Video Supports Animal Shelters

Dis is a fun video by da band Ok Go. Most of da dogs in dis video are rescues. Dey’re da lucky ones, who have forever homes. Unfortunately, der are countless other animals who do not. When you buy a copy of da White Knuckles video, net proceeds go to da ASPCA, and it's specifically earmarked to support rural, volunteer-run animal shelters. You can buy da video on dis page at whichever price you like, and you can buy it as many times as you like. Keep in mind, da profits are going to save animals - so be generous.

Be Smart Ride Safe

Dis week's Be The Change for Animals challenge is Be Smart Ride Safe, a campaign to inform pet owners about da dangers of unrestrained pets in vehicles. World-renowned dog behaviorist Cesar Millan has teamed up with pet safety experts, Bark Buckle UP to host a new public service announcement, asking pet owners to take da Be Smart Ride Safe pledge. Dis PSA will air nationally and online to encourage people and corporations to take da pledge to be safer with der pets while in der car.

Most pets travel unrestrained, increasing da risk of pet injury or fatality during an accident. Unrestrained pets also pose risks for da drivers. If an accident occurs while da car is moving at 35 mph, an unrestrained, 60-pound dog is capable of causing an impact of up to 2,700 pounds. If da unrestrained pet survives da crash, he may impede or slow da progress of rescue workers as dey to tend to da human victims. Be a responsible pack leader by taking da pledge to use proper restraints.

International Rabbit Day

hey did you know dat today is International Rabbit Day? It's a day dat promotes da protection and care of rabbits both domestic and wild. On International Rabbit Day, rabbit owners think about da many ways dat rabbits bring joy to der lives, and also da many ways in which dey are harmed by hunting, eating, medical experimentation, product testing, fur-farming, and living isolated lives in outdoor hutches. Da House Rabbit Society believes dat domestic rabbits are companion animals and should be afforded at least da same individual rights, level of care, and opportunity for longevity as commonly afforded to dogs and cats who live as human companions. Many HRS chapters are holding special events to celebrate da day. And remember to hug ur bunny today and everyday!

#ALAPW Update

da Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week challenge is rolling with over 200 blog posts to date. Better yet - our sponsors now include Litter Robot ($5 per post up to $500), Hartz ($5 per post up to $2500) and PetSmart ($5 per post up to $2000)! So keep dem blog posts coming and be sure to add dem to da linky list.

Wabbit Wednesday

Seven years ago, I walked into a pet store looking for a small pet for my daughter. We lived in an apartment at the time, so I was thinking about a hamster, a gerbil or maybe a guinea pig. But what caught my attention was an older rabbit - one who had been returned by the previous owner because her son was "allergic" to it. This rabbit was about two years old, and she sat in a cage all by herself looking so forlorn it broke my heart. No one was going to buy her, not when there were adorable baby bunnies hopping about in their glass enclosure. So I told my daughter that she was coming home with us. That was the day we got Bunny.

I had never had a houserabbit before - a rabbit you keep inside. When I was younger, we received a bunny one year for Easter. It was the typical white rabbit with pink eyes, and we named her Sniffles. But we kept her in a cage, not realizing that rabbits can be litter trained and kept inside. We never really got to know her - how can you get to know an animal that you only see twice a day to feed them and change their water? So Sniffles was just a blurry memory from my childhood.

As an adult, I knew people who kept their rabbits indoors - who litter trained them and let them be a part of their family. "What a great apartment pet" I thought, and I was right! It took Bunny a while to get used to me and me to her. I had cats and dogs all my life, but rabbits are different. They are prey animals, not predators - they are easily frightened, and they are also very delicate. I had to learn to get on the floor and let her come to me. But eventually we developed a trusting relationship, and I was rewarded by watching her personality blossom. There is nothing more joyful than a rabbit running full speed down a carpeted hallway, nor more peaceful than one who feels so safe that she will fall deeply asleep in an unguarded spot.

Now Bunny lives in a house with three cats for siblings. She is without a doubt the queen of the house and will chase any of the cats off her favorite rug. But she is slowing down - more sitting and snuggling, less running. She is calm and quiet and peaceful. And she has helped me to find that within myself by teaching me to get down on her level. That's what I see in this handsome fellow: Blue is an older rabbit too - he is sweet and adorable and waiting for someone to give him a forever home. To sit and snuggle and enjoy the closeness of just being together. It's a very special place - one I highly recommend.

Princess Buttercup

Meet Princess Buttercup, just one of da "less adoptable" pets highlighted by Petfinder. My mom met dis little sweetheart when she was at BlogPaws West just over a week ago. She is a very sweet, loving 11 month-old kitty who is currently at Duncan's Place in Loveland CO. She has asthma and every so often needs a puffer treatment, but she plays long and hard and loves to eat! She has already been tested for FIV/FeLV-Negative, dewormed, microchipped (free registration), rabies and FVRCP vaccines. She has also been spayed and is ready to go to her new home. Please visit her Petfinder profile for more information and help dis sweet baby find her forever home!

Adopt a Less-Adoptable Pet Week

da Be the Change for Pets folks have issued der latest challenge - Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week on September 19 - 25! It is a week dedicated to spotlighting doze pets dat are most often overlooked in shelters. It's about getting people to take a second glance - and give a second chance - to doze pets whose only crime is being a little older or otherwise "less adoptable" - but who have just as much love to give. Once each day Petfinder.com will be highlighting a "less adoptable" pet on twitter and facebook. You can help by retweeting and cross-posting. You can also do your own blog post and add it to da linky list. Help us raise awareness regarding dez special animals who deserve a forever home!

Write a Post, Help a Dog

One of da fings mom loves about BlogPaws is da community of individuals and companies who have gathered together to help shelter animals. Each year, more den 4 million dogs end up in shelters and rescue organizations. Pedigree created da Pedigree Adoption Drive to help shine a spotlight on da plight of dez homeless dogs. Here's what you can do to help: for each blog dat posts about da Pedigree Adoption Drive during September 16 - 19, Pedigree will donate a 20 pound bag of der new Healthy Longevity Food for Dogs to shelters nationwide. So write a blog post and add it to da blog hop list. Better yet, share it wif other bloggers so dey can help us raise even more donations for shelter dogs!

R.O.A.R. Squad

dis week's Be the Change for Animals challenge is Rescue Animals Are Rockin' (aka ROAR Squad). dis group was started by Shauna Stewart from Fido & Wino, and her goal is to help others understand dat rescue animals are more den "broken" animals in need of a home. By sharing inspirational stories, she hopes to make adopting rescue animals da coolest thing around!

Here's what you can do to help: 1) send Shauna an email at fidoandwino@gmail.com with your rescue story, 2) include 2-4 pictures of you and your rescue pet, and 3) provide information about you, your pet, da shelter/rescue where you adopted your pet, funny or interesting stories, and your state or provence. Shauna hopes to have one story from every U.S. state and every Canadian provence by April 2011!

BlogPaws West - Day 2

The second day of BlogPaws West began with a special tribute in memory of the many people and animals lost on September 11, 2001 . The keynote address was made by Patricia Callahan of Canine Companions for Indepedence, an organization that provides service dogs to people with disabilities. Patricia was joined by CCI graduate Randi Price and her service dog Lucky. We were all deeply moved by Randi's comments regarding her special relationship with Lucky.

For the first breakout session, I attended Writing Essentials presented by BlogPaws co-founder Yvonne DiVita. Yvonne also blogs on Scratching and Sniffings and Lipsticking. She provided great suggestions on how to use action words to build traffic and convey your message, write paragraphs to engage your readers, and create content that you can use to create a book. The second session I attended was Your Pet Oughta Be in Pictures presented by Jessica Bush of DOGingham. Jessica helped participants determine camera settings to get the best results, provided composition tips, and identified common mistakes and ways to overcome them.

After lunch, I spent the afternoon working with Vicki Boatright (aka Bztat) helping her to create her special mural for BlogPaws. It was fascinating watching her work, and I was honored to have some small part in the creation of such a fabulous piece of art. This mural was created at the conference and incorporated thoughts, quotes, comments, and pictures from the conference attendees. The mural was presented at the closing session and will be put on display in a public setting, possibly one of the shelters supported by the BlogPaws conference.

I am happy to have attended BlogPaws West - to have seen my old friends from BlogPaws East, meet new friends, and improve my blogging skills. And I look forward to attending the next BlogPaws conference in 2011.

BlogPaws West - Day 1

BlogPaws West is a continuation of the energy that started at BlogPaws East in April. The day began with a fantastic keynote speech by Mike Arms, President of Helen Woodward Animal Center. Trust me when I say there wasn't a dry eye in the house! For first breakout session, I chose Building Your Brand with Michele Miller of Wonderbranding and pet care and lifestyle expert Charlotte Reed. They presented some great stuff on how to define and build your platform, how to develop strategies to support your objectives, and how to use your blog content in other channels. The second session was Advanced Social Media presented by Janice Kahn of Dogster. She provided an overview of some of the most popular social media tools and recommendations on how to determine which tools are best for you, as well as best practices for incorporating these tools into your strategy.

After lunch was the Be the Change for Pets panel with Jane Harrell of Petfinder, Dorian Wagner of Your Daily Cute, Lynn Haigh of Pawpawty, and Jessica Vogalsang of Pawcurious. Be the Change struck a chord with participants at BlogPaws East, and it has become a powerful movement in the pet blogging community. The panelists issued another Be the Change Challenge - this time to blog about less adoptable pets during the week of September 19-25. The afternoon breakout session was Leveraging Your Social Media Skills to Help Rescues & Shelters. The presenters were David Binowski from Nutrish, Jane Harrell from Petfinder, and Andrew Barrett from Found Animals. This session emphasized how to develop a social media plan based on your organization's goals, how to find unique aspects about your organization to highlight, and how to develop strategies for a social media plan with multiple volunteers.

The final session of the day was a media panel on Finding Great Content in Today's Saturated World. The panel included Sharon Peters of USA Today, Tracie Hotchner of Cat Chat/Dog Talk, and Wendy Toth of Petside.com. All the presenters have been fabulous, and my brain is now crammed full with lots of great information that I can begin to incorporate into Bunny's Blog!

New Stuffs

sum of u who haf been following mai bloggy fur a while will notice sum new stuffs - fur example, i haf added a list of books on bunny care and sum links fur bunny supplies. i haf decided dat since i am a rabbit, it might be a gud idea fur mom to talk about da joys of rabbit parenthood (like she haz a choice). so she will be talking periodically about issues regarding rabbit care, as well as highlighting sum organizations dat rescue rabbits. and wif all pets - remember to adopt, not shop!

Never Shock a Puppy

dis week's Be the Change for Animals challenge iz Never Shock a Puppy, a campaign dat promotes humane alternatives to pain-driven dog collars and punitive dog training methods. dis challenge, held by da Humane Society of Boulder Valley CO, will advertise and hold area events to trade humane collars/harnesses wif people who turn in der choke/shock/pinch collars. da money raised frum dis campaign will buy roughly 165 replacement dog collars or harnesses.

here's wat u can do to help: 1) post da Never Shock a Puppy badge on ur bloggy, 2) blog about dis campaign, 3) share da links on twitter and facebook, 4) join da conversation on da Never Shock a Puppy blog, and 5) post da donation widget on ur bloggy. itz dat easy to help make peeps aware dat dog training shud be a fun, positive experience - not a power struggle.

Bztat Dialogues Mural

itz less den a week until BlogPaws West, and mom iz reely excited to see her furends. one furend - pet artist Bztat (aka Vicki Boatright) - haz been commissioned to do a Dialogues Mural az part of da conference! a Dialogues Mural iz a public artwork dat she creates at an event wif da help of event participants. participants are encouraged to write down der thoughts, ideas, reflections, drawings, etc. about da event, and den she incorporates dem into a mural using collage techniques. itz a grate way to document da energy, inspiration and dialog of an event and keep it going after it haz concluded. mom iz looking forward to seeing da bewtiful artwork da will result frum dis group of smart, funny, and sumwhat crazy peeps!

Justice for Oscar Flecha

der are sum fings dat make me very angry - and animal cruelty iz one of dem. meet mai furend Oscar Flecha. dis handsome boy haz been thru a lot in hiz life. he and hiz kitteh sibs were left outside by der owner to fend fur demselves. once hiz owner even ran over hiz tail and never took him to da vet. eventually he got gangrene, and a neighbor paid over $700 to have him treated. den hiz owner moved away leaving Oscar and two of hiz siblings behind! one of dem wuz hit by a car and killed. da neighbors fed da remaining two, but dey still hung around da house dey originally came frum. new peeps moved into da house and let Oscar and hiz sisfur Weezy hang around outside. but da lady of da house got a new boyfriend, who shot Oscar wif a crossbow. da boyfriend admitted he did dis to da police, but no charges haf been filed!

please help spread da word regarding da horrible treatment of dis animal. here's wat u can do: 1) furend Oscar on facebook, 2) join hiz support group, and 3) sign da petition asking for justice for Oscar. cuz der iz NO excuse fur animal cruelty!

Fail Whale Cruise

join us dis weekend on twitter fur da September pawpawty - dis month's theme iz da Fail Whale Cruise! we'll be visiting lots of bewtiful locations, and hopefully da dreaded fail whale will kick back and relax. our charity iz da Oldies Club, a UK organization dat spechulizes in rescuing and rehoming older dogs. so get ur cruise gear and bring ur harpoons just in case. da fun starts on Saturday, September 4 at 2 pm eastern. u can rsvp using twtvite. see u der!