, pet shampoo and brushes, etc.) and cleaning products to be donated to animal shelters in Southern California. Donations will be accepted through Friday, Dec. 18, at a number of drop boxes throughout L.A., Long Beach and Orange County. If you can’t make it to a drop box in time, you can also meet Haute Dogs in person at one of the four distribution locations Saturday. For more information, to find the drop box nearest you or for distribution schedule, visit Haute Dogs’ website.

Sunday, Dec. 20, L.A. pet-rescue group the Bark Avenue Foundation hosts a pet-adoption event at the Original Farmers Market, at the corner of 3rd Street and Fairfax Avenue in L.A., from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Available dogs and puppies, cats and kittens will be present for the event, which will take place in front of the Christmas tree and near the Farmers Market clock tower. More information at Bark Avenue’s website.

Upcoming:

SpcaLA is taking reservations for its upcoming agility classes, which range from introductory training through competition-level advanced coursework. More information at spcaLA.com.

Ongoing:

Through Earth Day (April 22, 2010), secondhand-clothing store chain Buffalo Exchange and the Humane Society of the United States jointly host ‘Coats for Cubs.’ Animal lovers are encouraged to clean out their closets (or parents’ and grandparents’ closets) and donate any tacky real-fur items found there (including fur trim, accessories and shearling) back to the animals. Of course, it’s too late to give the fur back to its original owner, but it can still be used as bedding for orphaned and injured wildlife -- and it doesn’t do your conscience any harm, either. Fur in any condition is accepted and can be taken to any Buffalo Exchange location. (If you’d like to claim your fur donation as a tax deduction, you’ll need to mail it directly to the Humane Society rather than dropping it at Buffalo Exchange; mailing information is available at HSUS.org.) More information at BuffaloExchange.com.

Every first and third Sunday, meet adoptable pets from the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services shelters -- without having to set foot in a shelter -- at the department’s mobile pet adoption event at Moorpark Park, 12061 Moorpark Ave., Studio City. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Every second Saturday and third Sunday, the L.A. Department of Animal Services hosts a mobile pet adoption event at West Hollywood’s Petco, 508 N. Doheny Drive, from 1 to 5 p.m. Every third Sunday, the L.A. Department of Animal Services hosts a mobile pet adoption event at downtown pet store Pussy & Pooch, 564 S. Main St., from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

[Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly referred to the Bark Avenue Foundation as the Bark Animal Foundation -- whoops! Our fingers -- which, after all, are pretty used to typing the word ‘animal’ -- must have a mind of their own! We apologize for any confusion and we’ve corrected the error.]