A CHRONICLE OF THE PASSING SCENE : Doggie Laundromat

Trend alert!

Trend alert!

This one has to do with your Fluffy, your Fido and your finances.

Just in time for the holidays.

A do-it-yourself pet wash that’s much cheaper than going to a groomer.

There’s a doggie wash open in Woodland Hills, another starting up in Santa Clarita, and there may be another opening in Granada Hills, according to Marge Henderson, owner of the Woodland Hills E-Z Pet Wash.

Henderson, who opened her shop in April on Ventura Boulevard, says she thinks she got the idea first but it really doesn’t matter if anyone copies her.

There are enough dirty pets to go around, she says.

Her shop is sort of a Laundromat for cats and dogs--without the automatic washers and dryers.

The pet owners do the scrubbing and, if they choose, the blow drying with comb and brush.

Dogs are pretty cool about the whole thing, Henderson says. People have been known to bring in their pet pigs for grooming, too.

You can do the job for about $10, with scissors and some elbow grease. A dog groomer might charge as much as $85 for a dog whose fur is matted.

And there’s a bonus. You get to socialize with others of the animal-loving ilk. Henderson says it’s really fun when all three tubs are filled and everyone sort of gets into the rub-a-dub-dubbing.

Even the pets smile, she swears.

The only barking comes from the owner of a small pet who is suddenly drenched by a shuddering and shaking giant collie who has decided that he has had enough of the wet look. She suggests you wear old clothes.

“I furnish the water, tubs, various kinds of shampoo, fluffy pink towels, hair dryers, combs and brushes,” Henderson says.

“The prices range from $5 for a Chihuahua to $12 for a Great Pyrenees.”

And if you want to dog it, she’ll do the job for you.

A Brush with an Ex-President

Fred Mednick, headmaster of Oakwood School in North Hollywood, says he is always aware of how insulated private school kids are, so, in addition to inviting all kinds of speakers to come in to talk to his students, he tries to get the students out of what some might consider the golden ghetto and into the real world.

The other day it was a bus trip to the 112th Street School in South-Central Los Angeles where the 23 members of Oakwood’s extracurricular Cultural Awareness Club were going to paint a mural on the inner city school wall along with some other students from the Los Angeles Achievement Center.

Also along for the ride were four members of Oakwood’s Photo Documentary Club, including Eric Leonard, 15, who was toting a borrowed Beta-Cam video recorder.

There was a lot of painting on the mural punctuated by a lot of talking between the Oakwood students and the others. Phone numbers were exchanged. Tentative friendships were forged, Mednick says.

That was the objective of the outing--to reach out, get acquainted with people in other life situations.

This mural-painting activity was highlighted by a visit from former President Jimmy Carter and Mayor Tom Bradley, in connection with Carter’s Los Angeles visit to promote Project Atlanta, which helps the needy.

There was the expected press hoopla. At one point a formal press conference was called, and the electronic media was shoving through the auditorium door to get positioned to best advantage.

Someone saw Eric and his Beta-Cam and pushed him on in as well.

Which is why, in addition to the representatives of NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN and the local channels, there was one 15-year-old cameraman recording the press conference.

Eric handled himself like one of the pros, Mednick says.

Countering Pay Cuts With Haircuts

Current events have turned C.E.N.T.R.E. Salon owner Nigel Hamer into a violent fiscal and political reactionary.

He has had a strong negative reaction to what he calls “political acts of financial terrorism against teachers.”

He’s boiling mad, and he’s not going to stand idly by anymore.

“One day the teachers think they are making one salary. The next day, they are told something else. Anyway, a 12% pay cut is no way to treat a teacher. I wanted to figure out a way to show solidarity with their cause,” he says.

For the next 12 months he is going to offer all Los Angeles Unified School District teachers a 12% discount at his Woodland Hills salon.

Invitation to a Shooting

If you’re passing St. Joseph Medical Center on Saturday and see a mob scene with a helicopter flying over, not to worry.

It’s an organized shooting, a celebration of longevity. To observe the 50th anniversary of the hospital, a call has gone out to all current and former employees, volunteers, staff physicians and guild members to come join the aerial photograph set for 9:30 a.m.

The assembled will stand together in the shape of a 50 before being photographed from the air. Alicia Gonzalez, a hospital spokeswoman, said as an added incentive to get people to show up, a fistful of freebies donated by NBC, Disney Studios and local restaurants will be given away.

Overheard

“One little win over USC, and they all come out of the closet.”

Checker at the Irvine Ranch Market in Woodland Hills the day after The Big Game, looking at a sea of customers wearing UCLA sweat shirts