Well-Known Secret Behind Pet Stores

Please join me in welcoming a guest blog post by Dayton Uttinger who informs us about the new law being discussed in the New Jersey Legislature.  If enacted, it will prevent pet stores from buying animals from “mills”, only from rescue and adoption shelters.

Thank you, Dayton, for your article. – Julie

The Well-Known Secret Behind Pet Stores

By: Dayton Uttinger

Happy puppyThere are few things that excite a household more than bringing home a new puppy.  Everyone crowds around the new addition to the family. Some are eager for attention, others withdraw into the arms of whoever’s carrying them, but they are all small and fragile, no matter how large they’re destined to grow later.  However, depending on the dog’s origin, dangerous health problems can develop with time, especially if it came from a puppy mill.

Puppy mills have long been the bane of animal rights advocates.  Although 62% of American households own at least one dog, and we all tend to treat them like family, we don’t always investigate where they’re coming from.  We figure that we’ll be giving our pet all the love that they deserve, so really, we’re rescuing an animal from a puppy mill when we buy from a chain store, right? Continue reading

PawPack Review

PawPack  Review by Julie Walton
And Rescue Dog, Blue Belle
DogBlog: A Dog’s Eye View

PawPack.com

Special offer for DogBlog Friends:
$10 off coupon on your first order. Go to PawPack.com, when checking out use promo code DOGBLOG

 


Our Rescue Dog, Blue Belle, was thrilled to see a gift box arrive at our door, especially for her. The delivery was a box from PawPack for our DogBlog review. I could tell by her keen interest in the box full of goodies that she was very delighted. Her first decision was chosen by her ever sensitive nose.  I thought she would want to go for the treats, but her nose sniffed out the squeeker in the squeeky toy – a fabric hotdog with a squeaker.  The box has quite a variety of treats, toys, and dog grooming supplies.

I tested out the pawpack.com website, it looks very user friendly.  The PawPack website says this about their mission to support rescue animals:

“ Our goal is to work with no-kill animal rescues across the country to help place cats and dogs into their forever homes.

10% of PawPack proceeds will go directly to the care of rescue animals. We also will be donating PawPacks directly to rescues for new adoptions to have as a welcome home gift. “

We are so happy to hear this. Blue Belle is a rescue animal.  She was rescued from a dog pound and would have been euthanized after being there for just 2 days.  She was rescued by a no-kill shelter that we adore,  the Animal Humane Association of Star Valley, known as Lucky’s Place.  After our dog, Maggie died, we search online through PetFinder and  found a dog that needed a home and we were so happy to give her a forever home with our family.

The PawPack website goes on to explain their Monthly  deliveries to your door – 1 month, 3 month, 6 month and 12 month plans  You can cancel anytime. They currently offer FREE shipping in the U.S.

Once you get to the website Choose your pet – Cat or Dog – Select the size of your pet – Select the type of subscription.

You will receive a monthly box full of surprise products, which will always be either organic, all-natural, or eco-friendly.  4 or more full sized items and a variety of samples and other goodies.

Subscriptions automatically renew. You may cancel anytime. Sounds like a fun way to try some new products without having to go to the store.

They say if your furkid has allergies they will try to accommodate – just send them an email with “special request” in the subject line.  That sounds like caring people to us.

The price is good.  At the time of this blog post the baseline package for a single pet is either $43/mo for the month to month option, $39/mo for the 3 month option, $37/mo when you sign up for the 6 months upfront, and $32/mo for the 12 month commitment. All packages including the month to month option are automatically billed each month but you can cancel anytime.  AND NOTICE THE SPECIAL DEAL MY DOGBLOG READERS CAN RECEIVE.  JUST USE THIS CODE DogBlog  TO RECEIVE $10 off on your first order.

Dog Adoption Story – Zolo

Guest Blogger: Charles Redell

Adopted dog Zolo with Charlie and Alexis

The happy family today.

It’s hard to imagine now, as we plan a four-month road trip across Canada to write a travelogue/guidebook starring our dog Zolo, but when we first got him he wanted nothing to do with me and I wasn’t even sure I wanted him.

My wife Alexis was wanting a dog for a while. But my cat Jake was getting old and I wasn’t keen to upset his life. I’d carried him home cradled inside my jacket when he was just a handful of weeks old. After 14 years together, Jake was too big a part of my life to disrupt his routines that much.

Alexis was willing to wait but that didn’t keep her from searching Petfinder.com for dogs described as “shy” and “quiet” so that if I changed my mind, Jake wouldn’t feel threatened. It was a smart tack to take. Weeks of looking at those pictures worked magic on me. Pretty soon I was dreaming of having two sweet animals cuddled on the couch with me.

Zolo on his first night living with us.

Zolo on his first night living with us.

When Alexis first saw the picture of Zolo on Petfinder he was pretty hard to resist. Big, round dark eyes and tall pointy ears coupled with black and white coloring just like Jake’s drew us both in. That he was rescued on the streets of Taiwan and was a world traveler like Alexis and me, piqued my curiosity further. I was convinced to take a trip across Puget Sound to meet him because he required a quiet household.

When we got to The Big Dog Project, we walked into a house filled with animals of varying sizes and types. Happily for me, these included a few cats. After the uproar that greeted our arrival died down, Zolo was ushered out of his crate and we sat on the couch chatting and giving him a chance to check us both out.

It was immediately obvious that my dreams of cuddling up with him and Jake would not be realized any time soon. Although he completely ignored the cats winding around under his nose, he wouldn’t let my hand get close to him if a woman wasn’t petting him first. As a rescue from Taiwan, we were told he was likely used to being chased by the men there who apparently like to torment the country’s street dogs.

A panel from our webcomic about ZoloThe importance of this fact was not clear to his first family in the States. Brought home by them because they were not able to get pregnant, he was surrendered after only a month because he was meant to be the husband’s companion; a plan Zolo would never agree to.

We spent about an hour sitting with Zolo and taking him for a walk while being interviewed by the woman running the rescue. It was probably pretty obvious to her that, if she approved of us, there was no way we could leave without the little guy. Alexis’ heart had melted and I was obviously ready to try.

Thankfully she approved.

Those first few days couldn’t have gone more smoothly. Jake was none too pleased, though he was tolerant once it was clear he could still rule the roost with an iron paw. Meanwhile Zolo who’d come to us already crate trained, was oblivious to both Jake and me. He spent most of his time in his crate or running to be near Alexis.

After about 6 weeks with us, he started to let me in a bit. I remember the first time that happened. It was on our before-bedtime walk the night of my birthday party that year. He was so obviously happy to be away from the crowd and with just me. I knew we’d finally formed a bond.

I still had to have a lot of patience over the next couple of years to really build his trust. But since Jake passed last year, it’s not crazy to imagine us spending almost six months driving across a continent together. And I still have one sweet black and white pet who will cuddle with me on the couch.

Charles Redell is a writer in Seattle. Along with his wife and dog he’s planning to create a multimedia e-book about their trip across Canada this summer (http://zoloneurotico.com). They’re raising funds on Kickstarter (http://kck.st/10tu9tP) to help pay for the research. They hope you’ll support them with a donation in exchange for one of their great rewards.

Saving abandoned animals, one ride at a time

See the video, reach the article by NBC News.

See the video, reach the article by NBC News.

Saving abandoned animals, one ride at a time.  – VIDEO

A story about truck drivers and dogs that need a lift.  Mark Potter, NBC News reports about a group of volunteer truck drivers and an organization named Operation Roger . . . Truckers Pet Transport, where pet loving truck drivers, men and women, help needy pets.  As you can see from the video and the article written by Erika Angulo, Producer, NBC News, it is so good to hear about a successful effort to find permanent loving homes for dogs in need of people.

In beautiful Tok Alaska an anxious family awaits an important delivery.  A puppy was hand delivered by a truck driver.  It took 9 days and traveled more than 4,500 miles thanks to a kind-hearted trucker, David Binz and Operation Roger. “It’s a good way that truck drivers in America can give back to society because we’re not home a lot,” Binz said. “We can’t do a lot of volunteer projects, but this is something that we can do.”

WAY TO GO TRUCKERS!  Blue Belle and the dogblog think you guys are pawsitively the best. This sounds like a great cause.  By the way, it appears that this volunteer organization can use more volunteers:

  • Truck Drivers
  • Layover Homes – temporary fosters
  • Shuttle Drivers – 4 wheelers in major cities and surrounding areas

The Rescue Dog That Rescued Us

By: Murry and Julie Walton – Boise, Idaho
December 7, 2012

Why We Needed to Be Rescued

Imagine yourself in our situation. The wife goes through two thyroid surgeries and cancer diagnosis. After being home from the hospital for just one week, your beloved 5 year old dog dies. This was our sad circumstance in the fall of 2012.

Having lost our treasured pet Maggie to sudden sickness and death, we were both devastated. Life was a struggle. Oh how we missed our early morning puppy play before going off to work. There was no longer a loyal companion to greet us when we entered our home. No longer a best friend to play fetch, find the hidden squeaky squirrel, sit up, roll over and to give praise with a treat. Our routine dog walking workout came to an abrupt halt. Our tail wagging puppy had filled our home with smiles and laughter. Our happy feelings were replaced with grief, a strange emptiness and a great big hole in our hearts.

Together we soon decided that we needed to look for another dog as our home was not the same without a canine companion.
We wanted a young beautiful really smart dog (preferably one that would never die) We both realized the responsible thing to do was adopt another rescue dog. We started to camp out on the Petfinder.com web site to find a dog that we felt might best fit our family situation. We preferred a female dog of the herding breed, since that was the type of dog we were most familiar with. Murry found a nice female border collie named Misty that was in Thayne, Wyoming at the Animal Humane Association of Star Valley, also known as Lucky’s Place.  Julie really liked the look of Misty so she contacted Mary Ann Ahrens, the President and Director of the animal shelter.  It looked like Misty was already going to be adopted, but Mary Ann thought we should look at a dog named Bella. Continue reading

We Are So Sad – Our Dog Maggie Has Died

Our dog Maggie has died.

Maggie – The Best Dog

A Dog’s Eye View Dog Blog and the BestDogBlog.com are sad to report that our beloved dog, Maggie, became terribly sick and died suddenly. Even though our veterinarian and the emergency animal hospital tried their best with numerous tests and medical support, Maggie could not be saved.

For those of you who have lost a dog to death, I know you can relate. The loss is like grieving a family member. Five and a half year old Maggie was our only living pet, and truly a member of our family. She was always with us in the house. When we came through the door, she was there to greet us. When strangers knocked at door, she alerted us. When one of us was home alone, we weren’t really alone, she was our loyal companion.

We have been through the death of a pet before. Our adopted Australian Shepherd, Scout, died at age 14. We survived that loss by searching and finding our rescue dog, Maggie. She wasn’t a replacement for Scout, but she filled a hole in our family, and in our hearts. We are definitely dog people, we need a dog in our house. Our house is just not a home without a dog.

Our Dog Got Sick – We Don’t Know Why

It was so painful to see our dog get sick. Not knowing what made her so ill was driving us crazy. We were questioning everything – how did she get so sick so quickly? This made us paranoid and nervous to get another dog. We couldn’t stand to go through this again – losing a dog to death. It was just too agonizing. But we needed to fill that void, that paw print on our heart was digging deeper and deeper.

Searching to Fill the Void

So once again we began a search. We knew it would be best to find another rescue dog, but we did want to make sure we would be the best match for a dog in need of a forever home. We now have a one year old granddaughter which required we find a dog that would be gentle. We searched around locally, but the dog that was the perfect fit for our family was not to be found. Maybe the loss of Maggie was too fresh on our minds.

We continued to search. We even played with some dogs, which brought a temporary smile to our face. I will always remember while visiting our vet after Maggie died, everyone was very comforting. I told them about our search and said that we just were not finding the perfect fit for our family. One of the staff, Margaret, said to us “your perfect dog will find you”. She was so right. We have found the perfect match for our family. We call her our miracle dog. We will soon introduce to you our adopted rescue dog, and the newest member of our family and dog blog canine contributor Blue Belle. Stay tuned. She is an amazing dog.

We Still Miss Our Best Friend

We still have moments of sadness, missing our best friend Maggie. But we have once again found a way to heal our broken hearts, and move forward with our life one paw print at a time.