Annie star "Mocha" finds her forever home

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It’s a hard knock life no more for “Mocha,” the scruffy terrier blend who was searching for a permanent home after a staring run as “Sandy” in a local production of Annie.

 On Friday, Mocha was adopted by Richard and Susan Bigley of Fallbrook who promised to adore and spoil the once-orphaned dog.

“We are just ecstatic,” said Susan Bigley as she cuddled her new pet at the County’s shelter in Carlsbad. “This dog has won the doggie lottery.”

Animal Services staff and Mocha’s foster parents selected the Bigleys from a field of 14 applicants who had learned about Mocha in media stories.

It’s a happy ending for an animal whose fate has taken many turns this year. The friendly and cute 5-year-old dog was relinquished by her family at the County Animal Services shelter in Bonita earlier this year. The family cited financial hardship, saying they could no longer care for the animal.

At the shelter, Mocha was discovered by Rob and Alex Kuty, scouts for a production of Annie at Vista’s Moonlight Theater.   

Mocha proved a talented canine actress who delighted audiences in five performances a week. But, while little orphan Annie found a loving home with Daddy Warbucks at the end of every show, when the play closed Aug. 6, Mocha was still searching for her forever home.

The pup had been living with the Kutys, her foster parents and trainers, since they’d discovered her at the shelter in May. She remained with them while Animal Services solicited and reviewed applications from potential adopters, and they Kutys introduced her to her new parents, the Bigleys, on Friday. Aug. 12.

Now that Mocha’s been adopted, there are still hundreds of animals at the County’s three shelters waiting to become the “star” of their new home.

 

 

Children Can Help With Home Emergency Plan

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A shrill whistle sounds and 30 children shout in unison: “Don’t be scared, be prepared!”

More than 90 fourth-graders at Lincoln-Juarez Elementary in Otay Mesa West got a lesson in disaster preparedness Tuesday, August 9 as part of a County Office of Emergency Services (OES) coordinated program. The County’s OES for Kids program partners with the American Red Cross, the Department of Animal Services, Health and Human Services Agency and local fire departments when available. 

The OES for Kids program brings emergency responders and health officials together to talk to children about disasters that could occur in San Diego County such as earthquakes and wildfires, and what their families can do to prepare before a disaster as well as what to do during and after one occurs.

“We know you’re going to take everything you learned here today and share the information with your parents, your families, your neighbors and your friends,” OES for Kids coordinator Beverly Randolph tells the kids.

Three different classrooms rotated through four stations where the children learned about family disaster kits by playing computer games, proper sanitation and handwashing  from a public health nurse, disaster preparedness from the American Red Cross, and how to prepare a kit and care for your pet or pets in the event of an evacuation.

By involving children in emergency preparedness, they are given a role and responsibility in their household in the event of a disaster. At this age, many children tend to focus on helping their family pets, generally a manageable task.

Student Brittany Bailey, 9, rattled off a long list of things she learned from the program ranging from covering your cough to what people should do with their pets in a disaster.

“We don’t leave our pets in an evacuation, we bring them,” she said.

Brittany said she plans to go home and make a kit for her pet which includes his medicine, his food, his water and his records.

At the end of the program, the students gather on the rug and Randolph gives kids an oral quiz on what they learned at the various stations. The students’ hands fly upward sometimes before she is even done asking questions such as how many gallons of water a person needs per day to survive. The student with the correct answer wins an OES T-shirt for a prize.

The students all receive a certificate saying they are disaster ready and a bag of disaster preparedness information for them to take home to their parents.

 

 

A Win-win for Probation Employees and Juveniles in the South Bay

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A ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the official opening of the new Probation South Bay Adult and Juvenile Field Services Office August 8, a facility which will allow Probation to supervise and provide treatment services to juveniles as well as adults.

Probation employees are enjoying a safer, roomier, upgraded facility and the juveniles they serve do not have to travel as far to receive services now. The new building is larger and accomodates a total of 55 sworn Probation staff members: 44 adult officers and 11 juvenile officers as well 18 non-sworn staff. The juveniles they serve in the South Bay will no longer have to travel to Probation in Kearny Mesa.  

Supervisor Greg Cox, Chief Probation Officer Mack Jenkins and Sheriff Bill Gore were on hand for the ceremony at 1095 Bay Boulevard in Chula Vista.  The new facility is located at a business park and is larger than the previous location in National City, which could not accommodate juveniles. The location will make it easier for juveniles to meet with their assigned officer and receive services like drug and alcohol counseling and job training, which will improve their chances of success.  

Other improvements include an eye wash station, a designated interview area in a secure location separate from the general offices, more parking and room for expansion.  

“The way the County of San Diego deals with criminals is about to change drastically as the state shifts responsibility for thousands of offenders to local law enforcement,” said Supervisor Cox.  “This will be a fundamental shift and some of that burden will fall squarely on our probation officers and staff, who will have to supervise parolees released by the State into our community. That’s why this new office is so critical in our efforts to better serve South County.”

Last year, the Probation Department supervised approximated 3,300 adults and 1,200 juvenile in the southern areas of the County. 

Day at the Beach Provides Ray of Hope for Disabled Children

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California Children Services physical therapist Jennifer Jablonski, left, Vaughn Ziegler, and Vaughn’s dad Christian try out one of the specialized wheelchairs.Does anything say summer more than a day on the beach?

Living in San Diego with its miles of beautiful coastline makes going to the beach an easy choice for a fun and healthy activity for a hot summer day. Unfortunately for some of our residents, this may not be as easy as it seems.

For disabled children and their families obstacles such as moving across the sand makes a trip to the beach seem impossible. This is where “A Day at the Beach”, put on by the Vista Medical Therapy Unit and California Children Services, comes in.

The therapy unit invited their clients and  families to the beach to explore the resources available to allow them to enjoy the sand and sun. At Oceanside Beach they were shown the cabanas which have paved access for wheelchairs.

The most difficult obstacle for these families is getting their child to the water. Luckily, Oceanside Beach has several wheelchairs which are specially designed for bringing the disabled to the shore line. The families where instructed how to use these chairs which are free to anyone with needs at the main life guard station under the pier.

After “A Day at the Beach”, these families now have one more way to spend a fun and healthy day in San Diego County.

A Star is Born: Meet Mocha

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Shelter Dog Stars as “Sandy” in Local Production of Annie

A talented and friendly terrier-blend who became a local stage star after a scout “discovered” her at a County shelter is ready to trade the limelight for a loving forever home.

  In May, “Mocha” was housed at County Animal Services’ shelter in Bonita when she was discovered by a trainer looking for a dog to play Little Orphan Annie’s pet “Sandy” in a production of Annie at Vista’s Moonlight Theater.

Mocha proved a talented canine actress who delighted audiences in the musical that closed Saturday. Trainer Alex Kuty, is also been Mocha’s foster mom, said Mocha played her part in front of 1,000 people, five nights a week, for three weeks.

“Mocha is an example of the high quality and friendly pets available at our animal shelters,” said Dawn Danielson, Director of Animal Services. “We are so proud of her.”

In Annie, a lovable orphan girl is adored and adopted by Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks; now that the production is over, Mocha will be available for adoption at the County animal shelter in Carlsbad so she can find her forever home too.

Mocha would like to thank the cast and crew of the show for giving her an opportunity to star in Annie and act as an ambassador for all shelter animals, showing the public how amazing shelter animals can be! 

Applications to adopt Mocha will be accepted until Aug. 11. The application is available at the County Animal Service’s website at http://www.sddac.com/docs/Special_Adoption.pdf and can be faxed to 760-431-8401 or delivered to our shelter at 2481 Palomar Airport Road in Carlsbad.

Five years old, Mocha was relinquished by her family at the County animal shelter in Bonita earlier this year. She enjoys interacting with people and going for long walks; she would prefer being the only pet in her new forever home. Staff members and her foster parent will pick the best match for Mocha among the applicants.

Remember, whenever you are looking for a new pet, please check your local animal shelters first! 

For more information, contact the County Department of Animal Services at 619-767-2675 or visit www.sddac.com.

Employee Wellness Survey

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2012 Survey: https://www.cosdfeedback.com/se.ashx?s=5A22C649587E3F3C

The 2012 Survey email inadvertently included a link to the article below from 2011. A link to the current survey is above. Any dates should be referenced from the email, not the article.

 

San Diego County is committed to the health and wellness of its workforce. The Human Resources Department is partnering with the Health and Human Services Agency to launch a comprehensive and expanded Wellness Program for County employees and their dependents in January of 2012. This joint effort will support the County’s “Live Well, San Diego!: Building Better Health” initiative.

The survey is intended to collect valuable information from County employees which will be utilized in the final Wellness Program design. We want to encourage all County employees to take a few minutes to participate in this survey and to help DHR and HHSA in developing our future Wellness Program activities.

You can complete the Employee Wellness Survey by clicking on the following link:

now closed.

Please complete the confidential survey by August 19, 2011. Thank you in advance for your participation.