Animal lovers’ calendar: Weekend of Feb. 20-21 and beyond

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Animal lovers will have their hands -- and their schedules -- full in the upcoming days and weeks. We’ve got the details on a number of pet-centric events in the L.A. area, from animal adoptions to opportunities to help your favorite charitable organizations. (Are we forgetting something? Let us know by leaving a comment.)

This Weekend:

Saturday, Feb. 20, spcaLA hosts a low-cost vaccination and microchip clinic from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at its Specialty Spay/Neuter Center, 5026 W. Jefferson Blvd. The clinic will offer rabies vaccinations for cats and dogs ($5); DHPP vaccinations for dogs ($15); bordetella vaccinations for dogs ($10); FVRCP and leukemia vaccinations for cats ($15 each); and microchipping for cats and dogs ($25). In honor of Spay Day U.S.A., goodie bags will be available during the clinic while supplies last. More information at spcaLA.com.

Saturday, Feb. 20, the Oxnard Police Department presents its ‘Happy Tails 911 Save a Homeless Pet Faire’ from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside the Oxnard Fire Administration Building, 360 W 2nd St., Oxnard. The event benefits local charity Operation Blankets of Love, which provides blankets and toys to the pets housed in Southern California shelters; guests are encouraged to bring blankets, towels and pet toys to donate. A voucher for a free rabies vaccination will be presented to each donor. Adoptable pets from Ventura County animal shelters and area rescue groups will be on hand, and the event also features a dog costume contest, K-9 police work demonstrations and a bake sale. A $10 donation is suggested for entrants to the costume contest, which begins at noon. Registration for the costume contest begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 11:30 a.m. More information at OxnardPD.org.

Saturday, Feb. 20, the L.A. Department of Animal Services hosts mobile pet-adoption events at Exposition Park, 3980 Menlo Ave., from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and at downtown pet store Pussy & Pooch, 564 S. Main St., from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Discounted adoption rates are available at the Exposition Park event courtesy of the North Area Neighborhood Development Council.

Saturday, Feb. 20, Fullerton wine bar Twisted Vine Wines, 127 W. Commonwealth Ave., hosts a tasting event to benefit Orange County rescue group Barks of Love from 2 to 6 p.m. Wines and appetizers will be served and raffle prizes will also be offered. Cost is $40, with half of all tickets sales donated to Barks of Love. More information at TwistedVineWines.com.

Upcoming:

Tuesday, Feb. 23 is the 16th annual Spay Day U.S.A.; events to encourage spaying and neutering of companion animals will be held across the country throughout the month of February to celebrate. To find events near you or to volunteer your services, visit HumaneSociety.org.

Friday, Feb. 26, spcaLA veterinarian Karen ‘Doc’ Halligan hosts a free class about oral hygiene for dogs and cats at the organization’s P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village & Education Center, 7700 East Spring Street in Long Beach, from 2 to 3 p.m. Refreshments will be provided and attendees will receive a free gift. Pets should stay at home for this event, which is held in observance of Pet Dental Health Month. More information at spcaLA.com; to learn more about Pet Dental Health Month, visit AVMA.org.

Saturday, Feb. 27, the L.A. Department of Animal Services hosts a free spay/neuter event for low-income pet owners (total annual household income not to exceed $31,700) at its North Central shelter, 3201 Lacy St. in Los Angeles (off the 5 Freeway in Lincoln Heights). Vaccinations are included with spay or neuter surgery; reservations are required and can be made by calling (888) FIX-PETT.

Saturday, Feb. 27, local rescue group The Mutt Scouts holds a bake sale to benefit its work on behalf of homeless dogs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (‘or until we run out,’ event organizers note) at the Home Ec crafting supplies store, 3815 W. Sunset Blvd. in Silver Lake.

Saturday, Feb. 27, North Hollywood music venue Kulak’s Woodshed hosts a concert to raise funds for Operation Blankets of Love from 8 to 10 p.m. Singer-songwriter Julie Chadwick and other guests will perform. A $10 donation is requested; raffle prizes will be offered and handcrafted items will be available for purchase. Well-behaved dogs are welcome.

Sunday, Feb. 28, Haute Dogs hosts its annual Bulldog Beauty Contest from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Long Beach Marketplace, located at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and 2nd Street in Long Beach. Bulldogs aren’t the only pets that can get in on the act, though; the pageant also features contests to choose the most beautiful senior dog (over 10 years of age), pug and French bulldog. For more information or to enter your pet, visit HauteDogs.org.

Sunday, Feb. 28, mezzo-soprano Laurie Rubin performs a program of music by composers including Mozart, Gershwin, Sondheim, Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo and Israeli composer Noam Sivan, with proceeds from the event benefiting the Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind. The center offers trained leader dogs at no cost to vision-impaired Israelis and operates largely through charitable donations. Rubin, who is blind and has her own leader dog, explained that ‘as someone who knows the incredible benefits of a guide dog, there is no worthier cause to be supporting.’ The concert begins at 7:30 at the Colburn School of Music’s Zipper Concert Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave. in downtown L.A. Tickets are $50, $20 for students, and can be purchased at BrownPaperTickets.com.

Mark Your Calendar:

Friday-Sunday, March 26-28, the Pasadena Humane Society hosts ‘The Well-Adjusted Cat and Dog Workshops’ at its shelter facility, 361 South Raymond Ave. The workshops’ featured speaker is Dr. Nicolas Dodman, BVMS, author and director of Tufts University’s Animal Behavior Clinic. Dodman will cover issues ranging from phobias in dogs and cats, feline medical problems that may be mistaken for behavioral issues, strategies for dealing with litter box, and furniture-scratching issues in cats and dominance issues in dogs. The workshops’ three days will be divided into one daylong cat-behavior workshop and a two-day dog-behavior workshop. Early-bird registration lasts through Feb. 14; cost for early registrants is $99 for the cat workshop and $199 for the two-day dog workshop. More information and registration at ThePetDocs.com.

SpcaLA is taking reservations for its two weeklong ‘Friends For Life’ spring day camps for children aged 9 to 12. Campers will learn about pet care and develop animal training skills by participating in obedience and agility classes with spcaLA’s adoptable dogs. Guest speakers, training demonstrations and animal-related games and crafts are also on the schedule. First session runs from March 29 through April 2 at the organization’s South Bay Pet Adoption Center, 12910 Yukon Ave., Hawthorne; second session runs from April 5 through April 9 at the South Bay Pet Adoption Center. Camp hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. Cost is $250 per child; for more information or to register, visit spcaLA.com.

Friday-Sunday, April 16-18, America’s Family Pet Expo returns to the Orange County Fair and Event Center, 88 Fair Drive in Costa Mesa. The event features informational displays on dog breeds, adoptable animals, pet-themed vendors, a petting zoo, pony rides and demonstrations of activities ranging from dog grooming to K-9 police dog work to dock-diving dogs. Tickets are $12, $10 for seniors over age 60, $6 for children aged 6-12 and free for children 5 and under. More information at PetExpoOC.com.

Sunday, April 18, local rescue group New Leash on Life presents its fifth annual Nuts for Mutts 5K walk-a-thon in conjunction with the Calabasas Rotary Club and the Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center. The walk-a-thon is a fundraiser for New Leash on Life’s work on behalf of needy pets in the L.A. area and includes pet-themed exhibits, children’s activities, a canine fashion show, a dog training clinic and more animal-related activities. The walk begins at 8 a.m. at the Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center, 27040 Malibu Hills Road, and continues through the hills of Calabasas. Well-behaved and leashed dogs are welcome to participate. For more information or to register, visit NewLeash.org.

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 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 off at Buffalo Exchange; mailing information is available at HSUS.org.) More information at BuffaloExchange.com.

-- Lindsay Barnett

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