SEAL BEACH : Telethon Planned for Animal Center

Twenty-three dogs, 15 cats and two rabbits are depending on Seal Beach residents to pick up the phone and their checkbooks to keep the Animal Care Center afloat.

In conjunction with Comcast, the local cable TV franchise, the center is sponsoring a telethon at 7 p.m. today on Channel 3. The event, a first of its kind for Comcast Cable and the Animal Care Center, is a benefit for the center and will pay for operating costs and a planned expansion.

The event will feature local veterinarians giving advice on pet care, animal trainers offering tips on animal obedience and “stupid pet trick” videos. A local limousine service will pick up and deliver to the studio residents who wish to donate money on screen.

Telethon coordinators said the sky’s the limit for what they hope to reap from the event. The center, which provides stray animals found in Seal Beach with a home until they are adopted, depends entirely upon donations, adoption fees--$25 for cats, $50 for dogs--and volunteer workers, said Annelle Aviani, president of the Friends of the Seal Beach Animal Care Center.

The center has an $80,000 annual budget, said Nancy Goldstein, chairwoman of the Friends of Seal Beach Animal Care Center board. The money pays for one full-time employee, food and animal care costs and upkeep.

The center is also adding a $10,000 expansion this year: seven more runs and an isolation area for sick animals.

“We are one of the few that don’t put animals to sleep,” said Mike Cunha, the center’s single paid employee. “We keep them here and make sure they are as healthy as possible. . . . Without more money, we can’t keep things going.”