Lisa Glantz organized the first Ho!Ho!Ho! pet contest.
Lisa Glantz won a Pacific Palisades Community Council Sparkplug Award for her efforts to rescue the Holiday Ho!Ho!Ho! after it was abandoned by the Chamber of Commerce three years ago.
Last month as part of the Ho!Ho!Ho! celebrations, she led an inaugural Holiday Pet Contest on Nextdoor, and more than 300 people participated by posting photos of their pets.
Glantz, who grew up on Long Island, New York, moved here in 1988. She even waitressed at Mayberry’s, the one-time popular restaurant on Swarthmore. But as lost dogs started showing up at her doorstep, “I decided to recreate myself by starting a dog-care business,” she told Circling the News.
She picks up dogs and drives them in a van to a nine-acre ranch, where she watches after them as they play in a fenced-off space.
Here’s a typical thumbs-up on Nextdoor: “Recommendation for dog group: If you have a dog, young or old, that needs socialization or company or play during the day, contact Lisa Glantz. She runs a fabulous group in private space three days a week. Pick up in the morning and delivery home after play day is included. It is a lifesaver for working parents or for someone who has a dog with a lot of energy.”
This past week, your CTN editor was upset to see that Glantz had been reported by an anonymous neighbor for having too many dogs in her yard in Pacific Palisades.
Glantz asked the neighbor why he didn’t contact her first and she could have explained that the dogs weren’t hers, but those she has babysat and watched over the years—and all were occasional “sleep-overs.”
“I was watching Max, the golden retriever, who has been in my care many years. Max, who lives a block away, stayed with me for one-night, on New Year’s Eve. Max, who was still in stitches, having had two surgeries for cancer in the last few months, slept at my place.”
Glantz said another family had left Buddy, a gentle 20-pound mini-doodle, who she has also taken care of for five years at her home for New Year’s Eve.
She didn’t charge the families anything but took care of the two dogs as a good neighbor.
She also spoke about two other dogs she has had sometimes: Chloe and Bella, whom she calls couch potatoes.
Their owner, another Alphabet Streets neighbor, is dealing with a family illness and “Chloe, a nine-year-old border/Lab mix, has terrible separation anxiety and trembles at boarding facilities,” Glantz wrote. “Chloe has escaped her home on DePauw even though gates and locks are constantly being reinforced. Her other dog, Bella, is a shy Pom mix. Both are rescued, older dogs.
“Another neighbor’s dog, Liberty, a Rottweiler (with me since it was four months old) has stayed over. Liberty is shy, never approaches anyone and is always leashed and stays indoors mostly.”
The dog’s owner recently had hip surgery and left him with Glantz.
The rule in Los Angeles is three dogs per family. But instead of trying to contact Glantz, the neighbor contacted the City and Glantz responded on Nextdoor: “You call authorities to report dogs ‘living in a garage where I’m running a boarding facility?’”
A building inspector came out to inspect the inside of Glantz’s garage, which had only a car and household supplies.
“Never did I have more than three dogs here, with the exception of New Year’s Eve when I added two, and no fee, no business occurred,” Glantz wrote in her message. “I simply helped a neighbor.”
Glantz left her number for the neighbor, who had reported her, to call on the site, and said she understood his concern but wished he had called her.
Glantz told CTN, that she said she felt badly if dogs she knew, who she had cared for before, went to foreign boarding places.
“I am not upset at all for me but am for the people I mention above. These are such stressful times and I wish neighbor you would have given me the benefit of the bigger picture,” Glantz wrote. “I would never ever look to create a business where it is not allowed. I believe I quietly made a difference helping.
“Alas, neighbor you have been totally within your rights and it’s over and done,” she wrote.” Other than my own tiny three dogs, there will be no visitors.”
Glantz said that she was not fined, but the “City gave me a warning in no uncertain terms that I risk my place of residence.”
Lisa Glantz has a doggie day care in the Valley on a nine-acre ranch.
(Editor’s note: We have long urged people to speak to neighbors first about disagreements. If it cannot be resolved, then go to one’s Area representative on the Pacific Palisades Community Council. In an age when discussions are shut down because of differing opinions, we need to work harder to listen and to understand. Calling the City anonymously to report on a neighbor is a coward’s move.)
Bravo Brava to Lisa Glantz — Regardless of the sex of the complaining neighbor (irrelevant, of course), this behavior toward Lisa is a prime example of “Karenism” which seems to afflict an unhealthy percentage of Pacific Palisadians, I deeply regret to say. To the complainers, I say, “Get a life and get involved with something outside your own NIMBY self. You will undoubtedly be richer for it!”
LISA somehow i found this when googling your name. We went to high school together! You were the best! Great to see what you do now i’m an animal (dog) maniac lover too..