A Livestrong bracelet for pets: Project Blue Collar supports the underdog

Today... Lulu is sporting her latest accessory.

See it? That narrow blue strip of silicone around her neck? It's not a flea collar -- Lulu is supporting the underdog.

You've heard of Livestrong bracelets, right? Well this is Project Blue Collar. It's a Livestrong bracelet for dogs.

Who are they supporting -- why their friends still in shelters, of course!

Project Blue Collar is the brainchild of Carole Feeny. She created the project as a simple way for shelters to raise money.

"I thought, how great would it be if others got to see how these dogs turn out, that they aren’t damaged but instead are wonderful loving members of our family?" Feeny said. "The second piece was that people who have rescued a dog are proud of the fact and want to tell their story.  This gives people a way to show and share their pride."

So she debuted Project Blue Collar at Barkworld Expo in Atlanta last October. That's where I bought Lulu's.

The concept is simple: each collar costs $10. When you buy a collar, Project Blue Collar gives a collar to a shelter. The shelter can then sell the collars at any price they want to raise money for the shelter.

"We choose one rescue or shelter per month to receive that month’s donations," Feeny said. "Versus onesies and twosies, we thought it made more sense to be able to give in bulk.  The intent is for the rescue organization to sell the collars themselves and keep the revenue."

So far, they have donated collars to three shelters: Stray Animal Adoption Program (SAAP), Save the Animal Foundation (STAF) and K-9 Second Chance. 

They are working on getting the collars into stores, but if you want to buy one right now, just go to Project Blue Collar.com.  

Paint Your Pet at Painting with a Twist

UPDATE: The next Paint Your Pet event in Orlando will be Feb. 24 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. And you can reserve your seat online now!

Many people would love the idea of having a portrait of their pet on canvas. Unfortunately, most of us can't afford the painter's sitting fees.

Well, I know of a way to do it yourself for less money. But I have no artistic talent, you say? Not to worry -- you can even do it with a glass of wine in your hand.

Painting with a Twist has 73 locations across the country. Choose a two-hour or three-hour class, and learn to paint a masterpiece, a landscape, or something else to your liking. And they offer wine and beer to make the class a little more fun (hey, it worked for Renaissance and French Impressionist painters).

Some locations also offer a class called Paint Your Pet. Here you get to paint a beloved pet of your choice, almost Andy Warhol-style.

How does it work? Ana Perez, owner of the Orlando Painting with a Twist location, says it all starts with you. Take a close up picture of your pet... preferably of their head and shoulders.When you sign up for the class, give that photo to them.

"The end result depends on the quality of the picture," Perez said. " So as long as you provide us a high quality photo, you will get a good portrait of your pet."

The artist then takes that photo, projects it onto canvas, and draws the pet on.

When you get to the store for your class, your canvas is there for you, along with the picture of your pet, and a paint palette already prepared. Artists will work with you to mix the right shades of colors to give your pet and your pet's fur dimension.

Normally there is only one artist teaching the class. The artist stands at the stage and guides the students through the painting. But during Paint Your Pet, there are more artists on hand to help you. Did you ever consider that a black dog is not just black? said Ana Perez. There are blues and purples in the fur too.  The artist is there to show you how reflections and shadows give your pet's portrait personality.

The class is three hours long, and costs $55. Sometimes the Orlando location will make the class a charity event.

There is a class coming up on Sunday, Dec. 16 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. If you want to attend, head to the Painting with a Twist website to sign up.

Not in the Orlando area? Find a Painting with a Twist near you here.

PHOTO TOUR: Harbor House's Paws for Peace kennel opens

While a everyone went gaga over the grand opening of New Fantasyland at Walt Disney World, much further north in Orange County, I joined a group of community leaders a very different grand opening.

Harbor House Board of Directors President Janet Ziomek, Orange County Animal Services Division Manager Dil Luther, SeaWorld Orlando VP of Marketing Toni Caracciolo, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, and Harbor House CEO Carol Wick cut the ribbon on the Paws for Peace kennel.

Harbor House of Central Florida opened its new Paws for Peace kennel and in-kind donation center Thursday, after years of fund raising and planning.

Sadly, this kind of facility is desperately needed.

The Harbor House says up to 48 percent of domestic violence victims delay getting out of their bad situation because they don't want to leave their pets. And up until this week, Harbor House had no place for pets. Across the country, only 70 domestic violence shelters accept pets at all.

Back in October Life With Beagle helped organize Doggy Day Out Orlando, which collected donations for this very facility.

And in November I walked in the Paws for Peace walk, and raised about $150 for Harbor House.

This is why we did all that. And take a close look at the following pictures... you may recognize some of the things you donated.

A 2,100 square-foot warehouse will hold in-kind donations. Harbor House goes through thousands, if not millions of items every year. Not only do they need to keep their facilities stocked, they also help families start over. Many escape without more than the clothes on their backs.

A section for pet items.

In the shelter itself, a pantry for food.

This sink is part of a full-service grooming area. Hollywood Houndz in Lake Mary helped provide the equipment and volunteers.

Two sets of these cat condos! There's room for 10 cats to live comfortably. They are working on getting a multi-story condo for cat families.

A cat porch! Owners can sit out here with their cats and relax.

What are they watching on the cat porch? The dog park!

There are 10 of these kennels for the dogs. And each have a bed, dishes and something to chew on.

And finally, dog runs. For when the dog just has to go.

 The Paws for Peace kennel and Harbor House could still use some donations. If you are interested in helping, head to the Harbor House website.

Almost Wordless Wednesday: Loving the Fall

Loving the cooler weather. We've been spending hours at Dr. Phillips Community Park!

Don't forget: Sign up for my first Giveaway! You can win free Natural Balance pet food for you and a charity of your choice!

Celebrate Dogs, AKC/Eukanuba Championship Coming to Orlando

Lulu and I have class today.

Alas, I doubt she and I will make a great championship dog team.

But I can dream, and so can you, and the perfect place to do that is in Orlando the weekend of Dec. 15.

Celebrate Dogs! is a big family event at Orange County Convention Center Dec. 15 and 16, with the crowning event being the AKC/Eukanuba Championship.

More than just a dog show, Celebrate Dogs! gives people a chance to learn about different kinds of dogs, and about what dogs can do if you channel their instincts. That includes agility, soccer, dock jumping, obedience and of course, the big show.

Meet dozens breeds and breeders, meet celebrity dogs, and check out the dealer section with all kinds of stuff for your best furry friend. You can't actually bring your own dog, but you don't want to do that if you're getting them a Christmas present anyway, right?

Celebrate Dogs! is $20 at the door for adults, $15 for seniors and young adults, and $5 for kids 2 to 12 years old.

UPDATE: I just added a pet events page to Life With Beagle! Find pet-related events in Central Florida every month. And, if you know of any, let me know! Drop me an email at czizo@cfl.rr.com.

Almost Wordless Wednesday: Workin'!

The good folks at PetCareRX and DogWork.com are hosting a FaceBook contest that could mean free pet food for the winner and a charity called Educated Canines Assisting with Disabilities.

The contest? The Dogs at Work FaceBook photo contest.

The only trouble is: I'm not really sure Lulu works at much. Or at least nothing I've been able to photograph well.

Here's some things I've considered:

She protects me from the cat.

She howls to let me know there are random things outside.

Test out the new cat bed. Haven't been told if it has the seal of approval yet.

She gets muddy so that I can give her a bath.

She warms up my spot on the bed.

She tells me when it's time to get off the computer.

So what do you think? What does Lulu work at well? And what does your dog work at? Go to FaceBook and let PetCareRX know!

PS: Only two days left in the Tampa Bay Time Photo Contest and Cappy the dachshund still only has 25 votes? Please, please, someone vote for him! You help raise money for literacy and education, and mom can win prizes! PLEASE go to Tampa Bay Times' website.
Also... if you have voted, please go back and make sure you actually distributed your individual votes. You have to do that. It tripped me up and it tripped up others. To do that, go here. 

10 Things I learned about pets and pet blogging at Barkworld

This has been long time coming. I should have written it weeks ago, but I've been so crazy busy and it's been tough to go through my mess of notes.

But without much ado, here is my list of the 10 things I learned about pets and pet blogging at Barkworld Expo 2012.

A caricature of Lulu and Cappy, done at Barkworld.

1. Making your site a go-to for the local community, and a way to bring your community together to get behind pets is not easy. There is no magic bullet, or at least pet bloggers have not found a magic bullet to get people interested in forming local pet communities. It is a function of my blog, but I've found it hard here as well. I need to go to Meetup.com and start doing more digging for local dog groups. We met the founder of Meetup.com, Matt Meeker, and he talked about how hard it is even in the Meetup.com community. But it is important to build those bonds. Orlando has great potential... we just need to all break out of our shells.
2. The pet blogger community is huge! It's more than dogs and cats. And if you want to grow your blog, you need to network.
3. LinkedIn is not as confusing as it seems. I did a seminar on LinkedIn, and I'm already putting into practice what I've learned to grow my connections. Hopefully that will lead to bigger things.
4. You don't have to get involved on EVERY Social Media platform. At Central Florida Blogger Conference I learned that you have to Engage and Socialize. And while it is still essential to do both, it is not essential to do it on all platforms. In other words, I don't need to be bigger on Instagram, or get a Tumblr account. But I would still like to grow my Facebook page. 26 likes is pathetic. If you're reading this, please follow me on Facebook at Facebook.com/Luluthebeagle.
5. Don't be afraid to introduce yourself. My mother is awesome at this. She was at Barkworld, and she was lighting up the Exhibitor Area. It was impressive. I called her my herald because she was always a table ahead of me, announcing my presence to the room. I am horrible at this. I never know what to say at the moment I need to say it. I've never been good at selling myself. If I want to be able to monetize my blog, I have to learn to do this better. There is money. Wow, is there money.
   Time for a doggy intermission:



Lulu and Cappy pose with Day 1's swag haul.

6. The Amish have puppy mills. And they're mean about it.This broke my heart. We heard a presentation about the documentary "Madonna of the Mills." This woman, a dental hygienist from Staten Island, NY, goes to puppy mills in Pennsylvania's Lancaster County and rescues pets who can no longer breed and would be otherwise killed -- shooting, dropping bricks on their head, that sort of thing. I spent many summers and winters in Lancaster, and learning this really hurt. Did we support puppy mills as we looked for fresh produce, apple butter and shoo-fly pie? I hope not. Check out the documentary if you can, either by going to the Madonna of the Mills website or looking for it on HBO. It really is eye-opening.
7. Helping rescues and pet charities is easier than you think.
   Last week I posted about easy ways to help pet charities this holiday season. Some of them I first heard about at Barkworld, like Iams Home 4 the Holidays. Check them out. I also learned helping can be easy as a tweet with the right hashtag, or nominating a charity for a contest, or liking a company on Facebook, or buying a collar. I'll be talking about Project Blue Collar more next week. You can also go to Be the Change 4 Animals for more simple ways to help.
8. My influence is critical.A majority of Americans consider a product based on the recommendation on a blog. That's power. It should be used to do the most good.
   
9. You don't need lots of blog pageviews -- you just need to be engaged and influential. Pet blogging is already a niche. Dog blogging is a smaller community. Beagles even smaller. Beagles in Orlando even smaller still. I've been trying to climb into a higher niche, but the bottom line is -- I don't need 100,000 page views a month to be influential and to get companies and other groups to work with me. I just need to show that I have an important voice.
10. Lulu is an awesome dog. Some didn't get to really experience that, because she barked at certain dogs -- a lot. But I think she showed people at the conference that she is a fun, funny and talented pup. She got to be part of a special Petco demonstration for their Train to Adopt program, where they go into shelters to teach volunteers to help dogs become more adoptable. 

Those are my 10 things I learned at Barkworld. I can't wait for the next one (already have my ticket!). I leave you with the video of Lulu's demo with Lina from Petco.