Franklin Canyon, Beverly Hills

One of my favorite places to go in Los Angeles is Franklin Canyon- it's easily accessible for us folks who live in the Valley, but also for those who live in West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, or on the West Side. So, if I want to get the dogs out for a little hike but don't have a ton of time to spend in the car, I can just shoot up Coldwater Canyon, take a right onto Franklin Canyon Drive and and park at the entrance - just through the gate.
Franklin is a great place to go when you are seeking a little peace and quiet. It's not as popular as some of the other nearby trails in the Hollywood/Beverly Hills area such as Runyon, Fryman and Wilacre. I particularly like to go here when I am taking out some leash "challenged" dogs who don't always react very well when they see others of their kind- we don't see a ton of dogs here, they are *supposed* to be on leash (but I know better and am always prepared to see an off leash pup when I am on the trails) and there is plenty of space to get myself and my dogs out of the way of any oncoming pooches.

When you are in the midst of the canyon, it really is very easy to forget that you are right smack dab in the middle of LA. It is relatively quiet, the air feels clean and actually smells of nature, and you may even see some "nature" such as coyotes, deer and the occasionally wildcat- my mom and I once spotted a bobcat up on a cliff spying on us as we walked along the fire road.
Wile I am often content to just walk the dogs along the park roads, there are plenty of off road excursions available. If you entering from the Coldwater/Mulholland side, shortly before you get to the main parking area at the bottom of the hill you'll find a fire road on your right. This road is about a mile long and nice and wide and fairly easy for even slightly older dogs to navigate though there is a gentle slope, so be prepared to come back uphill on your back to your car.

Off the main parking lot at the bottom there are a handful of single track trails- they do get quite steep, and be forewarned that you may have a tough time getting back down the steep, soft dirt slopes with a leashed dog. And, yes, there are rattlers hanging out in the bushes so keep your eyes and ears open.

If you venture past the ponds and head down Lake Road toward the reservoir, you'll find both the Discovery and Hastain trails. The Hastain trail is a little wider and probably one of the more popular trails at the park. Unfortunately, this trail has been the object of some controversy lately- the trail ventures onto private property towards the top, which for years was not an issue. But a contractor is building a home atop the hills and has been trying to limit hikers' access to this part of the trail....much to many a park user's dismay. You may encounter barricades and signs warning you about trespassing or even protestors upset by these new barricades. Kind of ruins the experience. Hopefully hikers and property owners can come to an agreement soon.

Finally, the best thing about Franklin Canyon- the park ranger/maintenance man, Saban. Those who frequent the park know him well. He remembers everyone, and always takes a moment to stop and ask how you are doing. I don't always run into him, but when I do, it makes my park experience that much more enjoyable!

Roo and Seamus enjoyed Franklin Canyon on both Thursday and Friday this past week. Photos included, though they were both being extremely camera shy (also Seamus was annoyed by some flying bugs that would surround us every time we tried to stop).

Franklin Canyon Park Place page

2600 Franklin Canyon Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Spot! D.O.G. Boutique, Animal Crackers and The Healthy Spot

Today marked day ONE in Roo's new exploration of the LA's best pet spots. We targeted the area around The Beverly Center, making four stops along the way.

Our first stop: D.O.G. (dee-og-gee) Pet Boutique:
346 N. La Cienega Blvd.
West Hollywood CA 90048
Owner Christian Bryan Velasco is a very friendly, outgoing owner who was happy to visit with Roo and chat about his store and products. They have a great selection dog supplies, Designer dog clothing, dog couture, dog toys, dog carriers, designer dog collars and leashes, pet furniture, swarvoski collars, for small dogs and large dog, all the finest upscale items for your pampered dog and puppy fashion needs and much more. They also have some awesome looking (and tasting!) baked goodies for the pups. Roo was VERY interested in these. Roo met the owners two small dogs and was on her absolute best behavior here.







Our next stop: SPOT! Los Angeles: 534 N. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
The folks at SPOT! were quite busy today so we didn't get much of a chance to chat with them. They had an amazing selection of high quality food, and I overheard one of the ladies speaking with a customer abut the food and she was quite knowledgeable. While we were shoopping around we discovered a tower of balls- Roo's very favorite toys- so we had to walk away with a couple. We purchased a red bouncy rubber ball with the SPOT! logo on it (whihc sadly rubbed off within a few minutes of play) and a planet dog ball which promised to give 20% of the proceeds to help homeless animals. Roo tested the red ball, and though it doesn't have the bounce she usually likes, I loved the visibility of the ball. From time-to-time something spooks Roo and she loses the ball, and this could be spotted far far across the park.
Roo was pretty good at Spot!- paying no attention to the little one we saw when we came in. it was only when a happy-go-lucky lab puppy rounded a corner unexpectedly after his grooming session did she let out her mean dog bark. But she quieted right down with a little correction from me.
SPOT! Los Angeles does carry my favorite martingale collars- they can be quite hard to find in stores and I often end up ordering online. These are the nice nylon webbed martingales that slip over the head- no buckles which can break.
(planet dog ball)
(SPOT! ball before play)

(SPOT! ball during play)

Stop #3: Animal Crackers: 8023 Beverly Boulevard, Suite 1
Los Angeles, California 90048

We met Kevin at Animal Crackers who was delightful. Once again, I was extremely please with the wide variety of good quality foods. For those who like the "baked not extruded" Flint River Ranch- this is one of the only stores I've seen carrying it. No wonder people travel from great distances to get to this store. While we were there one of the regulars came in with her little boy named Oscar. Roo loves kids and was just crazy about him. You can see her looking longingly at Oscar while I tried to snap a photo of her.



Stop #4: The Healthy Spot

8525 Santa Monica Boulevard West Hollywood, CA 90069

The Healthy Spot was also quite busy when we stopped in. The day care area was full of well behaved dogs- they were being so good that Roo didn't even notice the room full of little ones. She was also quite good about the little dog that we followed in. She barked once- but it was more a "I want to play" bark. We spoke to a couple of associates who were quite busy running around helping shoppers and grooming clients. We checked out the supplies- lots of high quality foods and treats her, and a great selection of collars. Also we found this stack of crate liners/beds made from recycled bottles- this we LOVE!

All in all we had a great day and mission accomplished! We introduced ourselves to some great pet places in the heart of LA, AND Roo worked on her social skills.
Stay tuned for next week's hotspots!

Best Friends Los Angeles Super Adoption

This past weekend marked my 10th experience at a Best Friends Super Adoption. I have been attending since I moved to Los Angeles in 2005- sometimes as volunteer, sometimes as a vendor, and sometimes as an independent rescuer. As an indie rescuer I attended twice, although the first attendance doesn't entirely count because my rescue pup had such horrible leash aggression that we couldn't even walk into the event. We skirted along the outside for about 20 minutes before I simply gave up. BUT, I took that same dog 6 months later after a LOT of hard work, and she was a completely different dog. And then of course, I just adopted her. :)

That dog is Roo, and she is now my little mascot, working on her social skills by traveling around to all of the "hot" pet spots in LA so we can write about them and share with all of the other dog lovers in the city (and there are a lot of them!)



This Saturday, Roo, along with her older brother and father figure Duval, came along with me to host our Fetch vendor tent at the La Brea Tar Pits. I admit having both of them there while trying to carry on conversations with people was a little tough, but they both were fabulous and received a lot of compliments about how well behaved they were.

But down to business. What is this "Super Adoption" you speak of? At least twice/year, the Best Friends Animal Society Los Angeles Chapter hosts a fabulous event which gives an opportunity to hundreds of shelter dogs, cats, birds and bunnies, as well as those from dozens of rescue groups, to get out and meet potential adopters in a warm and friendly environment. And hundreds of them usually find homes at the event, and many of the others are rescued by the wonderful rescue groups who take them in, find fosters or boarding and network them until they find their forever homes. This year the amazing Jason Debus Heigl Foundation (founded by the adorable Katherine Heigl and her mother in memory of her brother Jason) donated $50 for cats and $100 for dogs to any non-profit rescue group who agreed to take them in. So many animals were saved as a result of the hard work of the rescue community that pulled together to create an amazing event.

Kudos to the Best Friends team for always pulling it off with very limited resources, and also to the FABULOUS volunteers who make it all happen.

If you'd like to get involved with the Best Friends efforts here in LA contact Contact: brandic@bestfriends.org.