HoundsGood: Chronicles of a Virtual Volunteer

Each year, churches, hospitals, and malls have Giving Trees and Wish Trees that have cards with a child’s name on them.   One tree in particular sticks out in my mind.  It was full of names of children whose parent or parents are in jail.   The tree has a card with their sizes and interests on it like any other giving tree.  However, instead of the gifts coming signed from an anonymous angel, the gifts come signed from their parent in prison who cannot be there with them on Christmas morning.

I do not have children of my own, even though I admit to having a few toys.  I like this kind of giving, because it makes you feel like a kid again picking out just the right toy.  I remember being a kid and circling Western Barbie and Dolly Pops in the Christmas Wishbook.  I remember being an adult (just last Christmas) and my cousins, who are also range in ages from eighteen to forty were playing more intensely with the old race track at our grandparents than the “little kids” (my cousin’s three boys) were.   We are also guilty of confiscating the legos.

In fact, I think Legos are a great gift for the Giving Tree because if a child already has some, there is no embarrassment in duplication because it just means they can build something even bigger.

In non-Lego news, I also saw that there are these mickey mouse cars where all the pieces of the garage can be configured in different ways. Donald and Mickey also come in pieces to be assembled. If it were me, I would probably have put Donald’s feet on Mickey’s body. That’s just how I roll.

The gift that sort of is the weirdest is Brian the Brain.  He is a virtual roommate along the lines of teddy Ruxpin because he can talk, combined with Alfie (remember Alfie?) who you can play games with, but only more responsive.  He is supposed to be the kid’s annoying roommate who has strange expressions of speech and get’s to “know” and interact with your kid.  However, he isn’t a roommate who pays you rent because he is not cheap!  In otherwords, you pay for his friendship. Maybe I should get one so he can remind me to do stuff and also make me able to drive in the car pool lane. Good roommates watch your back.

Have fun this Christmas playing with….um…I mean….buying toys for the Giving Tree.

Blue is one of the “calendar girls” in Saving Shelter Pets’ annual calendar. Money raised goes towards their wonderful programs that fund pulling deserving animals from their last day at kill shelters, to proactive solutions like spay and neuter programs and the Puppy Promises program that keeps puppies out of shelters.

I know this is your second reminder this week, but I forgot to mention that the last day to preorder is DECEMBER FIRST. This calendar is not just for a good cause, but it is printed on high quality stock just like the kind you buy at the mall kiosks and the ones done by the big companies. The pictures are beautiful, and everyone in the calendar is a life that almost was ended too soon. All of these sweet dogs are now in loving families.

At left, Blue is a beautiful young blue and white pit bull with a wagging butt and a love of children. She was just way too special and her personality caught the attention of a volunteer at a very overcrowded shelter. In that particular town, owning a pitbull is illegal, so she couldn’t be adopted to local residents. She would have been euthanized with no reprieve unless an out of county rescue took her. SSP intervened, had her spayed and healthy and transferred her to a rescue where she ws quickly spotted by a loving family. What a great wags to riches story!

Here is a link to order a calendar of your own: http://www.yearbox.com/ssp/

The Saving Shelter Pets, Inc., Etsy fundraiser only has three more days for you to shop, shop, shop and save the animals at the same time!  20% of your purchase will go towards funding a TNR effort in South Georgia.  TNR is “Trap/Neuter/Relese.”  By trapping and neutering feral cats, you save many lives.  An active TNR program sometimes helps convince a local animal control not to trap these cats, who will be euthanized immediately because they are unadoptable.  It also prevents a population explosion. Some communities have resorted to shooting cats.   Then, new cats just simply move in and take advantage of the food source.  The only solution is TNR.

Click below to get to the shops of participating sellers!

Get out your wallets and get ready to shop!  There is a benefit fundraiser for Saving Shelter Pets, Inc., involving several Etsy sellers.   The promotion is very simple.

1) Click the flier below to see a list of participating sellers.
2) Shop.
3) Seller donates 20% of sale price to Saving Shelter Pets, Inc.

Hurry…as you only have until August 6th and then the sale is over.

This particular fundraiser will fund a TNR program in Southern Georgia.  What is TNR?  Trap, Neuter, Release.  A feral cat is not a stray.  They have lived for generations in colonies.  If they are picked up by animal control they are immediately euthanized because they act “wild,” having never been put in a cage before.   If they are just left alone unchecked, they proliferate, not only with eachother, but housecats who wander.   If the colony is simply removed, more cats come in their place.  TNR saves the lives of cats and controls the population.

Help SSP keep cats OUT of the shelter!

The frugal of the world are starting their Christmas shopping in August, so I have read.  There are usually also a lot of charity auctions in the fall as well.   A really unique idea for either would be to give a gift certificate as an auction item for a generous donor to redeem for one of a kind Photo Blankets, pillow cases, and towels.

Or, another idea is to have a photographer to donate their time to capture something important to the cause on film and order an item.   It is not something that one normally sees, so the bidder would probably be willing to give more generously than  for something they can easily obtain at the store if they didn’t win.

Also, lots of folks that have pets have their house adorned with items that portray their favorite breed or species, such as figurines, kitche towels, or toss pillows.  Often, if your friend has rescued their dog or cat, it is hard to find something that looks like their pet if he/she is a mixed breed.   This way, they can not only get an item that sort of looks like their dog…it looks EXACTLY like their dog.  How fun!

There is a lot of clothing and gifts out there for people who are crazy about a specific dog breed or type of pet. There is a sea of T-Shirts out there, and lots of novelty ties. What if you are looking for something a little more subtle? Have you ever thought of a pair of dressy cufflinks?

Of course, with my radar always on for dachshund related items I found these cute doxie cufflinks, at left! Our dachshunds were in our wedding, and if I would have seen these back then, I think that my husband would have worn them. Cufflinks are pretty unisex these days, though. The only difference is that often cufflinks for women have a little more flash, though that is not always the case. There is a pair of Schnauzer cufflinks on the same site that have a little more flash. I would wear them with jeans, ankle boots and a funky shirt or a vintage blazer to funk things up to go out at night. Truthfully, I probably wouldn’t be wearing them because I would be opting for the dachshunds instead.

I was looking through some old birthday and Christmas cards over the years.  As you would expect, many people send me dog themed cards, particularly if it has a dachshund on it.     I wondered to myself, how many times the same message of a card being “Looooong on Wishes,”  or “Hot Dog; It’s Your Birthday!”   

If tired puns are and analogies are growing tired with you too, I found the most adorable gift idea for your witty, hip, animal loving friends.   The Barker’s Dozen card set offers 13 different note cards that features photo of dogs captured in situations that every dog owner can relate to, by photographer Rich Stone.  In addition, the set also includes a lot of nice extras!  There is a “Bark Mark” for reading, a colorful pen, a business card sized address book, and a reusable case.

(Correction: I guess I have to rephrase part of that last thought for the benefit of the one who is sitting on my lap and probably reading this: “Everyone OWNED BY A DOG can appreciate this.”)

I have not even mentioned the very best part of all of this.  This is part of the  Dog Captions fundraiser for fur friends (dogs & cats!).   The theme is  “Friendship — old friends, new friends, fur friends.”     A full 50% of the sale price will go to RingDogRescue.org, SPAYUSA.org and SPCAFred.org (SPCA of Fredericksburg, Virginia).  If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you know how much the Spay/Neuter message is important to me.   Just read the heartbreaking stories about Kitten Season, or just look at the faces that are in the shelters that I feature if you are not covinced on how critical it is.   In addition, Ring Dog Rescue promotes education and adoptions of Pit Bulls and other Bully Breeds.    It is so encouraging to see that some adoptions are pending on the site!   

This special promotion won’t last long.

For those of you who are regular readers, doesn’t this look like someone took my two dogs and combined them???

>Click here to get some!

My cousin speaks Mandarin Chinese.  She didn’t always speak it; she went to school to learn it.  I found out that many chinese words are almost exactly the same, it is just subtleties of inflection and pronounciation that can turn the meaning on its ear.  

It made me think of another very complex language.  “Woof,” can mean many different things depending on the tone.  It can mean “Hooray,” “Stay Away,” ”Let’s Play,” and more.    Sometimes “Woof” can also mean “Help.”

Big Paw Designs is selling a ”Woof” charm, where part of the proceeds will go to helping New Orleans based rescues.  It aptly has a Fleur de Lis on it, and can go on your pet’s collar, or can be affixed to your necklace, keyring, and more.  It is made of pewter so it can stand up to wear.  You can order it with a ring, silver hardware, or a hook.   Check it out HERE.

I know that this may seem like old news to people, but consider this:  A group from our church regularly travels to Biloxi to help rebuild homes.   They are taking a break right now, but have noticed over the past year that many other groups are no longer coming.  Perhaps people think that everyone there is “all set” now.   Certainly the work is not done.   And the work is not done in New Orleans.  Hard working rescues finally have gotten the attention they deserve, but they still have a long battle to wage for the dogs, cats, and other pets that find their way into shelters there.  

This makes a great gift for animal lovers…and animals!