Underdog!

This brings back childhood memories! They have remade the cartoon Underdog into a movie. This is what the email had to say about the film, and here is a sneak peek as well!

“There’s no need to fear. Underdog is here!” The superhero canine with a gift for rhyme returns in an all new live-action re-imagination of the classic cartoon, UNDERDOG.

After an accident in the mysterious lab of maniacal scientist Dr. Simon Barsinister (PETER DINKLAGE), an ordinary beagle unexpectedly finds himself with unimaginable powers and the ability to speak. Armed with a fetching superhero costume, UNDERDOG (voiced by comedian JASON LEE) vows to protect the beleaguered citizens of Capitol City and, in particular, one beautiful spaniel named Polly Purebread (voiced by Academy Award® nominee AMY ADAMS). When a sinister plot by Barsinister and his overgrown henchman Cad (PATRICK WARBURTON) threatens to destroy Capitol City only UNDERDOG can save the day.

UNDERDOG stars Jim Belushi, Peter Dinklage, Alex Neuberger, Taylor Momsen with Amy Adams and Jason Lee as the voice of Underdog. Utilizing state-of-the-art CGI special effects mixed with live-action, UNDERDOG flies into theaters on August 3, 2007.

Reader question.

I got an email today from a reader who needs some help. Here is what they wrote:

Help!!!! I have 4 rescued dogs that are 10 years old. My daughter recently (one year ago) moved back in with us and also has 2 rescued dogs. Our city ordinance stipulates that we can only have 4 dogs at our residence and a neighbor has complained that we have too many dogs. Are there any laws that can help us? My daughter intends to move out to her own place within the next year but what do we do in the meantime? I am desperate!! These dogs are our babies and I can't imagine getting "rid" of any of them. Help!!!! Anybody!!!! We live in Galveston County Texas. Can anyone help?????

As far as I know, there aren't really any laws to get around this. The laws in my state are actually stricter than in Texas, as we are only supposed to have 2 dogs and 2 cats. Other than talking with the neighbors and letting them know the situation I can't think of anything. Any ideas?

Steps for your pet

The folowing is a paid review for Dog & Cat Steps.

I have often thought about getting our pup a dog step so she could climb into the window seat in the living room. I think she would love to look out the window without having to get one of the humans to put her up there. She would probably also love an easy way up onto the bed too, but maybe it's best that she doesn't figure that out.

The site called Help Your Pets sells Dog & Cat Steps in a variety of colors and sizes. Their pet steps are built with wood and covered in carpet, and are offered in sizes from 2, all the way up to 5,  steps. So, even if you had a really high bed or couch, they should have something that would work well for your dog or cat.

What I liked was that they had a variety of colors, and that they also offered storage lids and wheels and handles that can be added to the steps. The color I would pick would be the ivory, I think that is a nice color for the room it would be used in.

Now, our pup is nowhere near 200 pounds, but their steps can actually hold up to that wieght! Another cute thing, for the cat lovers, is that they offer a step with two cut outs below the steps that a cat could play or sleep inside. I can see a ferret enjoying something like that as well! So, if you have ever considered getting steps for your pet, be sure to check their website!

Photo contest entry!

The theme is humor! If you want to enter and to vote visit Write from Karen.

For Father's Day

Why not do something totally unique? Give your dad a virtual fish! The great folks over at Shelter To Home are doing a fundraiser in honor of Father's Day. When you make a donation in your dad's name he gets a virtual fish. They are calling it "Dad's Big Catch"!

So, if you dad is an animal lover who already has everything, why not make a donation in his name?

Pet Grief Saturday

This is a wonderful event, it's not often that grieving for a beloved pet is recognized. Here are the details:

SPCA of Texas hosts Pet Grief Counseling Group

WHAT: The SPCA of Texas’ Pet Grief recovery program is designed to help those who are grieving the loss of a beloved companion animal.

Diane Pomerance, Ph.D., an SPCA volunteer and certified Grief Recovery Specialist, along with trained volunteers, administer a program incorporating telephone counseling and one-on-one and group guidance in a safe and supportive environment.

Free and open to the public, the SPCA’s Pet Grief Counseling Program meets at 1 p.m. on the first Saturday of every month at the SPCA Headquarters located at 2400 Lonestar Drive in Dallas.

WHERE: SPCA of Texas
2400 Lone Star Drive, Dallas, TX
Location: conference room

WHEN: Saturday, June 2, 2007, at 1 p.m.

WHY: It can be difficult for most of us to openly discuss loss of any kind, and even more uncomfortable to discuss the loss of a pet. Until now, there has been little opportunity for grieving pet owners to express and recover from their grief.

MORE
INFO: Maura Davies, 214-461-1814 or 214-742-SPCA (7722)
Alicia Brown, 214-461-1815 or 214-742-SPCA (7722)
Pet Grief Hotline: 214-461-5131

Furry Friday-- baby seal

The pup has that beautiful white fur for only 3 weeks!

Feeling crafty?

Want your kitty to give you the stink eye? Make a kitten bonnet.

Pooch Prance!

This is an event for Paridise Animal Rescue, if you are in the area, be sure to check it out!

Pooch Prance
Saturday June 9,2007
12:00pm(est) to 4:00pm(est)

Rowden Park (Across from lapeer Hospital)

*Pet Photo Booth *Best pet trick contest
*Microchip your pet *best Costume Contest
*Sponsor giveaway's *longest sit Contest
*Canine Agility Demo's *Pet?Owner look-a-like-
Contest

FREE T-SHIRTS
*Minimum donation of $15.00 for your pet,
$5.00 for each add'l pet

Proof of Rabies vaccination *Required and all dog's must be on a leash. Paradise Animal Rescue is a non-profit organization, and all donations are Tax-deductible.*

* IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BEING A SPONSOR PLEASE CALL MILO'S PET SERVICES (810)-614-0455


Paradise Animal Rescue
265 Howard Street
Lapeer,Mi 48446
www.parpets.org

A quick note about promotion

A big part of this blog is promoting animal welfare, by spreading the word for rescue groups, wildlife groups, and other animal lovers. So if you are part of an animal welfare group, send me your events and rescue stories to help spread the word. I am happy to pass this information on in the effort to promote animal welfare, and it also helps your website gain exposure.

Another thing that I am happy to do is to help promote companies that make great products for pets and pet parents. Every now and then you may see a product or website review on this blog, hopefully you will find them helpful.

My goal in doing this blog, and my website, is to help get the word out about the many homeless pets waiting for a second chance. You help me do this by sending in your stories, photos, and events.

Maui Pet Therapy

This comes from Shannon of Maui Pet Therapy! I wish I could be in Maui right now! It would be fun to visit the therapy bunnies, and enjoy the beach a bit too.

MARS on the planet Maui? Are you wondering if I have lost my mind? Maui is sometimes like another planet... (a day in Paia... Maui friends know what I'm talking about)... and after all, we are an island. But though we are distanced from the mainland... we still reach for the stars!!

Our pet therapy program has created an affiliation with MARS - Maui Animal Rescue and Sanctuary! Several of their rescued rabbits work in our program and we decided it's about time we work more closely together. I will be bringing back our animal education program in the fall (yes, with an already full pet therapy schedule) and want Maui's children to see that we just don't talk the talk, but we walk the WALK! We agree that spaying and neutering of animals is paramount, and this includes rabbits. MARS will be assisting us with all spay/neuter/microchip costs for our working rabbits in exchange for a $25 (per altered rabbit) donation to their organization. While this doesn't seem to be a big deal, hold on to your socks my friends, the cheapest neuter price on Maui for a rabbit is $150!!! Average spay... $200!!! While some of our rabbits are already spayed/neutered, imagine if I had to start from scratch to alter 30 rabbits. Top end price... it would cost $6000 dollars. They would shut down my program.

Our own humane society does not spay/neuter rabbits leaving it to the private vets to handle it (which is why they've price fixed their services... yes, sometimes it hurts to live in paradise).

$25 for spay/neuter and microchip through MARS is a SWEEEEEEET deal!

I am ecstatic about this! MARS rescues, rehabilitates and adopts out many of their bunnies. We're happy to endorse their outreach program to find the bunnies good homes and use them in our program when positions are available.

Mahalo (thank you) MARS for all of your kokua (help, support and assistance!). We're still in need of donations to keep our program going. I don't ask for much, every little bit helps. :) Donation button and info is on our main page.

Warmest aloha,
Shannon and all of the fuzzy, feathered and furry, pet therapy animals (Shannimals!!!)

Furry Friday-- Feathered Fun!

Another little movie for furry friday.

Pet Photography

Most pet owners love to take photos of their pets. I know that I sure do! It's always so much fun to catch them in action, especially when they are doing something cute or funny. Plus, we like to have fun sharing our photos on Furry Friday!

I recently got an email about a great new technology just for pet parents. HP has come out with cameras that feature pet-eye fix built in. If you click the link you will see great examples of what this can do for your photos. In the email it said:

The best part about this new HP digital photography technology is that Pet-Eye Fix is an in-camera feature. You do not need to buy any new software for your computer, nor worry about your computer and its current running software being out of date. And because it is an in-camera feature, Pet-Eye fix is as easy to use as Red-Eye Removal and many other features that we use frequently when taking digital photos.

It's nice to see that a company is recognizing pets and the important role that they play in our lives by creating technology geared for pet owners. Pretty neat stuff if you ask me!

Crafty Animal Lovers

One thing that I love is all the great indie artists out on the web (especially on Etsy). So, when I visited Mandypants shop and saw that she was donating part of her sales to benefit an animal rescue group I asked her to write a little something about it to share here.

There is very little more that I love to do besides craft if up, except helping animals. I decided recently to start donating 10% of my sales to a local animal shelter here in West Texas called The Haven. The Haven is a no kill shelter and they're always needing some help. After I posted this on my site (www.mandypants.etsy.com) some others saw what I was doing and invited me to join EFA (Etsy For Animals). EFA donates part of their profits each month to a different animal charity. It's so cool and I'm really excited to be a part of it! So far, I've gotten a decent chunk of change to donate, and that's always a great feeling! I love craft for causes, and animals are always in need, it's great to do my part. I wish I could house and feed every animal that needed it, but I've already got 3 cats, 3 fish and I'm babysitting a rabbit, I think my husband would move out if I tried to move any more animals in, ha! Check out my site at www.mandypants.etsy.com!

Thank you Mandy! I totally know what you are going through with the animals, my hubby thinks I want to live in a zoo with all the animals I would like to adopt. ;) Good luck with your shop, and thanks for letting us all know about Esty for Animals!

Jenna Fischer, animal lover!

If you are a fan of the TV show The Office, then you may have heard about Jenna Fischer's recent accident. What does this have to do with animals? When fans asked her husband (James Gunn) where to send get well care packages, do you know what he said? Send a donation to Rover Rescue in Jenna's name instead! How wonderful!

It's always great to see people spread the word about animal rescue. So, if you love The Office and want to send a little something to wish Jenna a speedy recovery, consider a donation to Rover Rescue!

Furry Friday-- relax

Found this cutie on the web, looks like the little hedgehog is relaxing for the weekend! Hope you have a relaxing weekend too.



*hmmm... apparently the photo is not on the website anymore. pity, it was very cute.

The Happiest Turtle

Every so often I come across an animal website that makes me smile. Luckily, Ralph Wellington (the happiest turtle in the world) added me to his Myspace friends... otherwise I would have missed out on his great webpage. Yes, I do believe that Ralph is the happiest turtle in the world...

Furry Friday-- two legs

This is just one of three pups born with only two legs (all from the same littler). Please click here to read the full story, and click below to see the pups in action.

The New Yorkers

When I was contacted to recieve a copy of The New Yorkers, I was very excited. I always get a bit giddy when people want to send me things, and this time I was especially giddy because it was a book about dogs!

The book arrived just in time for the weekend and the cold, rainy weather; it was perfect timing because I was able to read it all in one day! There are some perks to bad weather, time to read is one of them. It was a book that I had a hard time putting down, I just wanted to see how it was all going to work out.

It was a very fun read, which is something that I really like. The book is about people and their relationships with each other, but it is also very much about dogs and how they can bring people together. I certainly don't want to spoil the plot, but anyone who has ever been loved by a dog knows the kind of changes they can bring into your life.

Click the photo to read more about it, and to visit the author's blog!

Strut Your Mutt

The annual Strut Your Mutt event is coming on May 19th. People and dogs come to celebrate and raise funds for homeless pets. Top fundraising prize this year is a trip for two to the Best Friends 2008 Lint Roller Party in Los Angeles. So, if you are in Utah be sure to sign up to Strut Your Mutt!