National Dog Week: Why It's Important

National Dog Week winds down today (it has been celebrated the last full week of September since its founding in 1928). And the tag line below is as true today as it was in 1937: "Every Dog Needs A Good Home".

National Dog Week was created by William Judy, a W.W. I veteran and inveterate dog lover. In the introduction to the 1937 edition of one of his dog training manuals, Judy wrote: "The world likes dogs because dogs are nearest to moral perfection of all living things."

                           That's me...moral perfection!

We hope you gave your pooch a little extra attention this week...because after all, we dogs deserve it!Both Parental Unit and I think National Dog Week is an important reminder for dog owners everywhere to stop and show gratitude for the love, companionship and loyalty your dog shows you every day and every week of the year. And if you can, do something special with your dog (not just this week, but every week)—you know your furry best friend will appreciate it!

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Adopt A Less Adoptable Pet Week!

Although orange may be the new black, at least on TV, all black dogs and cats still have a more difficult time with adoption than their counter-parts with lighter colors or different markings. And according to the latest shelter research, although dogs and cats with special needs rank high on the less adoptable list, the absolute hardest pets to place are seniors. What about all that wisdom they've accumulated and are eager to share?

These scary statistics are what gave our friends at Petfinder.com a call to action, and in 2009, they launched the first-ever "Adopt a Less Adoptable Pet Week", now an annual event  held during the last full week of September. And you guessed it, that's this week, September 23- September 29, 2013!

Dog Time Media and Cat Time Media are also adding their heft to this week's festivities and will be featuring less adoptable pets from around the country all this week on their Save A Dog and Save ACat Facebook pages.

Won't you join in and encourage your friends and family to adopt a "less adoptable" dog or cat this week? And if you're on social media, why not take a second and give a few of these less adoptables  a shout-out-they'll certainly appreciate your efforts!

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Petfinder's Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week!

Hey, did everyone know that this week, September 17-23 is Petfinder's "Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week"? We're a bit late in getting the word out ourselves, but there's still time to spread the word-and do a good deed and even adopt a "less adoptable pet" yourself!

What does that exactly mean, "less adoptable"? Gee, it can be anything from big black dogs to pit bulls, senior pets, pets with special needs, black cats, even pets that need to be "only pets". And according to Petfinder's recent survey, pets deemed "less adoptable" wait for a home nearly four times longer than the average adoptable pet does-sometimes more than two years!

So check out your local shelter or Petfinder.com to see if you can spot and even adopt, a "less adoptable" pet. And if you can't adopt right now, why not pay a visit to your city's shelter in person and  volunteer to take that big black dog for a walk!

As always, thanks for your support.

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Professional Dog Photographer Boon To Pet Rescue

We've spotlighted some terrific pet photographers before, but we think it's important to also share this charming and important segment from CBS News Sunday Morning, that was broadcast just yesterday.  It highlights what professional photographers can do to enhance pet adoption. For example, if you're trolling for a new four-legged family member online, you're going to be attracted to the dog or cat who looks the cutest, right? The one who already looks like he'll be at home in your home.

Well, that's professional dog photographer, Theresa Berg's idea, too. And her volunteer photography work for a rescue group near her business in Dallas, Texas, increased their adoptions by 100%.

Ms. Berg believes that those "Nick Nolte mug shots" should be replaced with in-focus photographs taken in homes, and with the occasional ribbon and pearl necklace added to up the cuteness factor. And she's intent on passing along her tips by holding training workshops for volunteers for other rescues and encouraging other professional photographers to donate their time and talents to just one shelter.

What better time than during Petfinder.com's "Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week" to donate your talents, photography or otherwise, to a shelter near you?

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Petfinder's Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week

If there ever was a worthy cause, and one that's right up our alley, so to speak, it's Petfinder's Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week (September 17-25th), where this wonderful organization draws attention to the hundreds of thousands of dog and cats who are needlessly euthanized each year because they're, well, different in some way. Many of these gorgeous animals in need of a loving home are older, have special needs, are the "wrong" breed or mixed-breed, the "wrong" color, and who knows what other reasons why such animals looking for their forever home are passed by. We all know in our hearts that discrimination of any kind is wrong, so let's make sure we use this week in particular, to call attention to these special animals in need.



So let's join with Petfinder.com to promote this one special week that draws attention to the plight of these less-adoptable animals. You can do that by writing a post on your blog and joining that post to Petfinder's official "Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Bloghop", that will appear on their landing page tomorrow, Monday, September 18. We can't think of a worthier cause to promote or a more important bloghop to join, can you?



We'll look forward to reading your posts and visiting you on tomorrow's bloghop!

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Adopt A less Adoptable Pet Week

I'm sure you've all heard that this week is "Adopt A Less Adoptable Pet" week, and in honor of that, we're going to be doing some special guest posts and other promotions to call your attention to this special problem. So what is a "less adoptable" pet? Well, it's probably not a cute little healthy puppy.
Here's just one real-life example-Brandy is my new hero! Watch her story on our friend, the Two Little Caveliers' blog right here: twolittlecavaliers.blogspot.com/2010/09/adopt-less-adoptable-pet-brandy.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TwoLittleCavaliers+%28Two+Little+Cavaliers%29.

But don't just cry. Seriously think about giving Brandy her much-deserved forever home.

More on this important topic coming tomorrow.

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