HoundsGood: Chronicles of a Virtual Volunteer

In 1999, Pet Sitters International held their first Take Your Dog to Work Day.  300 employers officially participated.  Today, thousands of workplaces around the world actively participate in the event.   This year, the event takes place tomorrow, Friday, June 25, 2009.  It is suggested that if you choose to take your dog to work, that you follow the appropriate protocol.The first two are recommended by TYDTWD, the remaining are tips from HoundsGood.com

1) Tell your employer about the special day and ask permission to bring your pal in.
2) Make sure your dog is up to date on routine vaccinations, and is in good health.

3) Bring treats, a pick up bag for accidents, and a water dish or bowl. A dog bed or pillow works for someone who has a desk job.
4) If you don’t have a private office, put a crate in your car. If you are somehow called out to an appointment where you can’t take your dog, your coworkers will have peace of mind. For example, you may want to use the bathroom sometime.
5) In the morning, walk your dog around to meet people in the office that normally come in contact with you. This way nobody is a stranger.

This year’s theme is “Second Hand Dogs,” promoting the importance of selecting a shelter or pound dog when looking for a new companion. Petfinder is the official 2009 TYDTWD adoption partner.

Are you taking your dog to work tomorrow? If you do, let me know. I would love to hear about your experiences, and I wouldn’t mind a photo, either!  If I get enough, I’ll feature my readers in a story about their big day.

Call me just plain silly.  Now that we have that out of the way, I have been thinking about the month of May.  Alex, who is head dog over at HoundsGood HQ will be celebrating a momentous tenth birthday.  That’s seventy in “dog years,” except I did read that as far as canine maturity goes, seven years per human year are only an average and smaller breeds sometimes age a little slower than that.  In otherwords, for a dachshund, that is not as remarkable as a Great Dane turning ten, but I still can’t believe it.  It was only yesterday, it seems, that one Halloween day I returned home with a seventeen month old bundle of long haired dachshund fur on the seat next to me.   Oh, that’s not a euphemism.  He left a few dust bunnies on the upholstery after I lifted him out of the car.

I had the idea to send out birthday invitations, and maybe even upload photos of the birthday dog at VistaPrint.  Instead of a generic picture of a dog, they would have no doubt in their mind who the guest of honor was.  Everything comes out a heck of a lot more professional looking than what my printer can muster.  I am pretty handy at design work, but the price I would have to spend for the quality of stock that VistaPrint offers makes ordering from them a bargain.   In the past, I had the choice of prining them out on paper at home and having the colors bleed through or paying a fortune for full color at the copy shop.  It just doesn’t make sense unless you do a large run.

Since the birthday boy has just about everything his heart could possibly desire, maybe I will request donations to my favorite rescues in lieu of presents.  That would be easy to print up on the card.  Everyone could bring their dogs over for Frosty Paws dog ice cream, of course!

I have been informed of a few impromptu fundraisers for various charities.  When the event has a theme, I have seen charities go two different ways.  In one scenario, they do not decorate, nor do they put money into the look or activities of an event because they fear retribution from members thinking they are spending money they should be spending on the cause.  The die hard supporters come out in droves, and the money all goes towards the cause, but the folks who are just looking for something to do on a lazy afternoon might not waste their time.   The second scenario is putting so much money into the event that the overhead makes the event something that reaps little return.

The event usually requires a happy medium where one can make something look very professional on the cheap, either garnering sponsorship or just rolling up ones sleeves and doing it yourself.  Celebrations.com had some killer easter decorating ideas that made me want to look around the corner to see if Martha Stewart’s staff members were lurking around the corner, or at least someone from a high end store with a pricing gun

For a very quickly put together fundraiser, how about having an easter egg decoration contest or a workshop?  I remember the egg kits with the stickers and the wax pencils that we used to use as kids, but they were never anything like this. The secret ingredient that you need to create the eggs at left is scotch tape. Yes, you heard me right. Just tape off the parts of the egg that you want to leave white. Then, wait for the egg to dry and tape off other parts. You could just dye the egg the traditional way to create stripes, but typically, the colors would run or would create secondary colors without masking them off. It takes extra time, but the result is worth it.

Another idea is to make edible paste with powdered sugar and water to paste edible spun sugar flowers to the eggs. I don’t know how much you would be able to handle those eggs. However, they would certainly be a knock out on the buffet or dessert table for a family holiday. For a fundraiser, they would be great at the place settings for party favors. Powdered sugar and water are cheap, or they are already in your kitchen, so it wouldn’t cost you a dime.  It may not be for kids, but certainly the adults would appreciate them.

Whether you decide to put on a small, impromptu fundraiser, or you just want to be a kid again with the family, have a great time.