Puppy

COSTA MESA — A badly abused puppy found near death in a bush in Ventura is in need of extensive medical care, and his bills are adding up. Angel Parisa rescued the 8-month-old puppy, Little Johnny, who was named after a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq. When Little Johnny was first taken to a Ventura animal shelter last week, he was near death with exposed skin, half of his hair missing, bleeding sores and swollen feet. Parisa has spent nearly $4,000 keeping him alive.

A Newport Beach man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a felony animal cruelty charge that he hit, kicked and swung an 8-month old puppy around by the neck, using its leash like a lasso. Verne Joseph Strong, 56, was arrested Sunday in a Westminster Wal-Mart parking lot after witnesses called police to report the alleged abuse, according to a news release from the Orange County district attorney's office. He entered his plea in the West Justice Center, an Orange County Superior Court in Westminster.

One small white puppy at a Newport Beach pet store went for more than a routine walk around the block Tuesday night. The four-month-old poodle and schnauzer mix, called a schnoodle, got a real change of scenery when it was stolen from Russo's pet store in Fashion Island by a man who ran away with the dog. The puppy was returned safely after a pet store employee and a bystander chased the man and got the dog back. The puppy was not harmed and is doing fine, said Dion Brown, a Russo's store manager.

Newport Beach police are seeking a 20-year-old Garden Grove man suspected of stealing three English Bulldog puppies ill enough that they could have died without treatment. Aleksandar Apostolovic, who used to work at the Back Bay Veterinary Clinic, is responsible for the dognappings, according to police. The dogs were valued at $3,300 each. Police have recovered two, but continue to search for a 12-week-old old male with brown and white markings. Apostolovic is white with buzzed brown hair and brown eyes, police said.

Deirdre Newman An investigation into the Orange County Humane Society after a dog was stolen in late October has not turned up any criminal negligence, according to the Costa Mesa Police Department. Costa Mesa is one of two cities that contracts with the society to provide shelter for stray animals. The society is in Huntington Beach. Tracey Dorame, who lives in Costa Mesa, brought concerns about poor security at the animal shelter to city leaders after a lost puppy she turned over to the society was stolen.

A judge has issued a bench warrant for a Newport Beach woman accused of lying to police about her boyfriend's alleged abuse of an 8-month old puppy in Westminster. Angel Marie Holmes, 37, was scheduled to appear in court Monday for her arraignment on aiding and abetting Verne Joseph Strong, 56, also of Newport Beach. He's accused of swinging a Chihuahua-dachshund mix around, using its leash around the neck like a lasso, in the parking lot of Wal-Mart in July. Strong is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 21. Holmes failed to appear in court Monday, court officials said.

PET OF THE WEEK Hershey Hershey, a 1 1/2--year-old spayed female cat, was one of three rescued animals from the shelter's death row last week. She is now in need of a home, said DiAnna Pfaff-Martin, founder of the Community Animal Network in Newport Beach. Like Hershey, many of the animals that are rescued are cats and large dogs. However, sometimes those animals also include small dogs. "We rarely have small dogs," Pfaff-Martin said. "But this Saturday, we will have available a 10-to 12-week-old Shiatsu/Pomeranian mix puppy."

The article, "Police rule out shelter negligence in dog theft," on Nov. 6, contains misleading information. Here is a different version of the event: "Security" is an inappropriate word to use regarding the actions of those at the Orange County Humane Society in regard to the stolen dog. I would not leave a $1,200 dog in a fenced yard overnight unless I intended for someone to take it. Marines don't leave their...

Yachts of yesteryear a hit Regarding John Blaich's article on the steamship Louise. I am an old-timer around here, and I enjoyed it very much. But I think I would like to see more of it. WILLARD COURTNEY Newport Beach Woman is a hero, not a 'dognapper' Is there so little crime in our community that you have to make up a crime for your front page? I'm referring to the "kidnapped" Labrador puppy. If I picked up a stray puppy at a car wash and later took it to a vet, I would hope that I would be considered a hero, not a "dognapper."

This purebred Akita male puppy, now 4 months old, bit a 14-year-old boy after it was purchased from a pet store, said DiAnna Pfaff-Martin, founder of the Community Animal Network. "It is unknown if the boy provoked the dog," she said. "This unfortunate situation has branded the dog as a biter, and it will limit its opportunities to find a good home. The puppy should be in an adult home and have professional training." The dog will be shown this weekend at Russo's pet store at Fashion Island between noon and 4 p.m. See other animals at o7 www.animalnetwork.

Eight months after its opening drew thousands of protesters to Corona del Mar, I Heart Puppies is closing its retail shop at 2801 E. Coast Hwy., according to a sign in the shop's window. "I Heart Puppies would like to thank the community of CdM for their kindness, generosity and support. Sadly, we are closing our storefront," the sign states. "I Heart Puppies will continue to provide the same quality puppies for sale on our website, where we will be able to offer a larger variety of breeds.

I would like to warn readers not to put cruelty on their shopping lists this year. The holidays are a busy season for puppy sales and people need to know that when they buy puppies over the Internet, through newspaper ads, or at pet stores, they are often unknowingly supporting a puppy mill. Puppy mills are inhumane breeding facilities that produce puppies in large numbers. They are designed to maximize profits and commonly disregard the physical, social and emotional health of the dogs.

CORONA DEL MAR - Two of the owners of I Heart Puppies pet store apologized for the disruption caused by animal-rights protestors and provided details of their efforts to buy animals from quality breeders. Suzanne and Brooke Bradford said at Thursday's Corona del Mar Business Improvement District meeting thatthey traveled two weeks ago to Nebraska, Missouri and Arkansas to visit the breeders they have used. There, they said they found healthy animals in clean cages. "They were definitely not puppy mills," Suzanne Bradford said.

CORONA DEL MAR — A group of about 140 protestors spent two hours Sunday afternoon in front of I Heart Puppies, a business they claim supports puppy mills because its dogs don't come solely from animal shelters. "We do not want to put them out of business," protestor Carole Davis told the crowd. "The day they go humane, we will no longer be protesting — we will be shopping!" Davis, West Coast director for the San Diego-based Companion Animal Protection Society, has said she is investigating the shop and has conclusive evidence that at least some of the dogs there have come from puppy mills.

CORONA DEL MAR — The owner of a Corona del Mar puppy store has filed for a restraining order against a Los Angeles woman who claims the shop sells dogs that come from puppy mills. I Heart Puppies owner Brooke Ann Bradford filed a request at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach on Friday for orders to stop harassment from Carole Davis, according to online court records. In the request, Bradford claims that Davis, West Coast director for the Companion Animal Protection Society, visited the store and alleged that at least one of the store's dogs came from a Midwestern puppy mill.

A national animal rights group has launched an investigation into the newly opened I Heart Puppies shop in Corona del Mar. The store, which opened Friday, may have puppies for sale that come from "an egregious violator of the Animal Welfare Act," said Carole Davis, West Coast director for the Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS). She declined to say how she obtained her evidence, but she said it includes undercover video footage of the breeder's facility and "is not hearsay.

I cannot imagine in this day and age that Russo's Pet Experience in Fashion Island would think it is OK to have a live puppy to be auctioned off at a fundraiser. This is happening in Costa Mesa for Costa Mesa's Grad Night auction this Saturday. This is misguided at best and promotes the idea that pets are just items — what a statement! If they want to be good guardians for pets, why not donate $1,000 or a gift card? Then someone can spend it at the store and pick out a pet, pet supplies — maybe even pet food — to donate to a pet food bank for folks not being able to feed their animals.

Q: We bought our 8-year-old dog, Callie, from a local family, and we're still in touch. I've often wondered if Callie would recognize a sibling. Is this possible? — J.K., Cyberspace A: All these years later, the chance your dog would recognize a litter mate is a definitive "maybe. " Veterinary behaviorist Dr. Lore Haug, of Houston, explains: "Siblings most certainly can recognize one another. But when they're separated at a young age, there's no way to consciously remember.

A judge has issued a bench warrant for a Newport Beach woman accused of lying to police about her boyfriend's alleged abuse of an 8-month old puppy in Westminster. Angel Marie Holmes, 37, was scheduled to appear in court Monday for her arraignment on aiding and abetting Verne Joseph Strong, 56, also of Newport Beach. He's accused of swinging a Chihuahua-dachshund mix around, using its leash around the neck like a lasso, in the parking lot of Wal-Mart in July. Strong is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 21. Holmes failed to appear in court Monday, court officials said.

COSTA MESA — A badly abused puppy found near death in a bush in Ventura is in need of extensive medical care, and his bills are adding up. Angel Parisa rescued the 8-month-old puppy, Little Johnny, who was named after a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq. When Little Johnny was first taken to a Ventura animal shelter last week, he was near death with exposed skin, half of his hair missing, bleeding sores and swollen feet. Parisa has spent nearly $4,000 keeping him alive.