Almost Wordless Wednesday: Thanksgiving edition

I don't presume to know Lulu's mind. But I hope she is thankful for:

Comfy places to sleep.

Treats to eat.

Friends to play with.

 

And I hope she's thankful she's not here anymore.

Have you done your shelter drive-by yet? Blog Paws is sponsoring a blog hop in conjunction with Iams Home 4 the Holidays, fellow bloggers, and they've extended the deadline to Nov. 25. They're trying to get 100 blog posts. Please get involved. Here's my blog post.

Cappy's Photo Contest Update. Cappy only has 25 votes! Please consider voting if you haven't already. You have until Nov. 30. 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. 

Easy ways to help pet charities this holiday season

This is Lulu.

She knows what the holiday season can be like. Everyone is running around, with tons of stuff to get done. Everyone is tired. We have barely enough time to remember our fellow humans in need, let alone pets in need.

So in the spirit of the season now upon us, here are some easy, great ways you can help animal rescue groups and charities in need.

IAMS Home 4 the Holidays

Iams/ Eukanuba has an annual effort to get the community to help local charities, and provide large support to two particular charities in dire need.

All you have to do is go to the Iams Home 4 the Holidays site. There you'll find a list of participating shelters, broken up by state. Find a local shelter or rescue to donate to. You can also go to their website, and find a wish list of items they need. Many you can pick up at the grocery store (laundry detergent, hand sanitizer, that sort of thing). Then do a shelter drive-by. Just stop by the shelter and drop the items off.

I did that Monday. I picked up a big bottle of laundry detergent and some towels (don't want to spend too much money on towels? Check the end caps at Target!) , and took them to SPCA of Central Florida.

Bissell Pinning for Pets

Are you on Pinterest? Here's an easy way to help pets in need.

Bissell, the vaccuum cleaner company, is running Pinning for Pets. Just create a pin board called Pinning for Pets, choose two animals from Petfinder.com who need to be adopted, and two Bissell products and pin them to the board. Then fill out the form on the Pinning for Pets page and include the URL for the board. That's it. Bissell will donate up to $50,000 to the Petfinder Foundation.

Get your pet's picture with Santa Claus in Orlando

This is Lulu.

And she's not happy.

Lulu has no interest in being a reindeer this year. But she's been a pretty good girl, so I'd love to take her to see Santa.

Starting Monday, Nov. 19, you'll be able to take your pet to Orlando Fashion Square on State Road 50.

Pet Nights with St. Nick run every Monday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. To take part, just bring your pet on a leash or a carrier through the Premiere Cinema entrance into the mall. That entrance is on the back of the mall off Maguire Boulevard.

Pet Nights with St. Nick run until Dec. 19.

Fashion Square is not the only place doing pictures with Santa.

Petco Stores is having photo sessions with Santa on Saturday's in December. At the Millenia Petco, the photo sessions are on Dec. 15 and Dec. 22 at 2 p.m. The West Orlando Petco on State Road 50, meanwhile, has photos with Santa on Dec. 8 and Dec. 16.

To find out if the Petco by you is doing holiday photos, just head to the Petco website and check out your local store's events!

Cappy is in a contest! Vote for him and help Newspaper in Education

Hi!

Some of you may remember Cappy (some infamously):

Cappy is my mom's long-haired dachshund, which she got at the SPCA a few months ago. He was at Barkworld in October, he now has his own blog, and now he's in a photo contest!

Cappy is in Tampa Bay's Cutest Pet Photo Contest, by the Tampa Bay Times. The proceeds from this contest will benefit Newspaper in Education, a program that provides class sets of newspapers to schools all over the Tampa Bay area (Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough and Manatee counties). They also help promote literacy.

Please vote for Cappy. The voting period opens Wednesday at midnight, and closes Friday, November 30 at noon. Each vote costs $1, and you have to buy a minimum of five votes.  But again, the money will go to a great cause.

My mom and dad use the newspapers to help teach about current events in their classrooms in Pasco County.

I mean, look at him. He looks so sad with those big eyes, as if to say "please, help my Mommy and Daddy keep newspapers in their classroom."

To vote for Cappy, go here and search for him by name.

UPDATE: I realize some people are uncomfortable registering and voting online. I have a PayPal account, so if you want you can send the money to me and I can vote for you. If you are interested, email me.

UPDATE 2: I also realize the contest process is convoluted (it's run by teachers and journalists, what do you expect?). Once you buy your votes, you have to then ACTUALLY vote for the pet you want. It's very confusing. Thanks for your patience.

Help military dogs this Veterans Day with Natural Balance

On Sunday we honor all the men and women who fight for us and have fought for us Americans. And while you're thinking about our veterans, considering our military dogs instead.

The National Monument for Military Service Dogs will soon be finished, and we'll get a sneak peak of it at the Tournament of Roses Parade in January in California. Then it will head for Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX.

You can help by going to Petco and buying Natural Balance. The dog food company is making limited edition Jerky Bar Treats. Buy a bag for your dog, or buy a bag and donate it. All of the proceeds will go toward the monument. Natural Balance is trying to raise $1 million. By going to the Natural Balance site, you can also enter to win a trip to the Tournament of Roses parade. The treats are $19.99 a bag.

But that's not all you can do.

Lackland Air Force Base is where the military trains its service dogs. They have two programs that civilians can help with.

The first is a puppy fostering program. The military breeds its own service dogs. They need people to foster puppies from 12 weeks of age up until six months. To help, you can fill out this application on the Lackland Air Force Base website.

The military also has an adoption program. They adopt out dogs that do not make it through the training program, or retired dogs. Until 2000, the dogs were often euthanized.

To adopt a military dog, you first have to request an application. To get that information, go here.

Lulu, Galadriel and I want to thank those who fought for my freedom and yours. Happy Veterans Day!

Wordless Wednesday: Paws for Peace Walk edition

Photo by Harbor House of Central Florida

Lulu and I also were featured in the Orlando Sentinel: the article and in the video on the Paws for Peace walk for domestic violence victims and pets. 

Paws for peace walk helps domestic violence victims and their pets

In the past month, 12 people in Central Florida died at the hands of domestic violence or abuse.

That's why this past weekend, people and pets, hand in paw, walked to help victims of domestic violence -- not just humans, but their animals.

The annual Paws for Peace walk started with a reminder of innocence and hope. They released butterflies, honoring all the victims.

So many butterflies, they were tough to get out of the container.

According to Harbor House of Central Florida, sponsor of the Paws for Peace walk, in 2010 there was one domestic violence homicide every two weeks in Orange County, Florida. It's a huge problem in our area. Harbor House has a shelter for victims and their families. And soon they'll have a shelter for pets too. 

The Paws for Peace shelter opens in December. It's meant so that families don't have to leave their pets behind.  According to Harbor House:

• According to the American Animal Hospital Association, an estimated 88% of pets living in households with domestic violence are either abused or killed.  
• Of all survivors who enter shelters to escape violence, 57% have had a pet killed by their abuser.

Lulu met lots of dogs at the Paws for Peace walk Saturday. Dogs of all shapes and sizes, all lending a paw to a great cause.

Not only did humans raise money for Harbor House and the shelter (I raised $140 thanks to you guys -- my loyal friends, family and readers), but puppies helped raise money too with a special photo contest. Lulu entered. People voted for the best looking dogs. I don't actually know if Lulu won anything, but people loved her.

Harbor House then raised even more money selling shirts, bandanas, and raffle tickets for awesome prizes. All told, more than $18,000 was raised for Harbor House. That will go a long way toward finishing the shelter and helping families.

But unfortunately, there's still more that needs to be done. If you're in the Orlando area, please consider helping Harbor House by going to their website.

Do you know what the domestic violence is near you? Do they have a way to help victims with pets? Look them up and find out how you can help them. Perhaps it's just a donation. Perhaps they need someone who can help take those pets in.

There are only 70 domestic violence shelters in the country that can make some provision for pets.

And if you need help finding a shelter near you, or you need help getting out of your situation, you can go to the National Domestic Violence Hotline website. There is also a phone number you can call: 1-800-799-SAFE(7233).