For some reason people are mass-sending me entries for the contest at the last minute!!!

 I’m going to get all the entries up by Friday, then give another whole week to vote…

ANY ENTRY RECEIVED AFTER 5 PM EST TOMORROW Thursday September 2nd WILL NOT QUALIFY.

But — you are more than welcome to come back for the ThoughtsFurPaws October Contest (gifts courtesy Fun Time Dog Shop) and the SUPER-SECRETIVE-SUPER-SWEET Holiday Contest for November and December…(one hint – Holiday Contest winner (1st place) gets a gift valued at $189.99…)

Sooo… again, here are some more August Photo Contest entries, and read the older posts (here is another one to review for voting) to review the rules of the contest.  The remaining entries will be posted by Thursday, and voting ends at 9 pm EST SHARP on Friday, Sept 10. Winners will be announced on the 12th as I will be out of town…

*Full-grown animals are UNFORTUNATELY not being posted as this is a KITTEN and PUPPY contest only; all prizes are oriented as such.

8 week old Great Dane Frank

Frank at 4 months

8 week old Travis

Clancy

Emerald

Foxy

Gator

Jasper six months

Peebles

Sadie

Pretty Puppy Bear

Tika

Tika II

Sweet Praline

It’s hard nowadays to find a pet food brand (whether for dog or cat) or a dog treat brand that actually lives up to expectation; that actually helps what it promotes; that honestly lives up to its PR company’s hype.

Henry Checking Out the Turkey Jerky...

Well, despite all that, I believe I found the perfect mix of food and treats for our family’s dogs through K9 Cuisine. K9 Cuisine offers only the healthiest and most well-prepared, honest-to-goodness pet nutrition products you will ever find ANYWHERE. You can find wellness brands of food, treats, food toppers and more. I was TOTALLY surprised and thus impressed when our dog and my sister’s dogs – who are all SO PICKY AND STUBBORN – took so well to these healthy grain-free food and treat options. It’s truly a fabulous website with only the best products.

I’m talkin’… revolutionary product that will change the way people treat their pets in terms of nutrition. Just as Americans are becoming healthier in terms of eating habits, thus so should our best friends – our pets.

Rotations Sample

First, we sampled the Rotations Complete 3-in-1 Complete Nutrition System. It’s adult dry food that has various flavors. The boxed set offers you three different meal types – Premium Chicken and Brown Rice, Wild Salmon with Peas and Carrots, and New Zealand Lamb and Potatoes.

The idea is to rotate them so your pet doesn’t get bored with the same old food. They basically promote the “appropriate levels of proteins and fats to provide energy and maintain ideal weight.” Rotations dog food options are all balanced with fermentable fiber (as always, no corn, wheat, or soy) so your dog receives proper digestive support and gets a healthy overall body maintenance and performance.

ROTATIONS Pet Food is designed around the premise that a broader array of fresh natural ingredients provides pets with a more complete diet that can still be easily digestible and convenient for you. That’s why each box contains three distinctly different all-natural formulas in three separate re-sealable bags — to ensure that your pet will never be bored, undernourished or overexposed to one particular ingredient or flavor.

Benson LOVED the Chicken and Rice one and surprisingly ate the veggies in the other kinds too. We noticed after feeding him this diet for about 10 days that not only did he lose almost 2 pounds, but also he was FAR MORE active – acting and playing with the energy of a puppy again!

Rotations is by far the “cream of the crop.” Learn more about it on their site, which is chockfull of information on how to feed, what’s in the products, what the benefits are, and LOTS more.

K9 Cuisine also sent us the Wellness Pure Rewards Turkey Jerky. I don’t even know how to explain this… I’ll tell you that I let my sister’s Bassets try these samples out instead of Benson. I gave each Basset one and they each practically swallowed it whole. Ten minutes later (I was dog-sitting and in another room), one of them (had to be Henry – a 10-yr-old Basset trouble-maker who is shorter than the normal breed) actually jumped up and counter-surfed to pull

Turkey Jerky Wellness Treats and Free Wet Food Lid!

the treat bag down! The two of them then just went to town on the Turkey Jerky because they liked the flavor so much! So yeah – they ate a lot of them, but they had NO SYMPTOMS of stomach upset, diarrhea, etc , after eating a whole bag of treats in ten minutes… These treats get four (okay – paws up for SURE!! I have since bought many bags of these for them to bring when I come over to dog-sit…

Tons of Tasty Samples from K9 Cuisine

K9 Cuisine also let us sample the Go! Grain Free Chicken, Turkey and Duck wet formulas. These were also a HUGE hit with Benson. They didn’t upset his stomach and he “chowed” them right down (highly unusual for him as he is SO PICKY in his old age). The best part about this wet food is that it has human-grade ingredients, so your dog is tasting food similar to what your food tastes like.  (Not to mention it’s packed with vitamins, minerals and supplements like sunflower and wild salmon oils for Omegas, plus garden fresh vegetables, orchard fruits and lots of minerals!)

Next up from K9 Cuisine we tried the Real Food Toppers in Pure Beef

Even the Kittehs Checked Out the Samples!

Sirloin Flavor. After topping Benson’s food with these once, we realized we would use them as treats because he wouldn’t eat dinner without them that night!! He remembered that at breakfast he had a tasty topper! So we used them as treats for going potty in the proper area, sitting, lying down, etc.

Overall, I was seriously blown away by the products I got from K9 Cuisine. First because they are ALL grain-free, but in particular, the Rotations and the Wellness Treats are items that we have since re-ordered or purchased. I’ve also now moved my cat Sasha over to the Wellness brand wet food since she’s almost 10.

Benson's FAVORITE Thing EVER!

The quality of the products, the care and study that goes into creating them,  and the all-natural REAL ingredients used in ALL of these cat and dog foods, really are top-notch, and totally worth spending a few extra bucks for shipping. I would not tell you to go and buy something if it wasn’t any good – you know me better than that. But K9 Cuisine has it all: the BEST brands, the HEALTHIEST choices, the most REASONABLE prices, plus they always offer free samples, discounts and shipping deals and other promos. Plus, the company’s founder –Anthony Holloway – designed these recipes himself after realizing that he knew what he was eating from his plate, but his dog didn’t know what he was ingesting, and neither did Anthony; thus, K9 Cuisine was born. (I just think that’s a great story and a little tidbit for you all to read and learn how dedicated Anthony and his team are to making exquisite, quality pet food.)

Dog Food Toppers and Go! Grain Free Wet Food

I genuinely hope that some of you will go ahead and order at least one of the products discussed here, and measure the difference in your animal’s coat, eyes, attitude, and energy level (or even their weight). K9 Cuisine is BAR NONE the best option for cat and dog food that I’ve come across thus far.

Visit the site and you can get free samples by clicking on the tab on the top right!

The August Kitten and Puppy Photo Contest lasts a whole week longer, so let’s keep those cute pet pictures comin’ in.

And don’t forget to vote, vote, vote!! I’ve only gotten like 10 votes so far, and half of them are for the same animal!!

Here are some more cute kittens and funny dogs/puppies for the contest… actually, it seems this is turning into another dog and cat photo contest for pets of any age… some people just send in pictures of their pets as they are now… oh well…

Let me know in the comments or in an email who YOUR favorite is!

Andy, Banks and Oliver

Bella

Aries

Anne

"Fi Fi the Wicked Frenchie Witch"

The Famous KC

Peanut

Putty Tat

Sammy vs Dumbo

Chloe

Daisy and Deeogie

Thomas Fiddlehead and Lewis

This is a picture of one of the July Contest winners… Diva. Here she is — all pooped out from fighting over her Porcupine toy and all those treats with her brother Dexter…

Diva and Dexter Too Tired to Tug Anymore...

The August Puppy and Kitten Photo Contest is in full-swing mode now…

Here’s the first round of pictures!

 * Remember, you can vote for up to three pets in a comment or an email to me at thoughtsfurpaws@gmail.com. You CANNOT send 3 votes for the same animal. *

Bailey

Bailey and Toffee

Ginny

Iris

Koko Bean

Koko Bean II

Logan

Oliver

Rumble the Shar-Pei

Angie Kitten

Get your votes in today or this week via email and comment! If you see your pet on this post, don’t forget to send all your friends and network here to vote! More cute puppy and kitten photos to come later this week!

Every 6 Seconds a Pet Parent Gets a Vet Bill
for Over $1,000. Bow-Ouch!

I know how much animals mean to you—whether they live in the wild, on a farm, or in your own home. If you’re anything like me – they are your kids and you would do anything to protect them, right?

The concept of pet insurance is definitely a “controversial” one — some say it’s a waste of money while others thank God they had it when their dog was run over…

I feelthat it’s definitely necessary if you have an outdoor animal who roams free around the neighborhood (like my Sasha) – but I really am not sure about other circumstances.

I suppose if you have a gold ribbon/medal winning dog breed than he/she should definitely be insured for possible pt health problems… stemming from unknowingly poor pet nutrition, lack of care, or sensitive and likely to be injured bones and joints (for bigger breeds), etc.

Anyhow, for many reasons the HSUS has decided to team up with Petplan, the world’s largest pet insurance provider; to ensure that your four-legged family members live a long, happy life togethger. (And don’t have to worry if your pet gets severely ill and you can’t afford the vet bill… God I’ve been there and trust me, it’s NOT fun.)

Across the globe, Petplan is recommended by more veterinarians than any other pet health insurance provider and is consistently rated No. 1 in independent reviews by pet parents. Join over 1 million policyholders who already enjoy peace of mind with these benefits:

–   Covered for Life Guarantee™—once your pet is insured with Petplan, any condition they develop, including all chronic conditions, will be covered into their old age with no extra surcharges or riders.*

–  Coverage of all hereditary and congenital conditions—conditions such as hip displaysia, mitral valve disease, and luxating patellas are covered without dollar or time limits.*

–  Customizable coverage for your dog or cat—set your own co-pay and deductible according to your needs and budget.*

And when you get a quote, Petplan will make a $20 donation to our Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association’s Field Services program, which provides free veterinary care to pets in underserved communities. Be sure to use code “HSUS20″ when getting a quote to indicate that you’re an HSUS supporter & to receive an additional 5% discount!

Celebrate the animals in your life — and protect them for good so you can enjoy a longer lifetime with them…

Visit Petplan today to see if it’s right for your pets.

*Portions of this important pet health and wellness article courtesy Wayne Pacelle/HSUS . Photos courtesy Petplan.com

It’s time for Funny Friday pictures again!! Okay so it’s actually Saturday when this is being published but Ive been super busy this week…

These funny cats and dogs photos  and cute pet snapshots are from all over the place-- some are my friends’ pets, some from Facebook, a few from those forwarded emails, and of course, some from my fellow blogger friends’ (PSST–that’s you Life With Dogs), etc… so thanks for the cute pet pictures everyone!

Taken at volunteer event @ Ohio Basset Rescue

Cute little cuddlers

I'd LOVE to know how he got up there...

Life With Dogs posted this on Facebook...

Nothin' like a Bulldog in a Baby Carriage...!

My Fave Life With Dogs Photo

Myniece Lily in the window-her fave spot:)

Yet another Life With Dogs Fave...Neil you are just too good...

I WANT THIS KITTEN!!!

Rescue Kittens from somewhere...??

What a GR-eat shot!!

From ASPCA site...cutie pie!

So tell me — who’s your favorite? I can’t decide…

Whether you live in Ohio or not, if you consider yourself an animal welfare advocate then you probably know about Ohio animal welfare groups’ undying support to get a ban passed on dog auctions, cruel activities that give more money to puppy millers and “over-breeders,” and that, in turn, worsen the major homeless/rescue pet overpopulation problem. In addition, it’s suspected that some of these dogs bought at auction end up as test animals in laboratories across the country…

Dogs in tiny cages in "Auction Row"

Since 2004, Ohio Dog Auctions have grown into anything but “run of the mill.” Breeders who participate in these auctions are raising HUGE numbers of dogs/puppies with profit as their primary motive of existence. Many of the animals are unhealthy, abused, not screened for genetic disease, lack good temperament and show NO resemblance to the real breed.

Run by one of the most well-known animal advocates in the state – Mary O’Conner Shaver – the event is being held to get additional signatures on The Coalition to Ban Ohio Dog Auctions, an:

Ohio has no laws preventing dog auctions. (And is WAY behind in other animal welfare legislation as well including penalties for animal cruelty and FINALLY passing a puppy mill bill.)

Many concerned citizens firmly believe the auctions serve not reputable breeders but large commercial facilities where dogs are bred to produce as many puppies as possible in conditions ranging from unsanitary to inhumane.

The Coalition to Ban Ohio Dog Auctions is spearheading a new, citizen-backed ballot initiative – The Ohio Dog Auctions Act.

The auctions usually sell smaller breeds, but every now and then will have one or two larger dogs as well. (Click here for a video on Ohio dog auctions.)

The measure (similar in language to Pennsylvania’s Statute 459-603

Stop Dog Auctions & Puppy Mills in Ohio

Voters across the state are communicating with their fellow citizens and starting to gather a goal of a minimum of 120,700 signatures by December 1, 2010 to put the proposed law before the Legislature in January 2011.

Volunteer petitioners are needed to make this initiative a reality in Ohio —we have until December 1, 2010!  We need everyone’s participation to make this vital effort a success! GET READY TO SERVE AS A STRONG VOICE FOR THESE POOR VOICELESS PUPS AND STUD DOGS at a peaceful rally and signature-gathering event…

** SO PLEASE COME to the event for Ohioans this Saturday, August 21st from 10 am to 2 pm at the Holmes County Fairgrounds **

The more signatures we can gather, the better!

Remember that many farmers and dog fanciers, hobby and show-breeders will also be attending — and they SUPPORT the Act.

OUR MAIN FOCUS IS TO THE OHIO DOG AUCTIONS ACT AND relationships there to puppy mills, and pet homelessness. If you’d like to download signs to bring, you can find them on www.BanOhioDogAuctions.com. (Per the Holmes County Sheriff, remember we must be 6 feet off the roadside.)

Peaceful Child "Rallier" at Previous BODA Event

Also, over 100 Harley riders from across Ohio are scheduled to join us in support of our efforts to raise awareness of the dog auctions problem and the Act. Their route includes a visit past the Fairgrounds and the Livestock Auction Barn where the real auction takes place.

If you would like to volunteer, please contact Julie from Operation Warm and Cozy, at 330-364-7190.

You can also support the coalition by clicking on this sentence to sign the petition at Care2′s Petition Site.

There’s a list of related media coverage/releases further down the page here.

For more information about the event visit http://www.ColumbusTopDogs.com.

Introducing the August Puppy/Kitten Photo Challenge!

It’s that time again — PET PHOTO CONTEST TIME!!!  I want to announce the August Photo Contest.

It starts RIGHT NOW and I will accept ONLY TWO entries per email pleae.

This is a KITTEN & PUPPY PHOTO CONTEST only, so please don’t sendpictures of your babies unless they’re 6 months old or younger! The entry deadline is next Friday, August 20th at 7 p.m. EST. I will then allow the whole next week for voting. You can vote once through comments (you can vote for three pets only), and once in an email.

** YOU CANNOT VOTE THREE TIMES IN 1 EMAIL FOR THE SAME PET***

And please remember the warning I posted about “vote-stuffing” last month… you will unfortunately be disqualified or, if I’m in a good mood, pushed down in the rankings if you attempt this again***

RULES/PROCESS:

1. This contest, again, is being judged by reader votes/comments. You can vote for up to three pets in a comment and up to three in one email – but not the same pet three times. Entries that do not follow this procedure will be disqualified.

2. Send up to 2 WEB-COMPRESSED JPEG,  or GIF files to thoughtsfurpaws@gmail.com. You can also just paste the photos into the email body.

3. Please put “AUGUST PHOTO CONTEST” in the Subject Line.

4. It is VITAL to include the names of your pets. *** Entries received without the pets’ names will not be considered as it gets entirely too confusing with the number of entries we get with no pet name ***

5. Send your network to the post your pet(s) appears on to vote in the Comments. Or repost the post your pet appears on, put in on Facebook, Twitter, Share This, etc, to get your followers to vote!

6. Voting ends on Saturday, August 28 @ 9 pm EST.

7. Winners will be announced (either 3-5 winners) on Sundat 8/29!

PRIZES:

** The August kitten and puppy photo contest has tons of cool prizes, including one hand-held Bissell Spot-Bot, perfect for puppies learning to be house-trained (retails value $129.99) Furminators (retails value $49.95), PetSmart gift cards (Retail Value $25.00), boutique puppy shampoo, puppy “accident” cleaning products from Clean and Green by SeaYu, pet photo albums, toys, treats, and a special surprise for the human!! ** WOWWEEEE

– Needless to say, you don’t want to miss out on this one So start sending entries to thoughtsfurpaws@gmail.com ASAP! Thx!–

————————————————————————–

A Gift for Mom Too - A BEAGLE Book!!

On another note, the reactions I received from last month’s winners are overwhelming; you can even read about Shiloh and Shasta’s exciting package-opening, plus I put some pix of them opening the package in this post. Their owner was also SUPER-STOKED about the Beagle book I included for her, Dog Park Diary.

We Opened It! Wow- Look at all this stuff!

The first place winner was so grateful for the Bissell Vac that she was crying because she and her fiancee are in such bad financial straits and to get a box of play things for their rescue efforts was the best possible “picker-upper.”

The owner, Amber, of Simba and Murphy said: “My fiancee and I both work for newspapers and are underpaid obviously but we are dedicated volunteers to pet rescue. The Bissell vac is hands-down the most amazing pet hair pickup tool Ive ever used. It get EVERYTHING – even stuff you can’t see – and we use it on the couches and bed too! I had never thought of trying a Bissell cleaning product but from now on am a Bissell fan! Thank you for your generous prize – it was too much – it literally brought us to tears.”

Looks like help was given where needed! All-in-all over $450 worth of prizes were given last month…

So – REST ASSURED THAT YOU DO WANT TO WIN THE THOUGHTSFURPAWS.COM PRIZE OFFERINGS BECAUSE THEY’RE EXTREMELY VALUABLE!!

Get your August Pet Photo Contest entry – whether cute kitten picture or funny puppy photo – in now!

How a Bowl Should be Licked:
(How sweet the owner grabbed a camera instead of chasing the stray puppy away…!)

“Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains un-awakened.”

*Tomorrow’s problems, will always be a bit worse then today’s, so live day by day… it’s less stressful that way!