Barney

Barney the foster Basset’s first time creek-walking went very well.  He loved the water and romping around with his brothers. We take them to the MetroParks, a huge reservation of forest and intersecting rivers throughout the Cleveland area. We have nicknamed it the “MetroBarks.” BOL! Barney  had a very good time during his first visit and we are taking the Bassets back this weekend!

The American Humane Association has been reporting on The Link between violence to people and violence to animals for years now. They have become one of the organizations on the forefront of both animal abuse and domestic abuse. This organization is deeply motivated and dedicated to helping victims of both, and is on a mission to educate people about how those who have a tendency to abuse animals will abuse humans, and vice versa.

AHA is a wonderful organization that I would encourage you to check out. From their website, donations will help to:

Advocate for legislation that protects animal victims of abuse, such as state bills that allow pets to be included in domestic-violence protective orders.

Advocacy gives animals a voice. For example, in Scottsbluff, Neb., an abused cat was removed by court order from the home of a woman whose boyfriend had assaulted her and previously beaten another kitten to death. What would have happened to the remaining cat without legal intervention?

Produce educational resources, such as the guides we’re currently creating for teachers and parents who suspect that a child is abusing animals.

Knowledge is power. Consider the recent case of a teenager in Florida who allegedly stalked, killed and mutilated more than a dozen helpless cats in his neighborhood. It might have never happened if an adult in the troubled teen’s life had recognized and addressed his penchant for violence.

Form community coalitions designed to spot and stop violence in all its forms.

There is safety in numbers. Statewide coalitions in Maine, Rhode Island, Delaware and New Mexico, as well as groups in cities such as Boston, Phoenix, Colorado Springs and San Antonio, have formed to spread awareness of The Link and increase the likelihood of identifying where and when violence may be occurring. More communities need to take action.
Train human services professionals on The Link and the importance of sharing information about abusers across organizations and systems.

Working together works. For example, In St. Louis, Mo., officials rescued 360 emaciated, parasite-infested dogs, cats, donkeys, guinea pigs and other animals from a private residence. During the search, the officials also discovered six children living in unfit conditions, and immediately contacted child protective services workers for assistance.

Serve as consultants in Link-related court cases.

The Link deserves its day in court. American Humane is currently consulting on a case involving a 6-month-old German shepherd puppy who was beaten to death by a man also known to be abusive toward family members. It’s important that judges and juries understand The Link when evaluating abusers’ behavior.
To donate, click here.

Our friends over at Go Fetch Gifts blog are having an awesome contest and you could win a $75 gift certificate! They need help coming up with a tag line.

From Go Fetch Gifts:

What is a tag line? It’s a quick ‘n snappy slogan, or an explanation of what you do. For example, the music agency I work at uses the following: “We’ve got the dance floor covered,” and “The spotlight is on you, the music’s on us.”

The winner will receive a $75 gift certificate to use at GoFetchGifts.com! Entries will be accepted until midnight on July 31, 2009.

Please keep the tag line short, under 12 words or so would be great. Remember that we like to focus on creative gifts like adorable,  personalized, hand-made and customized pet lover items, but we also have supplies as well.

Enter as many times as you like. No purchase necessary; purchases will not increase your chances of winning. Contest open to US residents only.

Click here to enter today.

Well since this is the hardest contest we’ve ever had to judge (we had about 150 entries), we decided to pick a Top Ten (well it’s a baker’s dozen ten, actually 11), but only the first 6 will get prizes. The other four will get recognized for being super adorable and photogenic. Please accept our apologies if your dog’s photo was not featured over the last few weeks, it’s nearly impossible to keep so many entries straight, especially since some come without telling us the names of their pets. We will be having another dog photo contest coming up in September so feel free to re-enter at that time.

Here are the winners and the honorable mentions:

11. Stella

10. Bruno

9. Mille

8. Paisley7. Harley

6. Pinta **(note to Pinta, please send us your address, we lost your email)

5. Moo Moo

4. Bailey

3. Maggie & Mitch

2. Max & Marley

1. Thor

We would also like to give honorable mentions to Brody, Buttons and Maxie. Brody is our good friend;  he’s quite the active poodle who is captured in the action shot below. Buttons is a blind dog who was saved from euthanasia by a deaf woman, and he currently is helping a patient heal in the hospital. Maxie is just plain adorable and never got to be featured in the other posts.

Maxie

Brody

Buttons

This is an FYI of sorts for all you animal lovers. According to the Animal Legal Defense Fund:

“In the U.S. alone, nine billion animals are raised in the most egregious factory farm conditions and brutally slaughtered for food every year. On top of that, we hunt 200 million animals annually, kill 20 million in research and testing, another 18 million for dissection, 4 – 5 million so we can kid ourselves that we look sexy in their fur and 5 million dogs and cats die each year in shelters because we treat them as disposable.”

We have some serious work to do people… go here to see how you can help. Also, start volunteering if you don’t already. Shelters and rescues are totally at their limits during this economic crisis. People are abandoning animals left and right because they “can’t afford them anymore,” “we’re moving,” “we had a baby,” etc. Unacceptable.

Tell me what you think about these heart-wrenching numbers in the comments.

Here’s the last round so far, today is the last day to enter the July dog photo contest. Check these cuties out:

Buttons

Chato

Panzee

Jake

Morgan/Maise

Name Unknown

Ms. Mimi

Khloe

Bella

Millie

Wrinkle

The entries for the July dog photo contest are getting cuter and cuter; I have NO idea how I am going to decide on three winners… check out some of these most recent entries:

Henry

Agnes

Larry

Jonah

Gizmo/Frankie

Alvin

Bocce

Rylee/Cooper

Name Unknown

Brodee

Nittany

Margo

One of our most favorite pet blogs out there, Life with Dogs, (with a whopping 794 followers) has had the honor of naming its Top Ten (well 11) Favorite Pet Blogs on the Net. We wanted to share this list with you all to make sure you check them out. And also, if you’ve never been to Life With Dogs, you are surely missing out on some really enteratining stuff. We go there every day to check in and usually leave laughing our butts off.

To read the list, click here.

We recently were sent a sample of K9 KlearUp to test out. We gave it to our cousins, the Basset Hounds, since they have so many problems with bug bites, hot spots, and gummy armpits.

Boy does this stuff work wonders. Our human Aunt Ashly, who owns the Bassets, said that K9KlearUp worked better than anything she’s ever tried on the hotspots and gummy armpits, and she’s tried everything over the years. We definitely give this product four paws up.

A little about what K9 KlearUp can be used for:

1) Hotspots: K9 KlearUp can be applied directly to any hotspot. A little bit goes a long way, so you only need enough to apply a very thin layer of the product to the affected area. 
 
2) Ezcema, Acne and Rashes: Customers have been telling K9 KlearUp that chronic conditions that the vets normally prescribe steroid-focused medications for have been cleared up quite effectively with their product. Follow the same instructions as with the hotspots – apply the cream to the affected area. Note: If the affected area is quite large, you will want to try this sample out on just a small part of it (an inch or two squared). That way, you’ll have enough to apply it a bunch of times, which will give you the best results. 
 
3) Bug Bites: It’s bug season and our dogs are just as likely as us (if not more so) to receive quite a few bug bites over the next few months. Sometimes the small ones can be ignored, but big, swollen itchy ones can be quite painful (and made worse by constant scratching). Apply a liberal amount of K9 KlearUp on the spot and you’ll notice an almost immediate relief.
 
4) General Itchiness: This is more of a general condition rather than anything specific, but for any chronic licking or scratching due to some sort of environmental problem (i.e. allergies, bug bites, rashes etc), applying a liberal amount of K9 KlearUp to the source of discomfort has brought almost immediate relief.

K9 KlearUp is a naturally antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, and antiseptic balm so it’s safe for pets.  It has a secret Mayan ingredient that makes it work… cool! BOL!

For more information, or to read more about what conditions it can help, visit the K9KlearUp website.