Drive launched to provide 5 million bowls of food to orphaned pets The Iams Home 4 the Holidays program kicked off this month to help place 1.5 million orphaned pets into loving homes this holiday season. Between Oct. 1 and Jan. 4, Iams will work side-by-side with founding partner Helen Woodward Animal Center and 3,500 animal organizations worldwide to not only help pets find homes, but to provide 5 million bowls of food through the inaugural “Bags 4 Bowls” program. Each year, shelters and rescue centers are overwhelmed and overcrowded with as many as 8 million homeless animals. Because of this staggering statistic, the core mission of Iams Home 4 the Holidays continues to be to drastically reduce the number of homeless pets through adoption. “Pet homelessness is an epidemic in our country, and many animal organizations look to programs like Iams Home 4 the Holidays to help drive families to our centers to see these amazing animals,” said Mike Arms, founder of the adoption drive and president of Helen Woodward Animal Center. “We’ve been a part of the adoption drive for 12 years now and have really seen the benefit of what this program can do for animals, our employees and the families who adopt,” he said. This year, visitors to Iams’ Facebook page (www.facebook.com/iams) can follow the program’s “Adoption Angels,” which is about new pet parents chronicling their personal journeys of adoption. Visitors can see first-hand as the angels experience the joy of adoption and how they integrate their new four-legged family member into the home. In addition to the Adoption Angels, Iams created the “Bags 4 Bowls” program so anyone can help make a difference in the lives of orphaned animals by buying a bag of Iams food. For every specially-marked package of Iams dog or cat food purchased during the campaign — through Jan. 4 — Iams will donate one bowl of food to a participating animal organization. Additionally, anyone can visit the Facebook page and “Like” the page itself, various messages, photos, videos, etc. posted by the Adoption Angels. In return, Iams will donate up to 100 meals per “Like” or comment to feed orphaned animals. Iams Home 4 the Holidays strives to educate about the importance of adoption so that every pet adopted goes to a permanent, loving home. Families who adopt through the program will receive an Iams adoption kit loaded with important information about nutrition, training and proper care to ensure that the relationship with the new animal starts off on the right paw. To learn more about how to make a difference in the life of an orphaned pet, including how to get involved, details about pets available for adoption, fun ways to donate meals and quick access to informative content and tips, visit www.facebook.com/iams, or contact Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe at (858) 756-4117, or visit www.animalcenter.org.
Partnership features Web series, online custom content Proving that some of the very best things come in the smallest packages, AnimalPlanet.com and Purina® Mighty Dog® dog food have announced a partnership to create custom online content in celebration of small dogs everywhere. The partnership, coined Small & In Charge, runs through October and features original online programming dedicated to meeting the needs of small-dog owners. The content includes a webisode series titled “Small Dogs, Big Jobs,” which showcases four powerhouse pint-size dogs with amazing abilities. “Small dogs work hard, play hard and maintain very active lifestyles and we wanted to show how much more there is to being a small dog than just sitting in a purse or cuddling on a lap,” said Lisa Luedde, Mighty Dog’s assistant brand manager. “Mighty Dog has teamed up with Animal Planet to provide small-dog owners with relevant and fun online information that will enable them to enhance the lives of their small dogs to make the most of every day.” Leveraging the resources and expertise of the two pet brands, the Small & In Charge content (http://animal.discovery.com/small-dogs/) features: • A “Small Dogs, Big Jobs” webisode series: from Pixie — a Jack Russell terrier who can sense paranormal activity — to Jack the cairn terrier, who leads exercise classes with his owner, the series is focused on amazing little dogs with big-time abilities (http://animal.discovery.com/videos/small-dogs-big-jobs/. • Custom articles ranging from famous historic small dogs to busting myths about small dogs, powered by the Discovery-owned website HowStuffWorks.com. • A daily “treat” blog, featuring posts dedicated to small dog products. • Little canine quizzes testing user’s knowledge of the pug, their favorite terriers and more, as well as a user-submitted small-dog slide show. • Video clips highlighting the top five terriers. “‘Small & In Charge’ underscores AnimalPlanet.com’s commitment to creating and delivering custom content that is a win-win for our partners, while bringing together two distinguished pet brands to celebrate the inimitable relationship between owners and their pets,” said Harold Morgenstern, senior vice president of advertising sales for Discovery Communications. The online original series was produced and created by AnimalPlanet.com, Purina and Purina’s digital media agency of record, Spark.
ASPCA honors former shelter dog and 3-legged cat hero Seven outstanding animals and people, including a former shelter dog who saved earthquake victims in Haiti and an 11-year-old girl who raised funds to help birds affected by the Gulf Coast oil spill, will be honored for their heroic deeds at this year’s ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) Humane Awards Luncheon in New York City. The ASPCA’s Annual Humane Awards Luncheon — sponsored by The Hartville Group, one of America’s oldest pet health insurers — will be held on Thursday, Nov. 11 at the Pierre Hotel in New York City. The ceremony recognizes animal heroes who have demonstrated extraordinary efforts, as well as individuals who have made a significant impact on the lives of animals during the past year. ASPCA Cat of the Year When Cathy Conheim found Henry as a stray kitten on her property in Julian, the feline was unable to move his left leg. Conheim rushed Henry to the local veterinary hospital, where she learned that his leg had to be amputated. Once Henry recovered from surgery, he became Conheim’s inspiration. The two began working together to help people learn tolerance and resilience in the face of physical disabilities and differences. The pair created several children’s workbooks and books: “Henry’s World,” “What’s the Matter with Henry?” and “What About Me, I’m Here Too,” which have been distributed to more than 45,000 people around the world, including victims of Hurricane Katrina and families of wounded veterans. Additionally, one of Henry’s books has been translated into Creole to help a children’s amputee project in Haiti. To date, Henry’s books have generated more than $50,000 for local animal welfare groups to help other animals in need. To become a fan of the ASPCA on Facebook, visit www.facebook.com/aspca. To follow the ASPCA on Twitter, go to www.twitter.com/aspca.
Two homeless dogs need help to heal Pit Bull Rescue San Diego (PBRSD) partners with many local shelters to find homes for homeless dogs, but this month, the rescue was called on to take in two San Diego dogs in dire need of surgery. Now, the PBRSD is asking the public to rally behind these two sweet girls to help pay for the medical attention they must receive in order to find forever homes. In the case of 12-week-old, 10-pound Charity, surgery was a matter of life and death. “We got the call; the shelter had a small puppy that was wasting away,” said board member and volunteer Ann Smalley. “She needed immediate veterinary care. When I first saw her, she was wrapped up in a blanket. I noticed her big blue eyes. I could tell by her eyes she had not long left in this world. They opened up her blanket to show me how skinny she was. I could see every rib bone, and both hipbones were protruding out of her body. She came in like this three days ago. She did not eat or drink anything. She was not getting up to walk around.” Smalley rushed Charity to the vet and then to a specialty hospital for emergency surgery to remove an intestinal blockage. This life-saving surgery cost the rescue more than $3,000, and PBRSD is hoping San Diegans will help by making even small donations toward her medical care. The PBRSD is also trying to raise funds to give Sapphire, a 1-year-old former stray now in the rescue’s care, the more than $2,300 surgery needed to correct an old injury in her elbow that is beginning to show signs of elbow dysplasia. She is also being treated for pneumonia. Despite her current limp, this girl is ready to live and love. With your help, maybe these girls can be in their forever homes in time for the holidays! To make a tax-deductible donation to PBRSD’s medical fund, visit www.prbsd.com. For more information, call Micaela Myers at (949) 874-1671. For more information about Pit Bull Rescue San Diego, visit www.pbrsd.com and www.facebook.com/pbrsd.