Animal lovers’ calendar: Weekend of November 14-15 and beyond

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The weekend ahead is full of events for animal lovers, whether you want to adopt a pet, help animals battling cancer, rid your closet of decidedly unfashionable fur or see live music while helping wildlife. (Are we forgetting something? Let us know by leaving a comment!)

Saturday, Nov. 14, join VPI Pet Insurance and approximately 500 other L.A. and Orange County pet owners for the third annual K9K Pet Cancer Awareness Walk. Pet owners and their dogs will walk a scenic course just shy of two miles long around Long Beach’s Shoreline Village Lighthouse Peninsula to raise funds for the Animal Cancer Foundation (ACF). Cost is $30; check-in at Catalina Landing begins at 9 a.m., with the walk starting at 10. For more information or to register, head to PetInsurance.com.

Saturday, Nov. 14 through Earth Day (April 22, 2010), secondhand-clothing store chain Buffalo Exchange and the Humane Society of the United States jointly host ‘Coats for Cubs.’ Animal lovers are encouraged to clean out their closets (or parents’ and grandparents’ closets, or Cruella de Vil‘s closet) and donate any tacky real-fur items found there (including fur trim, accessories and shearling) back to the animals. Of course, it’s too late to give the fur back to its original owner, but it can still be used as bedding for orphaned and injured wildlife -- and it doesn’t do your conscience any harm, either. Fur in any condition is accepted and can be brought to any Buffalo Exchange location. (If you’d like to claim your fur donation as a tax deduction, you’ll need to mail it directly to the Humane Society rather than dropping it at Buffalo Exchange; mailing information is available at HSUS.org.) More information at BuffaloExchange.com.

Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 14-15, the South Coast Jack Russell Terrier Club hosts its Fun Days event at Orange County’s Canyon RV Park/Featherly Regional Park. All terriers (not just Jack Russells) are invited to participate in just-for-fun competitions including going-to-ground, lure coursing and races over both flat ground and hurdles. Setup begins at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, with competition to start at 9 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Visitors are encouraged to bring an item to share at a potluck lunch to be held at noon both days. Prizes for fastest terrier and most improved will be awarded. Entry fee is $10. For more information, directions and a schedule of events, visit the South Coast Jack Russell Terrier Club’s website.

Sunday, Nov. 15, Best Friends Animal Society hosts its annual fall super-adoption event at the La Brea Tar Pits, 5801 Wilshire Blvd., from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Meet adoptable animals from area shelters and rescue groups, shop for pet merchandise at vendor booths, snack at the food court and see agility demonstrations -- and if you’re feeling generous, bring some unopened pet food to drop in a donation bin for L.A.’s needy pets! More information at BestFriendsEvents.net.

Sunday, Nov. 15, help support the California Wildlife Center in style at the organization’s first Wild Aid concert. The event, held at West Hollywood’s Roxy Theatre (9009 W. Sunset Blvd.), begins at 7 p.m. and will include performances from musicians including Thick as Thieves, Moi, Kreesha Turner, Kelly Dalton and Los Pinguos. In addition to live music, guests will enjoy a vegetarian buffet, a live auction of one-of-a-kind rock memorabilia and a guest appearance from ‘Lord of the Rings’ actor Dominic Monaghan. Guests are encouraged to come dressed as their favorite wild animal (dressing up isn’t required, but prizes will be awarded for the best costumes). Tickets are available online for $45 (deadline for online purchase is Friday, Nov. 13), or at the Roxy’s box office on the day of the event for $51.50. For more information or to purchase advance tickets, visit the Wild Aid website.

Upcoming:

Saturday, Dec. 5, Kitten Rescue holds its second annual ‘Fur Ball at the Skirball’ fundraising event from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 North Sepulveda Blvd. The event, hosted by ‘The Office’ star Jenna Fischer, features hors d’oevres, cocktails and dinner, live entertainment, a silent auction, a raffle and more. Tickets will set you back $125 each; an ‘Angel Table’ with seating for 10 is $1,250. All proceeds benefit Kitten Rescue’s work on behalf of needy cats and kittens in Southern California. More information at KittenRescue.org.

Ongoing:

Through Nov. 28, UC Riverside presents ‘Intelligent Design: Interspecies Art’ at its Sweeney Art Gallery, which features works from 20 artists (most from California) that explore the lives and aesthetics of animals in unique ways. One featured artist, Sam Easterson, shows video gathered when he attached minicams to creatures including armadillos, falcons, scorpions and sheep. Another, Nina Katchadourian, explores our ideas of what constitutes a good-looking animal in ‘Continuum of Cute,’ for which she chose 100 images of animals which she ranked from uncute to very, very cute. (Not for the faint of heart: Another artist, Carlee Fernandez, reworked taxidermied animals into shall-we-say-unorthodox pieces of luggage.) ‘In the past, art dealing with animals usually addressed issues of representation,’ gallery director Tyler Stallings told The Times of the exhibition. ‘I wanted to expand beyond that.’ More information at the Sweeney Art Gallery’s website.

-- Lindsay Barnett