A Challenge To All Pet Bloggers!

You know we both love to write and we both believe in "The Power of the Paw"!

Well, so does Puccini, a gorgeous pooch who succumbed to cancer after a brave and history-making  battle with this disease.

After Puccini was diagnosed with melanoma, his Parental Unit, Linda  Cohen Wassong, enrolled him in a clinical trial for a new vaccine to treat canine malignant melanoma. This trial resulted in the first ever  USDA-approved vaccine for cancer in either humans or animals. And for Puccini and Linda, it gave them an extended period of irreplaceable time together.

In 2007, Linda created the Puccini Foundation to honor her late, four-legged family member and to help others become more aware of both pet and human cancers. The Foundation is also dedicated to  donating funds to pet cancer research and providing financial help to pet parents in need.

As Parental Unit mentioned in a post this spring, she's thrilled to be doing some part-time work for the Puccini Foundation's blog and social media. In her most recent blog post for the Foundation, she issued a call to action to all pet bloggers. She was inspired by the series of posts that our friend and blogging buddy, Melissa Clinton, of Barking from the Bayou fame, wrote about pets, cancer and tobacco smoke.

So now, we're asking you—each and every one of our pet blogging friends—to accept our call to action and write your very own blog post about human and/or pet cancer and include the Puccini yellow ribbon!

We'd love to see you share our beautiful ribbon by making it a permanent addition to your blog sidebar and sharing it with your friends and family. We're also looking forward to hearing (and heeding) your suggestions on how to rally our fellow pet bloggers!

Visit the Puccini Foundation website for tons of helpful information on both human and pet cancers to help you get started on your post. And feel free to contact Parental Unit directly @ jdemarti@columbus.rr.com. She'll be happy to do whatever she can to help you spread the good word. And she'll also promote your post on Bocci's Beefs and Puccini Foundation's social media, so your post will get coverage aplenty.

We'll look forward to seeing your blog posts! And as always, thanks for all you do to help pet parents and animals in need.

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Let's Celebrate Our Canine Co-Workers This Labor Day!

We kinda liked this Labor Day Post from  2013, so we thought there would be no harm in re-posting it with a few updates for Labor Day 2015. Seriously, we couldn't have said it better ourselves!

Each year on Labor Day, we've saluted not only the hard working woman and men of our country, but their canine companions, too, because we dogs work to protect our humans and their property every day of our lives. And then there are what we call the professional working dogs, like the heroic search and rescue, drug detection, service and therapy dogs and...well, you name it, and your canine companions do the work. Here's one great example: We sniff out your cancer and participate in clinical trials that result in cancer treatments for both humans and animals.

We though we'd share a few photos of some very brave working dogs, or dogs working...or maybe just  dogs working to have fun with you!

        Uh...I'm protecting Parrental Unit from my fetching stick

As so many of us enjoy our day off from our labors, we urge you to take a moment to salute all of the many workers who enrich our lives just by doing their jobs. And perhaps give a nod to the physical laborer—someone who works with their hands and the sweat of their brows to bring us the food on our table, the machines we use daily to make our lives easier, among so many other products and services that we often take for granted. A happy, healthy and safe Labor Day 2015 to all!

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Sunday's Living With Your Pet Tips: Canine Summer Safety Strategies!

                                Water, Parental Unit, Water!

It's been hot and dreadfully humid in our neck of the woods lately, and after yesterday's near death experience at our riverfront arts festival (Parental Unit, not me!), we thought it was time to post a few hot weather tips for you and your canine.

The  key is to be prepared, and as you might have guessed by now, Parental Unit talks up preparedness, but is typically unprepared herself. Take yesterday at the arts festival (I remained safely at home in air conditioning): No umbrella for the downpour, wrong clothes, no cash for food or water... Hooboy, I practically had to scrape her off the floor when she returned.

But these top ten tips for summer dog safety from our good friends at DogTime Media are excellent reminders of how to ensure your pooch stays safe and happy, even through the "dog days" of summer. Of course, when you're out for a walk or longer hike, take lots of water for both of you—hydration is key in preventing heat stroke. If you're boating, make sure your pooch wears a brightly colored life vest, if swimming in a pool, work with your dog to make sure they really can swim well enough to stay afloat and show them (many times) a safe pool exit strategy. And don't forget the sunscreen...for your dog, too! Apply pet-safe sunscreen to your dog's nose and other hairless parts because dogs get skin cancer just like humans!

These stay safe summer strategies will give you a good start, but let us know your top tips for keeping your dog healthy and safe during summer activities. We'd love to hear them!

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Scenes From BlogPaws Conference 2015!

             We're glad she's back! We do look glad...don't we?

As we mentioned before Parental Unit left for the conference, she was thrilled to be attending BlogPaws 2015 on behalf of the Puccini Foundation, an amazing nonprofit dedicated to raising funds for pet cancer research and helping all pet parents learn the warning signs and treatments of pet cancers. And a portion of their funding is typically earmarked to help pet parents afford cancer treatments for their beloved pets—a win-win-win situation for all pet parents! Please stay tuned—we'll be writing a separate post on this part of the Foundation's efforts in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, we're excited to show you a few scenes from the conference where Parental Unit had the pleasure of hobnobbing with our fellow bloggers.

First, let's start with someone you all know and love: Angel Pip and Ruby's Parental Unit, Kristen Avery, from The Daily Pip. Parental Unit is so grateful that she got to meet Kristen in person—she's even more delightful than you can imagine!

And here's another blogging pal, Carma Poodale and her Parental Unit at Saturday evening's fancy awards dinner. Ms. Carma is a medical alert service dog, in addition to being beautiful.

Dr. Patrick Mahaney is Parental Unit's absolute favorite holistic veterinarian—his breadth and depth of knowledge, kindness, and willingness to speak from his heart make him second to none. And his session on pet cancer and treatments was fantastic!

Here's Diane Silver and her adorable pooch, Rocko the Havanese from To Dog With Love. We took our annual picture and had a nice chat.

Parental Unit's all-time favorite trio, Rene, Jim and Wyatt the dog from Tripawds. What they have done to help three-legged dogs and their human parents is nothing short of amazing! And, well, they're just so cool...

Here's handsome Chilly, from Helping Hands with his eye-catching "do".

And...pigs. Did we just say pigs? These two were probably the cutest, sweetest and friendliest all-around, and were mobbed for photos.

And last but far from least are two of the co-founders of BlogPaws, the stunning Yvonne DiVita and (almost equally as stunning) spouse, Tom Collins, heading to the Nose-to-Nose Awards on the red carpet. Congrats to you and your team for a seventh fantastic conference! We're so appreciative of your hard work to support pet bloggers and connect bloggers and brands.

Now, head over to the BlogPaws Special Edition Conference Blog Hop and check out more great photos!

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Heading To BlogPaws Conference—Nashville!

I'm thrilled to announce that I'll be representing the Puccini Foundation at the 2015 BlogPaws Pet Blogging and Social Media Conference in Nashville starting tomorrow! And I'll continue our relationship by helping guide their social media efforts. Speaking for Bocci and Bella (as I often do), we couldn't be more proud to be affiliated with this not-for-profit foundation dedicated to "The hope of a future for for pets and people...cancer free."

When you read Puccini's story, you'll understand the passion that drives this foundation, and why the years of work dedicated to raising awareness of pet cancers, supporting and funding cancer research and helping pet parents who can't afford cancer treatment for their pets, is just the beginning. Puccini's story is really one of inspiration and hope—hope for a cancer free future for all of us.  

We challenge each of you to join the movement to beat pet cancer by first, familiarizing yourself with the warning signs of pet cancer and sharing this knowledge with your friends and family, and joining us throughout the conference and beyond on the Puccini Foundation's Facebook page and on @puccinirules. 

As always, thanks for your support and all you do to help companion animals. We're behind you all the way, Parental Unit!

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