A Sturdi example; the right way to travel

Holiday Season Pet Travel Safety Tips

At the Holiday Season Air Travel Press Conference, representatives from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) spoke about how to prepare for going through security screening.  Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) shared the holiday travel forecast, while the Airport Police conveyed travel safety and Customs & Border Protection (CBP) showed us hands-on what “not” to bring into the country when returning from an overseas trip.   In closing, Christina Selter “Pet Safety Lady” founder of Bark Buckle UP, the trusted authority for pet travel safety, shared with us some tips for traveling safe with pets.  Her Furry friends helped her demonstrate airline approved, pet-carriers, crates and a “BONE”afide pet pat down, TSA style.

Nearly 2.9 million passengers will pass through LAX from Friday December 17 through January 2nd 2011 and some of those nearly 3 million passengers will have pets.  Number one tip from LAX, TSA CBP and Pet Safety Lady, is: “be early!”

Cat in Box; the WRONG way to travel!

Pet Safety Lady emBARKed her national airport tour live from LAX.  The tour was formed to help educate pet owners on how to travel safer with their pets nationwide. 

“Safety starts on the way to the airport.  To ensure ultimate safety, comfort and convenience for two and four-legged passengers, be sure to plan, pack and follow the rules,” said Pet Safety Lady.  Her airport tour will take a giant BITE out of pet air travel commotion.

“We were honored to see that Pet Safety Lady used the Sturdi Tote at the press conference to teach the public how to keep their pet safe in cabin then traveling by air,” said Penny Johnson, Executive Vice President, Sturdi Products, Inc. Guests were chomping at the bit to hear her Pet Air Travel Safety Tips (PATST):

•       Fees (average is $100.00)
•       Cabin or cargo: A pet under 20lb,s, which includes the carrier and can go in cabin, under your seat. Larger pets travel as cargo. Lock your carrier and keep ID on carrier.
•       Check-in: A reservation for pets is required. Your pet will be your carry-on bag.
•       Security: Pet Pat Down TSA style may be required for some pets. Your carrier goes through the x-ray machine but your pet is removed from its carrier and walks through with you.
•       Airports are required to have pet potty areas (LAX has 5).
•       Packing for pets: Be sure to bring medicines, food, a toy or chew bone, ID tag, collar/harness & leash.
•       Size & health: Healthy to fly = current shots. All states require Rabies vaccinations and that the animal be at least eight weeks old.
•       Snub nose pets like a Pug cannot fly as cargo.
•       Airline transfers: Different carriers = you are required to pick up your pet at baggage and transfer to other carrier. When transferring with the same carrier, that airline will transfer your pet for you.
•       Service dogs with proper ID travel in cabin free of charge.
•       Weather safety restrictions apply: Above 85 degrees and below 20, degrees pets don’t fly.

For the full list of pet air travel tips, full release and more quotes please visit http://www.PetSafetyLady.com and click on the airplane. Video at http://www.YouTube.com/PetSafetyLady 

** On this note, let me tell you how fantastic the Sturdi cat carrier is. It’s a pyramid shaped carrier that’s a vinyl-like material with tons of small airholes – sort of a canopy material. Maxwell climbed right in there when I brought it home and we use it to take the boys to the vet now, and plan to use it as a carrier next time we travel. The Sturdi for cats is just that — a strudy material and carrier, but with room to move and a soft cushioned bottom thats warm and snuggly for Fluffy. We plan on ordering another one soon for the other cats. **

About: Christina Selter “Pet Safety Lady” founder of Bark Buckle UP® works with first responders nationwide teaching pet safety and has buckled UP more then 10,000 pets. Education is the first step to show that pet safety is connected to human safety, which helps to save lives. Christina has been featured in more then 1200 TV, radio, segments including print and
online takes it over tens of thousands, Bark Buckle UP received more then 100 MILLION in circulations and impressions in the first year, she has directed, produced several pet safety PSA’s and created Be Smart Ride Safe-take the pledge Buckle Up the whole family.

About Sturdi Products:  Seventeen years and still flying high, the innovative design of the SturdiBag makes it the preferred carrier for many well traveled professional trainers, breeders and animal lovers around the world. Sturdi Products, Inc. has gained an international reputation for designing unique, attractive, durable and safe products that reflect the needs of customers who travel with cats and small dogs.  Sturdi Products manufactures professional quality soft sided pet carriers, portable pop up shelters, foldable water-tight boxes, orthopedic grade pads, corporate promotional products and other unique items geared to cats and small dogs. Sturdi Products Inc. offers quality products for traveling pets…and their people. To learn more about Sturdi Products, visit www.sturdiproducts.com.

Please vote in the comments or email me at thoughtsfurpaws@gmail.com!

Bell

Rory II

Kota

Pinta

Scrappy

Rory

Kota II

“Don’t worry Sparky, you have insurance!” 

The average pet owner has between $500 to $1,000 in emergency funds available for an unexpected medical illness or catastrophic accident. Sadly, most emergency situations exceed these expectations.  http://www.1800petinsurance.com/is the easiest, most efficient way to compare the best coverage available for your four legged family members. Never again let cost keep you from getting the best in preventative and emergency care available for your pet when you need it.

“But my kitty is healthy…”

And that’s the way we want her to stay. But as our pets get older, they become more susceptible to diabetes, thyroid conditions and many other underlying problems. Investing in the right insurance plan makes regular check-ups, diagnostic testing and preventative care easy and affordable. http://www.1800petinsurance.com/offers a wide selection of pet insurance companies to help you find the best policy for your peace of mind and your pet’s continued health and wellness.

 “I don’t worry about the cost of vet bills anymore.”

Knowing you are covered for the best care available to your pet makes visiting your veterinarian a far less stressful situation.  http://www.1800petinsurance.com/is your fastest and easiest resource for all the information you need to know about pet insurance, access to the best insurance providers available and testimonials from actual customers to help you make the decision that is right for you and your best friend. Visit http://www.1800petinsurance.com/, get multiple free quotes and be well on your way to enjoying the peace of mind that comes from insuring every member of your family.

For your free quotes, visit http://www.1800petinsurance.com/ today!

Okay, we have so much swag built up in the house that we need to unload it! So we are adding on to the Kyjen contest and having our own separate photo contest! Some of you read about this previously, but we need to hurry it up! Send your funny pet photos in for us to post at thoughtsfurpaws@gmail.com!

Readers will comment and vote on them, ultimately deciding the winners!

We’re giving away dog and cat food, toys, trinkets and bath stuff for dogs, plus more swag that’s a surprise!

So send us your funny pet photos NOW THROUGH DECEMBER 20th at NOON. Winners will be announced at 1 pm that same day, and prizes will be shipped the next day standard mail. (You should get them by New Years depending where you live.)

Get on the Kodaks and get snappin’ now! This is open to everyone and anyone!

So Ive been a HUGE HUGE Kyjen fan since I saw that first amazing giant green alligator with 17 million squeakers at BlogPaws, since Benson fell in love with it and the Bottle Buddies, and since I met Kim from Kyjen in Denver, my second home. She represented the company in a way where she wasn’t trying to SELL me or PUSH me into saying or buying anything, and I respect that. A lot.

Now I respect them even more. (It helps that  Benson is absolutely obsessed with every toy he has received from Kyjen from me since the alligator – which he STILL has not de-squeeked by the way…)

Check out this contest. Kyjen is having probably thee most amazing contest Ive ever heard of. Here’s the down-low.

“Watch your step! Kyjen is giving away a Big Pile of Everything (one each of our current 171 products) as a grand prize to one lucky subscriber of our Boycott Boring email list.”

Subscribe HERE in order to win. If you’re already a Boycott Boring member, no need to re-subscribe- you’re already entered! Be sure you add us to your address book so we can notify you if you’re selected.

SUBSCRIBE AND  ENTER HERE

So yes, you read that right. You have a chance to win over 150 of the coolest dog toys known  to canine. And you can help me win too! There’s a separate blogger contest and if you click through my link to subscribe, I could win.So listen up to what YOU win if I WIN:

Of course, ALL the toys (except one for each dog here, Henry, Benson and Franklin the puppy mill rescue) will be given away to local shelters AND my loyal readers, PLUS to those people who let me know in a separate email to thoughtsfurpaws@gmail.com that they clicked through and subscribed at Kyjen.

There’s a separate incentive too. If you send your friends and family to click through here at ThoughtsFurPaws.com, you’ll win a $100 prize package, regardless of if I win. Package includes an ergonomic Furminator, gift card to pet store of your choice, and two toys plus a bag of treats for Fido.

So your friends and family  need to email me too to let me know you referred them.

** Remember, no tricks here please guys. I have great Analytics and can tell where you came from and where you go when you leave this site and where you click through to**

Where do you go to subscribe again??

GO HERE TO SUBSCRIBE AND ENTER THE KYJEN ROCKIN CONTEST!

-Contest starts Wednesday, November 17.

- Each day, we will randomly select a different Boycott Boring subscriber to receive a toy from Kyjen.

-On January 3rd, we will randomly choose one grand prize winner. That winner will receive one of each of every Kyjen product in our catalogs. That’s over a hundred items by Kyjen and worth over thousands of dollars! Toy-A-Day winners are excluded from the grand prize drawing.

Contest Rules

Current Boycott Boring members are automatically entered to win.

All winners are randomly chosen and are notified via email. If we do not receive a response within 10 days, we will forefit the prize and redraw a new winner.

Limit: one entry per person. Toy-A-Day winners are excluded from the grand prize drawing.

U.S. residents only

The “grand prize” includes all products in our catalogs, only excluding discontinued items and holiday products.

For products that vary in size (example: Outward Hound Pet Saver™ Life Jacket), winner will receive a size option for that product.

All drawings for contest will begin Nov. 17, 2010.

Drawing for grand prize Jan. 3, 2010.

Only unique visitor referrals will be counted for the blogger side contest. Google Analytics will be the soul source for our data, no other methods will be used.

I recently emailed with Mitchell Silverman, brilliant Co-Founder & CEO of The Giving Effect. He wanted us to know that right now animal shelters need FIVE things the most… some might surprise you!

Hint: you’ve probably got these items at home

Donate your things. Change lives

Kelly Clarke, a volunteer at The Pixie Project–an animal rescue and adoption service based in Portland, OR–would love for you to look around your home and think about what you can spare. “Some people don’t have cash to donate but they have hundreds of other items in their homes that are needed,” says Kelly.

The Pixie Project, along with 250 other animal shelters and nonprofits across the country, have posted their needs on TheGivingEffect.com, a new website that connects donors with local causes that need stuff.

According to TheGivingEffect.com the top five things most local animal shelters need are:

1. Office supplies (computers, printers, fax machines, phones, paper, pens)

2. Cleaning supplies (bleach, laundry detergent, Fantastik, Windex)

3. Blankets, sheets, and towels

4. Miscellaneous items that can be sold to raise money

5. Building supplies (to construct fences, crates, dog runs)

Maybe you’ve thought about dropping some of these things off at the Salvation Army or Goodwill. But here’s an alternative: find a local shelter on The Giving Effect and donate there. Most shelters are 501c3 nonprofits, so you’ll get the same tax write-off that you would elsewhere.

Shelters on TheGivingEffect will also send you a public “thank you” which you can easily post to Facebook and Twitter or email to friends: by spreading the word about your gift you can inspire other animal lovers to support causes you care about.

Visit www.thegivingeffect.com to find animal shelters in your area.

About The Giving Effect
The Giving Effect is the first website to connect donors of in-kind donations (clothes, shoes, food, etc.) directly with the organizations that need their items. The goals of the free website are to dramatically increase public awareness and in-kind donations, to change millions of lives by getting things to people in need, and to do so in the easiest and most fulfilling way for all parties. The Giving Effect is headquartered in Brooklyn, NY.
* For more information about The Giving Effect, please visit www.thegivingeffect.com

We all know that IAMS rocks, right?

Between their totally fun, user-friendly, pet-centric website, their amazing product lines – which are so healthy for our pets, and their amazing charitable donation programs countrywide, IAMS pretty much rocks!

(Naysayers – please don’t bother to comment because I’ve heard it all. If you think you know something about IAMS animal testing, I beg you, please email me and I will send you information on their LACK of harmful animal tests. I used to be one of you!)

So IAMS has – for a whopping 11 years – run the IAMS Home 4 the Holidays campaign.  

Practically untouched in terms of pet lives effected and food donations, last year alone the IAMS Home 4 the Holidays initiative placed 1.3 million homeless and abandoned animals in loving forever homes! WOW!

This year, the company, which is seriously generously dedicated to animal adoption, has set its sights even higher, and is aiming to save the lives of 1.5 million orphaned pets AND donate 5 million bowls of food to animal shelters in need!! Yes you read that right: FIVE MILLION bowls of food and one and a half million animals in forever homes…

Lofty goal? NAH! IAMS has a track record so impressive that I firmly believe, with the help of wonderful and kind animal welfare advocates like you readers, IAMS will meet their goal.

** And don’t forget: currently there are over 8 MILLION homeless animals in this country.

Important Home 4 the Holidays Campaign Details:

• IAMS Home 4 the Holidays runs from October 1, 2010 to January 4, 2011
• This year’s goal is to adopt 1.5 million pets
• 1.3 million pets were adopted last year alone
• There are 3,500 partner animal organizations (and 21 participating countries around the world)

** Information on how to get involved, how to find a participating shelter in your area and other important tips for new pet parents can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/iams or on IamsHome4theHolidays.com

Soooooo, what are we at ThoughtsFurPaws doing in honor of Home for the Holidays?

We’re having TWO AWESOME CONTESTS of course!! 

Everyone is encouraged to participate because the prizes we’re giving away are truly unparalled, and, more importantly, the difference you can make by participating in any way is bound to help hundreds of animals!

Here’s the ins and outs of the contests:

1. There are two contests being run simultaneously.

2. Contests start tomorrow, October 13 and run through December 30, 2010.

3. Winners will be announced on January 3, 2011.

The 1st contest details, rules, prizes **

1. I want to hear your very best, most heart-warming, tear-jerking rescue stories; whether you adopted from a shelter, saved a feral kitty, took in a neglected animal, or opened your home up to a furry four-legged friend in some other way, I want to know about it. *** Shelter workers: feel free to detail your daily work and how you think it affects the animals day to day.

2. Email all story entries to thoughtsfurpaws@gmail.com. *Please include: a picture of the pet, your contact information and a short bio about yourself (one paragraph), the age of your fur-baby, and any quirky, silly or other interesting personality traits or funny tidbits about your pet.

3. Please put “Rescue Story Contest” in the Subject Line of the email so I can file immediately.

4. All stories will be posted on ThoughtsFurPaws.com with the entrant’s name; TWO winners will be chosen by Administrator.

5. First place winner receives a $250 handheld Kodak video camera (the size of a cell phone) AND WILL HAVE THEIR STORY AND PICTURE POSTED ON THE OFFICIAL IAMS HOME 4 THE HOLIDAYS FACEBOOK PAGE (links above)!!

6. Second place winner receives a goodie bag with a $50 PetSmart gift card, and over $100 of toys, treats and “gear” for them AND their chosen animal: dog or cat.

The 2nd contest details, rules, prizes**

1. I want to see who can raise the most money.

-A pertinent part of the Home 4 the Holidays campaign is the Bags for Bowls initiative. New this year; IAMS is aiming to give 5 million meals to homeless animals!!  One way you can help donate a meal to a pet is to follow the Adoption Angels’ stories on Facebook.com/Iams and “LIKE” photos, videos and posts. For every like youreceive, IAMS will donate a meal to a homeless animal. Another way you can help donate meals is through the second contest… -

2. After you raise funds, they should be sent to the PayPal account of thoughtsfurpaws@gmail.com. And yes – you all will have to trust me on this one. I do plan to post bi-weekly updates about funds added, who is in the lead and who is in second and third places, and finally, how much money total is in the PayPay account at the end of each week.

3. At the end of the contest, all the funds collected by our awesome readers will be sent to one (or two, depending on how much is raised) of the shelters in the Home 4 the Holidays program. I will consult with winners so they can have a say in which shelter receives the money (probably one in their home state.)

An IAMS adoption!

4. PLEASE DO NOT FEEL PRESSURE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS CONTEST. I do realize that the entire country is in financial straits right now, especially since I live in Cleveland, which is one of the hardest-hit cities in terms of the jobless and the unemployment rate. So — even if you can only donate $12, you know what? That’s 12 bowls of food that we can then give to the Home 4 the Holidays program, and that’s 12 bellies that we’ll fill!

5. USE YOUR IMAGINATIONS ON THIS ONE! (Points for creativity will also be given, as will a prize for the most inventive money-raising idea!) Have a lemonade stand with the kids, do a bake sale, car wash, or something else!

6. Email me at thoughtsfurpaws@gmail.com to set up a date and time to make your PayPal transactions. I will be keeping a log of daily/weekly donations.

7. Please email me and use “PayPal Donation for IAMS” in the subject line.

Home 4 the Holidays Dogs for Adoption Playing!

8. Whomever raises the most money will win: a $250 hand-held video camera (cell phone size again!), AND EITHER 1. a full-size ergonomic Furminator OR 2. a $50 PetSmart (or Petco – or whatever you want) gift card – winner’s choice!

So I truly hope that my fantastic readers can get pumped up about helping out the animals this holiday season. Again, I know

Kitties for Adoption Through Home 4 the Holidays

we are in a financial crisis right now so do not feel pressured to enter the second contest.

YOU SHOULD ALSO KNOW THAT I WILL PERSONALLY MATCH THE FIRST PLACE WINNER’S FINAL AMOUNT. So if the first place winner sends $300 to the PayPal account, I will match it. And don’t worry, I will show you all records of all transactions in the PayPal account.

So get pumped up everyone because I sure am! And stay tuned for all kinds of fantastic and useful information on pet adoption, charity, tips for adopting a pet or helping an orphaned animal; information on why to adopt, a how-to on selecting the right pet for you,  information on why families should adopt not shop, tips on how entire families can get involved in the animal welfare movement through volunteerism, and informaion on teaching children about helping animals, PLUS ALL KINDS OF OTHER COOL POSTS!!

Also, you’ll get to read about my cool one-on-one interview with Mike Arms, Chairman of the famous Helen Woodward Animal

Mike Arms, Helen Woodward Animal Center

Center, who is truly an inspiration TO ME and one of the most forward-thinking brilliant men I’ve ever met, plus you’ll read “Testimonials” from participating animal organizations and people who have adopted a pet through the program in various areas (if anyone wants to hear a story from a particular area please send me an email and I’ll be sure to get a line in on your county).

So HAVE FUN everyone, SEND ME THOSE AWESOME RESCUE STORIES, and BAKE AWAY TO RAISE MONEY FOR OUR FURRY FRIENDS WHO HAVE NO VOICE and GET NO CHOICE!!

** The contests running on ThoughtsFurPaws.com through January are solely for ThoughtsFurPaws and have no affiliation with IAMS and/or Proctor and Gamble. All prizes are purchased and presented to winners by the Administrator, JL Smith, and all contests are sole proprietary of the blog ThoughtsFurPaws.com.

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Me and BlogPaws Co-Founder Caroline (Romeo's Mom)

Phew! It’s taken me a whole week to compile all my thoughts and learnings from the BlogPaws West Conference in Denver last weekend — but I finally did!

It was so wonderful to see bloggie friends like Bev and Tyler from The Fire Hydrant, Mr Skeezix,

3 of 4 IAMS-sponsored bloggers (me on right!)

Cleveland Dog Blog, Life With Dogs, Baxter Boo, and to meet wonderful new friends like those at Pet News and Views, Canine Companions for Independence and the Helen Woodward Animal Center!

Despite the horrible fires burning through Boulder’s canyons, valleys and neighborhoods, and despite the overwhelming number of now-homeless animals collected therefore; BlogPaws West was a smash hit! 

Although I was excited to be nominated for Dogtime.com’s Petties Award for The Best Pet Blog, I did not win… 

My "appearance" in Petties Ceremony

I was definitely not surprised, however; as the other three blogs I was up against are much much older than ThoughtsFurPaws and therefore have a much larger audience and group of loyal followers. STILL– THANK YOU dearly to all of you readers out there who voted for me. I love you and appreciate it more than I can put into words.

The major theme of this BlogPaws conference - which was originally presented at BlogPaws East in April of this year – was “Be The Change.” This concept essentially means that we pet-lovers (starting with pet bloggers) need to start the change we want to see… 

For example, my goals to “Be the Change” include:

-start promoting animal welfare legislation even more than I do now

-start volunteering more

- holding more petition rallies

- holding fundraisers for local rescues and shelters (which we are now going to refer to as “Animal Care Centers” thanks to Mike Arms, Keynote Speaker and CEO of the Helen Woodward Animal Center)

-start advocating more frequently and fervently for change in animal welfare laws at all levels of gov’t

*** Click here to learn more or to support Be the Change for Pets on Facebook.

Aside from the wonderful learning sessions that the speakers’ presented: which covered everything from WordPress/Blogger Tips and Tricks, to Product Review Essentials, to Social Media 101, to SEO for Bloggers, to Using Your Blog to Raise Funds for Shelters, and TONS more; there were also a few WONDERFUL speakers.

Courtesy HWAC

As mentioned above, my favorite speaker was Mike Arms from the Helen Woodward Animal Center.

He and I discussed at length the negative connotation that the phrase “animal shelter” now ensues… or the phrase “rescue animal” or “animal rescue.”

About 75 % of the general population associate these phrases with animals that no one else wants; animals that are “broken down, bruised, “problem children,” mutts, ugly, or formerly abused,” etc.

Well, yes, some of them are formerly abused, but in my 15 years of working with animals and at over 12 different centers in THREE different states, I have never met a “shelter dog” or “shelter cat” who was entirely different from one that you adopt elsewhere. If anything, the pets adopted from these “shelters and rescues” end up being the sweetest most loyal types — as they’ve had some rough beginnings or middle parts of their lives; especially today’s shelter pets — most of them are dumped by people who can’t afford them anymore because of the damn economy and the housing crisis.

And what’s with people who say you can’t find a “purebred” at a shelter?? That’s CRAP. One in every 4-5 dogs in shelters are purebreds…

So what can we do to change this perception? Well that’s another of my PERSONAL goals in the “Be the Change” challenge put forth to us bloggers by the BlogPaws co-founders.

Over the next year, I plan to change how people in and around my neighborhood, my city, my county, my region, and my entire STATE especially view “shelters” and “rescue centers.”

 As to how I will do that, well that’s my own secret recipe, but I’ll tell you that:

-It doesn’t come without hard work

The Official Be The Change Sign-Up Board...

-It doesn’t come without spending HOURS UPON HOURS of free-time and weekends working towards a change in the animal welfare arena

- It doesn’t come without tireless research

- It doesn’t come without serious networking and partnering with other bloggers and advocates willing to give time and $$

-It doesn’t come without me spending even more money to hold gatherings & rallies, to make marketing materials for leafleting, and to hire help in areas where I need it

My personal mission to Be the Change will start with the IAMS Home for the Holidays campaign. My readers will see a contest pop up around the middle or end of October. And this is the FIRST TIME in my almost 3 years of blogging where I will be kindly asking my readers to donate $1, $2, $3, or however many dollars you can to help homeless animals to support the efforts of the IAMS Home for the Holidays Campaign. 

The goal of Home for the Holidays? 

To find LOVING homes for millions of pets. Last year, IAMS successfully found homes for over ONE MILLION animals. How incredible is that? Wouldn’t YOU want to be a part of a movement like that? Well ThoughtsFurPaws is going to give you the chance. 

(Whomever raises the most money for my private Home for the Holidays Fundraiser wins: a handheld video camera worth $250; one extra-large ergonomic Furminator; and one $50 PetSmart gift card. These prizes have already been bought.)

(*** And to my every day readers or even those who just stop by every now and then – I do hope you’ll take into consideration how much of my own personal money I spend on this blog… particularly the AWESOME contest prize packages I give away…)

Another thing I’m doing to Be the Change is sitting as a Board Member of my dear, talented friend Kyla Duffy, author and performing artist, who created Up for Pups. You will definitely be hearing more about Kyla’s amazing drive and our combined efforts to help animals through her group.

In closing, the BlogPaws conference was - once more – truly unbelievable — thanks in part to IAMS/Eukanuba and the company’s Home for the Holidays campaign, who sponsored my trip there.  

IAMS is a strong, community-driven company that has survived much mud-slinging in the past from a certain rogue (that’s the nice word I use for psychotic and irrational) supposed, “animal rights” group… and speaking of IAMS, my great friend Bev writes the IAMS blog and works with we bloggers on the Home for the Holidays Campaign! Thank you Bev and thank you IAMS/Eukanuba!

The Donation Bin for Boulder Pets Hurt/Lost in the Fire

Anyhow, the last thing I’ll note about BlogPaws West is that together, we raised over $500 for the Boulder Valley Humane Society – who was the ringleader in sheltering the pets displaced by the raging wildfire.

We are certainly a generous group – and I know you, my readers, are generous as well. So I do hope that you’ll get as excited as I am about Home for the Holidays.

Stay tuned for information and details about the contest. In the mean time, head on over to Bev’s blog, the Helen Woodward AC, or IAMS’ Facebook H4tH page to read for yourself how much of an impact Home for the Holidays has had on animals over the years. Also, make sure you follow Home for the Holidays on Twitter!

In closing, I also want to thank all the companies who sponsored this event and gave us some AMAZING swag: including Hartz, PetSmart, Kyjen Toys, Bissell, Inc, Embrace Pet Insurance, Greenies, IAMS, Dogtime Media, HeartGuard, Wellness, Purina,  Found Animals, and so many more.

Who wants to meet other pet-fanatics??

Snuggle Session Complete!

Who wants to learn how to get more traffic?

Who wants to get relevant pet information about pet nutrition & animal welfare??

Who wants to learn more about pets in the news & pet charity??

Who wants to learn how to make $$$ major moolah from advertising???

ME!!! I mean WE!!

ThoughtsFurPaws.com wants to know all of the above – which is why Mom is headed to BlogPaws West 2010.

It’s in Denver from Sept 9-11, and the conference is filled to the brim with fun, fur, friends, and… oh yeah, TONS of information on how to make your pet blog ROCK:)

Mom went to the very first-ever BlogPawsEast in Ohio & had a total blast!

She only decided to go to this one at the VERY last minute — when she found out ThoughtsFurPaws.com was a finalist in Dogtime.com’s Petties Awards…

** So we’re totally pumped about that nomination, but Mom thinks she has zero chance of winning considering who she’s up against…

Anyhow, according to the website, BlogPaws West is being held to:

“continue building our Be the Change focus on a national scale, to embrace the exciting momentum of BlogPaws East (thank you, thank you, thank you EVERYONE!), and to give our peeps in the West a chance to meet and connect, we’re offering: more learning, more networking, more blogging, Tweeting, laughing, raising funds for shelters/rescues, shouting, singing, partying, listening, hugging, crying, cooing, clapping, and learning at BlogPaws  2010 West. “

And guess what we just found out?? Our super-good buddies at IAMS/Eukanuba are sponsoring our trip! HOORAH! We can’t wait to see our friends from there!

We will for sure return that favor somehow – Mom is already thinking of ways in her mind – she has steam coming from her ears and that means she’s on a mission. (When Mom is on a mission we do not interrupt!!)

There’s going to be lots and lots of pets there and lots and lots of people and food, and treats and vendors, and sponsors and all-around FUN!!

We also can’t wait to see our best friends from Bissell, Inc, too — they are sponsoring BlogPaws for the second time this year and we’re looking forward to catching up with our fellow Bissell Pack of Pet Lovers members.

Anyhow, we think everykitty and everydoggy should go to BlogPawsWest. You can get more information on the BlogPaws Community of Pet Bloggers here.

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!–

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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!

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