Can a rescue dog save your life? Marlo Thomas thinks so ...

Award winning author, actress, and activist Marlo Thomas makes no bones about it.  "Adopt a Shelter Dog. It Could Save Your Life", she wrote in her blog dated 10/23/2012.  You may read it here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marlo-thomas/adopt-a-shelter-dog-it-could-save-your-life_b_2001925.html

Since October is National Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, Marlo encourages anyone thinking of getting a family pet to at least consider adopting instead of buying a puppy.  She mentions that it's a common misconception that all shelter dogs are damaged or unsuitable.  The vast majority are just animals looking for love.  We at www.DogShirtStore.com and www.Pet-Fanatic.com feel the same way.  We've known many rescued pets (and rescued a few ourselves) who have been nothing short of wonderful family members, companions, and sport dogs.  Many of our flyball and agility friends have won numerous awards and titles with their rescued dogs, in such venues as NADAC (North American Dog Agility Association), USDAA (United States Dog Agility Association), CPE (Canine Performance Events), NAFA (North American Flyball Assocation), and UFLI(United Flyball League International).  And even the AKC (American Kennel Club), once only for "purebred" dogs, has softened its stance to allow some "mixed breed" dogs to compete. 

DogShirtStore supports rescue organizations whenever we can.  Some of the organizations we are pleased to support include GREAT, Inc. of Florida (www.great-greyhound.org), Greyhound Rescue Adoption Team of NY (www.greathounds.org), Gold Coast Greyhound Rescue (www.GoldCoastGreyhounds.com), and Lost Angels Animal Rescue (www.LostAngelsAnimalRescue.org).  You may find shirts and other products we do for these organizations on our website at www.dogshirtstore.com, under the heading "Rescue & Adoption Stuff". A portion of all sales in this category is donated to the rescue organizations. 

Of course, one of the best things you can do to help rescue organizations, if your circumstances permit, is to become a foster family.  Says Kelly Faircloth of GREAT, Inc. (Tampa), "Donations are always welcome, but sometimes there are just so many of these beautiful dogs in need of a place to stay while they find their forever homes that our foster families are stretched to the limit to care for them.  More foster families are always needed."

If you can find it in your heart to either adopt or foster one or more of these animals in need, why not contact a local rescue organization to see how you can help?  You may find the rewards you reap far outweigh the sacrifices.  And, at least according to Marlo Thomas, it might even save YOUR life!

OK Go White Knuckles Video

OK Go is a talented band. Even more, they are brilliant at making videos ... viral videos that get absolutely millions of hits. The first one we saw was the treadmill dance http://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=dTAAsCNK7RA. They've done dancing wallpaper and Rube Goldberg themed videos among others. But for dog fans, they've outdone themselves this time.


I was one of the early viewers ... when I saw the official video it had only 25,000 views. By the next day it was 1.7 million. As I write this it is 2.8 million. OK Go themselves are shocked by how quickly the numbers are growing, according to this article http://www.nme.com/news/ok-go/53092. We're not. People love their dogs, especially agility dogs and rescue dogs, which most of these are.

The coolest thing about the video is that it is not edited. There were 124 "takes", and the final one chosen was take 72. Many of these were disastrous, I'm sure. None were entirely perfect, but take 72 is as close as it gets. OK Go insisted they did not want any editing, and they got their way.

The blog http://talentedanimals.com/blog/?p=426 tells the whole story ... a video three years in the planning, a month in the setup and practicing, and three full days of filming before they finally decided they were satisfied that it was what they set out to do.


Kudos to you, OK Go, and even more so, kudos to those talented animals ... 12 dogs and a goat. This video warms our hearts every time we see it.

DogShirtStore.com Donates!

Quite a few years back, I had three feline furbabies. Unfortunately, one was a bully. Well, really, he had mental problems and was on medication which kept him sane until his kidneys failed and I had to take him off the meds. So, once he was off his medication, he started picking on the oldest and more gentle cat. It wasn't pretty - I had to break up a particularly bad fight once, and I wound up in worse shape than either cat.

Since then, I'm on a new generation of felines and I've added a few canine kids along with a husband, and we have worked very hard to build a harmonious household with the cats and dogs. So, although we would love to be able to foster and adopt hundreds of homeless dogs and cats, the nightmares of those years of cat fights still haunt me and I just can't bring myself to open our home up to any outside influences.

Instead, I've tried to help animals in other ways, including joining the board of an animal welfare group, only to find a few of the other directors seemed to have less than altruistic motives for being there. I couldn't handle the politics. After all, we were SUPPOSED to be there to support the animals, not our individual agendas! Still wanting to help our four-legged friends in need, years ago I decided the best way I could do that would be to fundraise. I wanted to bring awareness, and hopefully some cash, to several active and effective animal welfare organizations. Although I can't Rescue, Adopt, or physically Love animals in need, I am grateful that I can Care for them through fundraising (and love them in my heart, of course).

One of our newest ways of helping is through our Pet Awareness Ribbon. It's one of our original designs, and it has quickly become our favorite! There are two different shirt designs and we also have a sticker and a vehicle magnet. We are donating a portion of the proceeds of these products to animal welfare. Best Friends Animal Society of Kanab, Utah (home of the TV show Dog Town on National Geographic) (www.bestfriends.org) will be the main beneficiary, although if a supporter of one of the other organizations we work with, such as Greyhound Rescue & Adoptions of Tampa Bay (www.great-greyhound.org), places an order, that organization will receive the donation.

We are also pleased to offer a smaller version of the ribbon as a $2.00 addition to the back or sleeve of any shirt, 100% of which will be donated. It looks great with any design, even our non-pet related ones!

DACOF 2010 Under Our Belt

Well, another DACOF (Dog Agility Competition of Florida) is over. It was a fun weekend, with lots of exciting runs! Our youngest Miniature Schnauzer, Trooper, was the only one of our three kids who ran this time, and he did really well. His only disadvantage was his handlers, my husband and me. :-)

Trooper ran with me for the first two runs on Saturday, but I wasn't feel well, so Del took over. He hasn't been training as much with Troopie, but I think he did great, all things considered (including taking an embarrassing spill). So, of course, we just have to show our runs! Enjoy (especially 3:25 into the video)!

Yes, You CAN Do It!

My husband, Del, and I love words.  We debate them, argue about them, research them, and enjoy reading them.  We are also adult literacy volunteers, helping adults to read so they may get better paying jobs, manage their households, and broaden their imaginations through reading a good book.  And maybe, just maybe, eventually venture into the world of writing.


A few months ago, we found out about a short story contest called "First Line Fiction", which is a monthly writing contest designed to help you expand your horizons if you are a "wannabe writer".  Del, always having words in his head, decided to give it a try.


First Line Fiction is a "peer review" contest, meaning that the contest entrants are assigned six stories to read from their competitors, and they must rank them from most to least favorite.  Anyone who fails to rank their six stories is disqualified from winning.  Only the first three placing stories receive cash prizes.  It's not big money, the main thing is the exercise of writing.


The first story Del wrote was in May 2010, and it did not make the top three, but if you'd like to read it, you can find it here:
http://firstlinefiction.com/contests/contest-9/the-mischievous-factor/


In June, he entered another story, but of course with no real expectation of winning.  To our surprise and delight, it won third place!  http://firstlinefiction.com/contests/contest-10/the-little-big-day/

Sometimes we wonder about stepping outside of our "comfort zone", and although we often fear it, you never know what might happen when you do.

 If you're an aspiring writer, you may want to give First Line Fiction a try.  If you have other aspirations, we encourage you to step outside of your comfort zone and give them your best shot, too.  You just never know what will happen!

If it Seems too Good to be True . . .

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I opened my mail yesterday afternoon, and was stunned to have received a cashiers check in the amount of $2,990.00 from Collin Bank of Texas!  The check was enclosed in a letter from the Grants Processing Center of Financial Solutions, New York, NY.  The letter stated that I had won a grant in the amount of $35,000.00 total, which should not be considered a loan.  It was for me to use to "start a small business, pay tuition fees, make a down payment on a home, and do housing repairs or to pay medical expenses."  Wow!  Who couldn't use $35,000.00!  Jackpot!  Oh, wait, it said the $2,990.00 check is to help pay for the administrative, processing, and applicable fees.  Then a commission fee of 10% will be deducted from the total amount, and then I would receive $31,500.00.  
The cashiers check looked very genuine, and even had the newest security features.  However, a closer look at the check showed a single flaw - the bank logo was a bit pixelated in comparison to the crisp print of the rest of the check.  On further examination we also noted that there was no bank number under the check number. 

Read more »

A Healthy Alternative for Flea Control

We've always felt a bit uneasy about putting insecticide on (or in) our pets as a means to control fleas and ticks. However, living in Florida, the fleas are just terrible all year long, and we hate the thought of bugs residing on our four-legged babies. Well, we FINALLY found a product that keeps the fleas and ticks off of our pets while also improving their health, especially their skin and coats - and it will save us hundreds of dollars a year!!  FLEA TREATS are a healthy, safe way to keep fleas and ticks off pets.

Imagine that you're going on a camping trip, and you have three choices to avoid bug bites:

1. You can take a hormone pill once a month. Every female bug that bites you will be sterile AFTER it bites.

2. You can apply insecticide drops to the back of your neck, allowing the insecticide to spread all over your body or your skin to absorb it into your system, and then, when the bugs land on you, hope the insecticide will kill them before they bite you.

3. You can take a safe, tasty vitamin daily, and the bugs won't even land on you at all.

Which method would you choose? Which method do you think your pets would choose for themselves if they could??

Each "treat" is a human grade, B-complex vitamin, with real liver added for taste. It's safe for puppies, kittens, pregnant, and nursing pets. We've taste-tested them in our home, and our Mini Schnauzers and cats all love them, but if you have finicky eaters, Flea Treats can be easily crushed and sprinkled into their food. Flea Treats work so well, it's guaranteed or your money back!!

 

To learn more about Flea Treats or to place an order, please visit our webstore at http://www.dogshirtstore.com/

Oil Spills - Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

An oil spill. A catasrophe. It affects our environment, our economy, and most importantly, the lives of countless animals. So, what is our individual responsibility when it comes to something like this? How far would you go to help clean it up? How about getting a haircut or having your dog groomed? Yep - that's it. Pretty simple and fairly inexpensive, but very powerful.

With the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico hitting home for many Americans, there is understandably a lot of concern about oil and the environment. With the world's need for oil, offshore drilling will continue to be a solution for many years to come, in spite of the risks.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and that old adage has never been truer than right now, while we're in the middle of an oil spill crisis. At "A Matter of Trust", they've been collecting human hair and animal fur for the past 10 years to use in making mats to absorb excess oil from oil spills.

Although individuals can send in clean hair or fur, a more effective way is to tell your hairdresser or groomer about it. They have lots of good hair and fur that just ends up in the trash, and it really can help with the control of oil spills, which can save marine life and coastal areas worldwide.

Some have asked what happens to all the contaminated hair when they're done with it. We're not sure what's been done in the past, but there is research being performed with the idea that mushrooms can eat the oily hair and detoxify the waste to create landscape-grade compost.

If you're a groomer or hairstylist, you may want to visit matteroftrust.org to see how you can sign up. If you're not, tell your hairstylist or groomer about it. It can only help!
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Mother's Day Sale

In honor of mothers of four-legged kids, DogShirtStore.com is having a Mother's Day sale!!  All "Proud Mom" products are $3 off through May 9, 2010.  You can find them as featured products right on our home page.

New Poop Removal Innovation

Do you want to be a responsible dog parent, but have back trouble and just can't bend down to pick up the poop?  Just don't like the feel of poop squishing in your fingers through a plastic bag?  Well, www.DogShirtStore.com has the solution for you!!  This product was developed by Dan Shalhoub, Tony (Monk) Shalhoub's brother.  (No, it's not your run-of-the-mill pooper-scooper).  We think it takes poop removal to the next level!
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