Dog caught up in ICE raid where owner was seized is found
But 3-year-old pit bull Chuco has been located at the county's Baldwin Park animal shelter, preserving the chance that he could still be adopted.
Chuco was with his owner when immigration agents raided a Home Depot in Barstow a little over two weeks ago, animal advocates said. His owner was arrested, but a friend at the scene managed to grab the dog and take him home. Not long after, his landlord seized the pet and took him to a shelter. She didn't take note of the shelter's name, but snapped a photo of the place. Chuco's owner was deported.
Esther Ruurda, who co-founded the SPAY(CE) Project, which provides spay and neuter services — and sought to help Chuco find a home — texted the photo to a shelter volunteer, Rita Earl Blackwell, asking if she could identify the location.
Blackwell investigated with the help of a shelter employee and they found Chuco.
He can be viewed on the county's public database of available animals.
But 'it's tough for a pit bull in L.A. in our current shelter crisis,' said Blackwell, a veteran volunteer. County shelters are more crowded than she has seen them in 15 years, she said. Advocates point to people having abandoned animals they got during the COVID-19 pandemic, the rising cost of veterinary care — including spay and neuter procedures — and now the increased immigration arrests as reasons for the high numbers.
Dogs — large ones in particular — can be hard to find homes for, according to some advocates.
More than twice as many dogs were relinquished by their owners at L.A. County's Palmdale shelter in June than in the same month last year, according to data obtained by The Times. At the county's Downey shelter, the count jumped by nearly 50%.
But Chuco has an engaging back story and Blackwell is hopeful that, even though he is 'in a sea of unwanted dogs,' that will give him an edge that leads to his adoption.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
5 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
LBUSD Supt. Jason Glass aims to meet community needs, embrace technology
Jason Glass, the newly-appointed superintendent of the Laguna Beach Unified School District, refers to education as the family business. Looking back at his own path, he recited a family tree that included a Kentucky school teacher for a paternal grandmother, followed by a pair of educators for parents. Glass grew up in a small town in Brandenburg, an agricultural community along the Ohio River. 'I grew up seeing that the community would do anything for us as kids, and the school district would do anything for us as kids, as well,' Glass said. 'So that professionally has always had an impact on how I've tried to lead school the responsibility of this community and the school district to do everything it can for its children.' Glass said he has relocated to Laguna Beach with his wife, Sarah, and their two children. Norah, entering eighth grade, and Chase, heading into seventh grade, will both be attending Thurston Middle School. Most recently the associate vice president of teaching and learning at Western Michigan University, Glass was previously the commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Educatio and the Iowa Director of Education. He has also served as superintendent of the Eagle County School District and Jeffco Public Schools, both in Colorado. 'I'm not new to leadership roles, but over the course of all those years, I have learned to slow down and learn a community and what it wants and values, and then build the future plan based on that,' Glass said. 'I don't come in with a playbook … and start directing people. I'm taking the time to understand this place, what are the aspirations and needs of this community, and then build our future from that, because I think it'll be much more stable.' The Laguna Beach Unified Board of Education appointed Glass as the new superintendent on June 9. Jason Viloria had held the position since 2016, until his contract was terminated in December. Jeff Dixon, formerly the district's assistant superintendent of business services, had stepped in as interim superintendent as the board carried out its search to fill the position. He has since moved into an assistant superintendent role in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. Faculty and parents heard Viloria prioritize the development of the whole child in his latter years with the district. While Glass said he does not enter his new role with a playbook, he indicated that would be a focal point for him, too. School systems continue to grapple with several challenges, including those brought on by a disruption in educational and social-emotional development during the coronavirus pandemic. 'I think it will take us years to fully unravel the effects of what experiencing COVID as a young person were,' Glass said. 'We definitely have seen an increase in social-emotional and behavioral challenges, student isolation, a drop in academic performance — although that's recovering.' Glass surmised that some of the trends around student interaction were showing up before the pandemic, attributing some of those impacts to the rise of technology. Nevertheless, he is prepared to embrace it, sharing a belief that students should be prepared for the world that they will be sent out into. 'That's exactly the space that Laguna Beach has stepped into is supporting both teachers in the development of lessons that have students responsibly and ethically engage with [artificial intelligence], and students learn about what that looks like, too,' Glass said. 'As adults and as professionals, we're using it. I'm using it as a really high level sort of executive assistant to proof things, to give me concepts and ideas to think about. 'I do the work. I make the final decision. The analogy I think of is it's not driverless. … You're not giving the thing complete control, but it's driver-assisted. I'm still making the final decisions and deciding where we're going, but it's helping me out. I think that's the concept that we want students engaging with right now, too.' There is an importance to be placed on programming that results in human experiences, Glass said. He noted that social media can create 'fear of missing out at scale' because people generally post the best moments of their lives. '[Technology is] going to be all around us, even at levels that we can't even comprehend right now, but at the same time, as a school system, we've got to emphasize and create opportunities for human connections and to develop uniquely human traits,' Glass said. 'Creativity, complex problem solving, persisting through adversity, designing something new, standing and delivering a presentation or experiencing something that makes you feel … those are things that we have to intentionally design into education.' Glass said his new stomping grounds have it all. He believes Laguna Beach is a place where people get to experience 'the full palette of a vibrant life.' 'From arts and music to wonderful restaurants and the beaches and the outdoors, it's a full, rich life here,' Glass said. 'The Laguna Beach Unified School District has done a good job thinking about how they bring learning experiences from all those [areas] into schools, so that's something that I definitely want to continue and support.'
USA Today
8 hours ago
- USA Today
A cooler, 'free water' sign in a man's driveway led to his HOA fining him $650
David Martin got his first warning from the Canyon Trails Unit 4 West Community Association in 2022. A Phoenix area man is trying to get over $600 in homeowners association fees waived after he was cited for leaving a cooler and a 'free water' sign in his driveway. David Martin first set water out in his driveway back in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, he told USA TODAY on July 17. In his driveway, he set out a cooler, a bowl of water for dogs, as well as a sign encouraging people to keep hydrated. He got his first warning from his neighborhood homeowners association (HOA), the Canyon Trails Unit 4 West Community Association, in 2022, according to documentation reviewed by USA TODAY. In a citation issued in May 2022, the violation was listed as 'other – store items out of view.' Since then, he has been embroiled in a back-and-forth with the HOA and management company FirstService Residential, and he has been charged $650 in fees. Martin said the HOA wants him to put the cooler closer to his porch. 'If you have something on your porch, are you going to walk off the sidewalk, up a driveway, around a porch toward a front door, wondering if that cooler is for you?' he asked. 'Nobody's going to do that.' A notice Martin shared on social media last year shows that the City of Goodyear issued him a warning for a "cooler stacked on crate stored in (the) front driveway." The notice, issued on Nov. 6, 2024, called for Martin to move all items visible and store them away from public view. Neither the HOA nor the City of Goodyear immediately responded to USA TODAY's request for comment this week. A spokesperson at FirstService Residential, the management company for the community, said in a July 17 statement to USA TODAY that it does not create community policy. 'We carry out the policies and directives of the elected board of directors in accordance with the governing documents," the spokesperson said. "We understand there are passionate views about this matter and are committed to supporting a resolution that aligns with both the association's rules and the values of the residents.' Martin began giving out free water after health scare Martin's wife was among the first to live in the Canyon Trails neighborhood, about 23 miles west of Phoenix, he told USA TODAY. Martin moved there in 2017, he said. Footage from Martin's surveillance camera shows kids walking by with their dogs, riding bikes and grabbing water, something he wanted to see when he first set out water for community members years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic. Martin used to be 325 pounds, then he got a lapband and started running. During a marathon, he became dehydrated and was in excruciating pain, he said. When COVID hit and temperatures began to rise, he set out water to help those around him. After he got his first violation in 2022, he called the HOA and requested three things: A letter of apology, a public apology and a pallet of water. In a May 2022 memo, the HOA wrote to Martin that the violation was sent to him by mistake and that his file had been notated. HOA changed the reason for the violation, Martin says Martin said things calmed down in 2022, but then in March 2024, they sent another warning citing the same issue, urging him to store the cooler elsewhere. 'In our efforts to maintain the property and enhance the values within our Community, the Board Of Directors of Canyon Trails Unit 4 West Community Association, Inc has directed FirstService Residential to perform periodic reviews, as well as respond to homeowner concerns,' the memo read. In March of 2024, he got another warning, but reminded the HOA about the apology it issued to him back in 2022. He was told the apology was sent by mistake. In April of 2024, the fines began, Martin said. It started with a $25 fine, then it increased each month. Martin's friend reached out to local media, and his story made local headlines. Subsequently, around August of 2024, the fines ceased, he told USA TODAY. 'We did something funny with that cooler,' Martin told USA TODAY. 'They specifically listed a blue, gray IGLOO-style cooler. We painted it matte black, put it in the middle of our graveyard, cemetery for Halloween, and we had smoke coming out of it,' he said. Martin took the sign saying 'free water' down after that, but kept the cooler out, Martin said. Community members support Martin This March, Martin received another warning where an HOA representative suggested he look into 'an architectural request for (a) more aesthetically pleasing storage option.' Martin requested that the previous fines be removed, but his request was denied. He also got a letter that said the signage was the issue, which differed from the earlier violations citing storing items out of view. Martin said that since this began, people have sent him at least 200 cases of water to give to people for free. 'We feel very blessed and fortunate that there are this many people supporting us,' he said. 'My neighbors are tired of the HOA. They think everything we're doing is right.' Some neighbors have even put out coolers of their own, and the ordeal has also been addressed at community meetings, he said. Martin started a petition with over 100 signatures to have three HOA board members involved removed, he told USA TODAY. He submitted the petition, and the HOA notified community members that a special meeting and vote would be held to determine if the board members would be removed. Although some meetings have been canceled recently, there was one on July 9 where members voted to have board members ousted, Martin said. There were 209 verified ballots, and 190 voted to remove all three board members, he added. 'We needed a total of 211, but because of the back and forth that the HOA and property management company were doing, they said that the emailed ballots were not valid,' he said. Martin, who makes custom shoes for a living, has spoken to attorneys but said retaining a lawyer could cost him thousands of dollars he does not have. He has since started a fundraiser to get donations. 'Each of (the attorneys) has told me that I do have a case," Martin said. "But is it really worth the time and money invested?' Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@
Business Insider
13 hours ago
- Business Insider
I've taught college students. The 'Gen Z stare' is real, but I don't blame them.
Doug Weaver, 36, is an artist who, until 2024, taught at several colleges in the St. Louis area as an adjunct professor and, at times, experienced the so-called " Gen Z stare," a phrase that's recently gained traction on social media. The following has been edited for brevity and clarity. At the start of any class, I've always had jitters because you never know what the class dynamics will be. There were a few years where it was hard just to get students to interact with each other, especially for those who were in their junior or senior year of high school when COVID-19 hit. With my students, I would give instructions, and they would just stare at me. Or, we were going to do introductions, and I would be like, "OK, it's your turn to introduce yourself," and they would just stare at me. I'm like, "Am I asking wrong?" After COVID, I did see an increase in the amount that students who just don't engage, and it makes it a lot harder to get the class going. To be able to actually teach the class, and to be able to actually know where you are, I just need a little bit of interaction. I need a bit of what your background is, what your name is, and what your interest in art is. For a few years after COVID, I would give students the questions that we were going to discuss and have them write things down. Then, you're reading it instead of saying it. That would be helpful, though sometimes they wouldn't write anything. That's when I would just be like, I don't really know what to do. If you just don't participate — I expect that more from middle school and high school students. Those students often don't want to be there, but they have to be. In my case, these were college students. I was like, "You're choosing to be here, and you're paying to be here." That's what was always hard for me. I want you to have the experience that you want. And if you won't tell me, if you won't interact with me, then I don't know what your values are or what kind of interaction you want. Why videos feel more comfortable You need students to ask questions when they don't know what to do. Sometimes it's good for them to say, "Hey, I'm a little lost." During COVID, when everything was online, I made video versions of a lot of my in-class demonstrations and lectures. I still made those videos after students came back to class. Yet the in-class demo was better because you can ask questions, and I can talk to you more specifically about what I'm doing. But I would find that, instead of asking questions or asking me to clarify things, I would have students watching the videos during class. I would even have students watch the video of me doing a demonstration while I am doing that same demonstration in class. It's mind-blowing to me, but it almost just felt more comfortable for them to look at that on a screen. I really think that those few years of being on Zoom for everything affected that entire generation's social skills. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. The future is more and more online. A lot of them are going to be working online, and so navigating online social spheres and Zoom work life is important. The value of being in class is social interaction, getting specific questions answered, and getting an education that is specific to you. If you're in the class, watching a video of the class — it really just broke my brain a little bit to see that happen. The way education is now, most information that you're going to get in school, you can get online. The value of going to an educational institution is to have that education tailored toward you. The reason you're there is for you to work on your own self-expression, your own way that you navigate the world, and having someone looking at what you do and tailoring the education toward you. With colleges and universities, what you pay for is the way the information is presented, and for the interaction that you have with professors and with experts, and to have opportunities to meet people and to just have experiences that you wouldn't be able to have otherwise. A tarnished experience This group of students had a really bad situation because of COVID. For some of them, their high school experience was really tarnished, and, for some, their college experience was tarnished. Their education was lacking, and their social interaction was lacking. Their ability to enter the workforce was affected. It really just negatively impacted every social aspect of their lives. I know how much COVID negatively impacted my mental health, and I am far past my most-formative years. So, there's no way that couldn't have a huge impact on their mental health. There's all this conversation about them staring at you in a social interaction when it's just like, the world failed them. Society failed them in a major way. The larger discussion should be that we need to figure out better ways for all of us to have access to the mental health services that we need, because I don't think we have recovered from COVID.
