Cruelty To Animals

Citing animal cruelty, a city commission Thursday recommended banning the sale of live animals for food, despite protests from hundreds of Chinese American residents. The city's Animal Care and Control Commission voted 7 to 3 to recommend banning the sale of live mammals, birds, fowl, reptiles and amphibians, but not fish. The sales are popular in the city's bustling Chinatown. The proposal now goes to the Board of Supervisors for consideration.

Hong Kong Gov. Chris Patten may turn over Britain's prized colony to China with equanimity next year, but he will not surrender Whisky and Soda to authorities back home without protest. "Preposterous," rails Patten at strict British quarantine laws that require him to send his two Norfolk terriers into six months' solitary confinement when they return to England.

It could have been pepper spray, but it couldn't have been worse. A 17-year-old stable manager warded off three graffiti taggers at the Arroyo Seco Stables on Monday with nothing more than a stern warning and a handful of horse dung. "I wasn't afraid of picking up the horse droppings, but I was scared to death of [the intruders]," said Heidi Barnes of Highland Park. "Usually I have my pepper spray with me, but I left it at home."

A Palmdale woman was charged Tuesday with animal cruelty after more than a dozen severely malnourished dogs and cats were found in her feces-strewn home. The district attorney's office charged Halle Hammond, 39, with one felony and nine misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals. Last week, county animal control officers found eight cats, eight dogs and one dead dog in Hammond's home in the 38900 block of 162nd Street East.

Two Pasadena men were in custody Monday on suspicion of tossing a cat from a moving pickup truck on the Foothill Freeway, authorities said. Agustin Morales, 33, allegedly hurled his wife's cat from the passenger window of the pickup about 2:20 p.m. Saturday as his cousin, Vincente Morales, drove east on the freeway between Hill Avenue and Altadena Drive, Pasadena Humane Society spokeswoman Elizabeth Stelow said.

To address residents' concerns about treatment at the city's animal shelter, officials have scheduled a public meeting Tuesday to hear comments and present the results of a city investigation, which uncovered no evidence of abuse at the shelter. The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at the Irvine Animal Shelter, Sand Canyon Avenue and Oak Canyon.

Ventura County Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for identification of whoever is responsible for mortally wounding a Thousand Oaks Chihuahua with a pellet gun. The Chihuahua was shot about 10:15 a.m. April 12 on the 800 block of Irving Drive. Witnesses reported seeing several boys earlier that morning playing in the neighborhood with pellet rifles, police said. The Chihuahua was found by the owner's neighbor in her backyard.

A 17-year-old boy has been charged with animal cruelty for allegedly preparing for a class debate by killing a baby chicken to illustrate his opposition to abortion, prosecutors said. The attorney for the Lancaster high school student said he plans to research whether the boy's conduct is protected by free speech rights under the Constitution.

A Hawthorne gardener is scheduled to be arraigned today on charges of cruelty to animals for allegedly tying a dog to the bumper of his truck and dragging it for a mile. Aisea Tuuholoaki, 36, was arrested by sheriff's deputies near Carson after firefighters forced his truck to the side of the road. The 1-year-old shepherd-mix dog was bloody and unconscious, but was revived by paramedics at the scene, said sheriff's Detective Benjamin Venegas.

The pooch nicknamed "Lucky" is surely one fortunate dog. Three days after it was dragged for more than a mile--howling and yelping--while roped to the back of a pickup truck, the 2-year-old, 40-pound mixed-breed is recovering nicely at the Carson animal shelter. And lots of people want to give him a home. "It's incredible," said Marvin Stitts, manager of the Carson shelter. "The telephone has been absolutely ringing off the hook. A hundred people want to adopt this dog.