Wookie is currently at the Longmont Humane Society waiting for his forever home. They are partnering with Colorado Pit Bull Rescue to find Wookie his forever home. He is a special dog. Click here to find out more about him!
I've finally completed the video of all the pictures we took while we were at the National Pit Bull Awareness Day event that Kelly of Wishcuit organized. What did I learn? One, making videos is hard and takes a lot of time! Two, I should let other people do it because I'm far from an expert at it! None the less, here is what I came up with! We had a great time and can't wait for next year!
Please remember Kenn Bell's "Pit Proud: The Movie" that inspired all the pictures with the sign. There are only 14 days left to donate to his movie and help him teach the world the truth about Pit Bulls!
If you follow this blog then you knew that Miah and I are pet loving, Pit Bull educating, anti-BSL, anti-puppy mill, animal welfare advocates. It's just who we are. That's why Ken Bell, the creator of Dog Files, and his series of videos about Dogs and how they are such integral parts of our lives hit home for us. And the potential to share the truth about Pit Bulls and not the media hype excites both Miah and I. So when the below video popped up on my facebook page I knew right away I HAD to share it. Please consider donating and sharing it too. Education is the best answer to everything Pit Bull. Let's show the world who these dogs really are!!
This is it. The last day to enter BISSELL's blog carnival for a chance to win a $2500 or $1000 grant for the Petfinder.com shelter of your choice. Unfortunately, we are not eligible being on the BlogPaws team and being related to 2/3 of the co-founders, but that is why YOU must participate! This is exactly the kidn of thing so many shelters need a shot at winning. Please write your adoption story (see official rules below) and get it posted before midnight tonight!! Hurrry. Hurry. Go. Go!!
BASIC RULES:
1. To enter, you must be a member of the BlogPaws community. You can become a member here.
2. Write a blog post and email a link to your post to vhunt@crt-tanaka.com with “BlogPaws Carnival submission” in the subject line. Submissions must be received by midnight ET on Saturday, Sept. 10.
3. A panel of judges made up of one BISSELL representative, one Petfinder.com Foundation representative and BlogPaws founders/organizers will review posts and select the winners.
5. Prizes One grand prize winner will be awarded a $2,500 grant and two runners-up will each receive a $1,000 grant for the Petfinder.com shelter of their choice.
Before the fast approaching deadline we wanted to get up a post about the Pedigree Foundation. They have generously agreed to donate 20 lbs of dog food for every post mentioning them before midnight EST, September 3rd. It's a follow up to the DC BlogPaws 2011 conference. 20 lbs per post is a lot of dog food. Thanks Pedigree!
If you do not know much about the Pedigree Foundation, we encourge you to visit their website and find out more. You can find information about adoption, applying for grants, volunteering and of course, donating to their wonderful cause. In 2010 they awarded grants to shelters all over the US! Now that is something we can get behind.
Waaay back in the beginning of June my friend Teryn and I put together a refreshment stand at my Grandma's neighborhood garage sale. It was part of the Be the Change challenge to raise funds, but since I didn't really have anything to sell online - well, from what I hear stuffed animals and old dolls don't sell well online - so I decided to raise money another way. We sat out in the hot sun all morning trying to lure people in and donate to our cause. We had chips, cookies, muffins, brownies (homemade!), soda and lemonade. We stayed up and made signs and then did what we could to attract attention. We even brought Olive, my Grandma's puppy mill rescue boston terrier, to help lure people over.
A little over 2 months ago the world was astonished at the condition of a poor, young Pit Bull puppy found in a garbage bag, in a garbage shoot, barely clinging to life. Making it through the night into March 17, 2011 he was appropriately named Patrick. And, since his survival was a miracle it did not take long to add that to his name. His amazing story of survival captured the world's attention and it has yet to fade.
While there has been controversy surrounding his situation, most of us have looked on only to see how he is doing. We crossed our fingers hard hoping he would make it. We prayed that the mass in his stomach would not be a game changer - and luckily a huge hairball isn't. We still want updates to his weight, his well being, his attitude and most of all his memorable face. Patrick has proven that he is a miracle and that he will never be forgotten.
One thing that we will never forget is purchasing cupcakes from Sweet Avenue Bake Shop just following his rescue. They stepped up to help raise funds for his treatment right away and because of the overwhelming demand, figured out a way to ship the cupcakes out of state. Thank goodness for that because those vegan, red velvet cakes were delicious! Even our family member who fancies herself as a hobby baker and cook, and was skeptical of the vegan aspect of them, said they were delicious. She ate in wonder at how they got them to be so moist without milk or eggs?!?
Well, personally, I wouldn't have cared if they tasted terrible. The purpose for purchasing them was two fold. To support Patrick and to support a local small business who cared about animals and also wanted to help. To very important things. Luckily, they were wonderful and even wonderfully packaged. We even got a button. I think Miah was more excited about that than I was. We enjoyed icing them and adding sprinkles. And now, for us, the two go together. Helping Patrick = yummy cupcakes. Now, if only they were in CO so we could have them all the time!
According to their website, "Found Animals Foundation is a privately funded Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization dedicated to animal welfare issues and led by business and medical professionals. The Found Animals team works directly within the animal welfare community to improve animal care center processes, fund pet sterilization research, promote effective animal welfare policy, and provide funding to area animal care centers and spay/neutering clinics. The organization also sponsors and promotes pet adoption, spay/neutering, micro-chipping programs, and various animal and pet-related events."
I am so very lucky that Found Animals is sponsoring me to go to the 2011 BlogPaws Conference in Tysons Corner, Virginia. I am so grateful to have a company as amazing as Found Animals sponsoring me. I hope to help promote their foundation to the best of my ability. Please check out their facebook page and like it. Tell them Miah sent you!
Found Animals has done so many amazing things. In 2009 they worked with local animal care centers in the Los Angeles area and facilitated over 1000 adoptions! Also, in the Los Angeles area, they gave over 41,000 free microchips to pets, and so much more! That was just in 2009; in 2010 they had more big accomplishments. They raised the bar and got over 3,570 adoptions with animals care centers in the Los Angeles area! They provided over 52,000 free microchips, and they approved almost 5 million dollars in funding for non-surgical sterilization! Not to mention there were many other things they did before all of this!
The founder of Found Animals, Dr. Gary Karlin Michelson, is a very successful man with a purpose. He is an orthopedic spinal surgeon, dedicated to creating more effective treatments for many spinal disorders. Dr. Michelson believes in living simply and that in life you should do what brings you happiness. He even does his own grocery shopping! He believes that Found Animals is "an experiment in non-profit social entrepreneurship." He believes fully in philanthropy and he has created an amazing staff to support his vision.
This truly means a lot to me, knowing that they believe I can make a difference. Their support, and yours (and for the sake of the animals) all put together is the reason I keep posting, the reason I keep researching, and learning new things about animal welfare. It makes me so happy. Let's come together and truly start the change!
It was around 12 o'clock. I decided it was time for little Onyx to have lunch. I walked upstairs and went into the kitchen. I pulled out a bowl for his food and went to go inform Onyx that I was making his lunch. As I walked by the family room, I took a quick glimpse at the TV. Something caught my eye. The TV was on a news channel. I watched for a second; a news anchor was interviewing a woman who was sitting next to a dog. I couldn't pull my eyes away. I was too intrigued.
The interview was with the founders of Detroit Dog Rescue, a newly founded site to help bring awareness to the stray dogs in Detroit. Monica Martino was one of the founders, she produced and created multiple award winning television shows and had attempted to produce a new show called: A Dogs Life. A Dogs Life was going to be a show about the stray dogs in Detroit, but the city shut it down. So she and Hush, the other founder of Detroit Dog Rescue, created the website to help bring awareness. Hush is a Rapper, producer, and actor. He is also an activist in the community dedicated to a better Detroit. So the two teamed up and made this website.
After having watched this for a few minutes, I knew I had to find out more! Sorry Onyx, but your lunch will have to wait a few more minutes. As I watched I learned that they were initially trying to open Detroit's first NO KILL shelter, but there was a problem. They need $10,000 to open the shelter. They need help!!! They need money! I decided I needed to learn more, but first I would feed Onyx his lunch.
Once Onyx was fed, I flew down the stairs in a rush to visit their website! I spun my chair around, hopped in it then typed www.detroitdogrescue.com into my computer. The first thing I noticed about the website was the header, with a beautiful Bully breed on it! I looked at everything. I read and read. This was a cause I wanted to support. No, needed to support. No, HAD TO SUPPORT! I must donate, and this is where the Be The Change challenge fits in. For Sell Your Stuff, Save A Life, this is where I will donate! To find out more about Sell Your Stuff, Save A Life read this post. It has all the info.
So, now I knew where I was going to donate, but I also needed to write a post. Get the word out about the Detroit Dog Rescue. So much I needed to do. . . well, I can't do it alone, so here is the question: Can you and will you help? PLEASE!? Visit their website and if you can, donate! Even $5 helps, and please share!! Share, share, share, share! On Facebook, on Twitter, on your blog, anywhere! JUST SHARE!
Basically, they are asking that you clean out your closet, your garage, your basement, anywhere that you accumulate "stuff" and sell it! You can use eBay, or Craig's List, or Etsy, or any other place you have that you can sell through. Then, you pick a shelter that you want to benefit from the funds you raise and donate the funds you raise to them. If you need help deciding on a shelter you can check petfinder for a list of shelters in your area. Last, you report your total by leaving a message on the Be the Change facebook page, or leaving a comment on the blog post. You have to report your total by June 5th so they can add up the totals and report the success!!
Don't forget to promote your sale! Tweet it, put it on facebook, blog about it, email your friends and ask them to email their friends! Basically, spread the word, sell your stuff, donate your money and Be the Change!
I recently found out about an upcoming fundraising event called Ella's Walk. Ella's Walk is a walk to raise money for the Longmont Humae Society in memory of Meredith Hope Emerson. The idea is to continue the loving legacy of Mereidth, the Longmont resident who was tragically killed in 2008 while hiking in Georgia. Meredith adopted her black Labrador Retriever mix, Ella, from a rescue organization. After Meredith's death Ella, now 4, moved in with the Emerson family in Longmont. The walk's goal is to inspire and raise $50,000 to help take care of 5,000 animals and help them find loving homes. Registration for the walk starts at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 22nd. You can also register online any time before the walk here.
There is no cost to register, although a ten dollar donation is encouraged. You just have to be ready to walk at 9:30 a.m., or do what I am doing and just market and try to help raise funds! The walk is at Boulder County Fairgrounds Picnic Shelter Park in Longmont, Colorado. The walk is three miles long and after the walk participants are encouraged to stay for The Furry Friends Festival, where many fun and cool events will be happening. I am sad that I cannot participate in the walk, but I'm hoping I can help by exceeding the goal I set of $150. If you would like to donate to my cause ANYTHING makes a difference! Or, please consider participating yourself. The more the merrier!!
