4 The Love of Animals- animal rescue, wildlife, pets, and more!

If you are looking for something fun to give to a dog owner in your life, or if you want to treat yourself, you should head on over to the website Dog Is Good. They have some awesome goodies for the dog lover in your life. I would like to get this shirt for myself:

I love the “bling”! And the saying is just too true. Dog is good!

If shirts aren’t your thing, be sure to check out their greeting cards. I especially love this design:

And inside it says “until someone ends up in a cone”! All of their cards are very funny, and would be a great way to brighten up someone’s mailbox.

I haven’t seen any of the products in person, but I do think the site is a lot of fun and a great way to honor the bond between human and dog.

I am really excited to announce this giveaway! “A Rare Breed of Love” is the true story of Baby, a rescue, and the mission she inspired. Here is a little background:

Jana Kohl, Psy.D.: is a writer, artist, clinical psychologist, and animal welfare advocate. From a young age her primary drives were to aid social justice causes and do philanthropic work. Having worked for the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies for many years, and now as an animal welfare advocate, she has long been concerned with how cruelty can become sanctioned by society. Kohl has testified before the Illinois State Legislature on the link between legalized violence against animals and inter-human violence. She has participated in numerous animal welfare campaigns, most notably to end the sale of foie gras in her hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Kohl currently resides in California with Baby and a cat named Kitty Pie, whom she also adopted.

Baby: spent the first nine years of her life locked in a cage at a breeder’s home in Northern California, and was rescued by a passing stranger on the day she was scheduled to be killed for having gotten too old to produce litters. Through a pet rescue website, Baby found a “forever home” with Jana Kohl. She spends her time advocating for other abused dogs and animals, and best of all, being cuddled, kissed, and snuggled by her “Ma.”

One lucky reader will win a copy of this great book! Here are the rules:

• Leave a comment on this post before 9:00pm (MST) on August 12th, 2008.
• Please be sure to fill in the email part of the comment form, as this is the only way I can contact the winner.
• You may comment once a day until the deadline.
• This contest is open to all countries.
• The winner will be chosen at random and contacted by email the day after the contest ends.

Please visit Jana and Baby’s MySpace page for videos and more information. Become their friend too and help support the work they are doing! Here is a list of tour dates for the book, if they are coming your way you should go visit with them!

Baby’s “A Rare Breed of Love” National Book Tour Dates: 7/24-26: Philadelphia, PA 7/27-29: Pittsburgh, PA 7/30-31: Dayton, OH 8/1-5: Chicago, IL 8/6: Elyria, OH for the WEOL Radio Show! 8/7: Buffalo, NY 8/8-10: Boston, MA 8/11-12: Baltimore, MD 8/13: Richmond, VA 8/14: Norfolk, VA 8/15-17: Raleigh, NC 8/18-19: Charlotte, NC 8/20-21: Columbia, SC 8/22-24: Atlanta, GA 8/25-26: Jacksonville, FL 8/27-28: Orlando, FL 8/29-9/2: Miami, FL 9/3-4: Tampa, FL 9/5: Tallahassee, FL 9/6-7: Birmingham, AL 9/8-9: Nashville, TN 9/10-11: St. Louis, MO 9/12-15: Columbus, OH 9/16-17: Harrisburg, PA 9/18-21: Lancaster, PA for PUPPY MILLS AWARENESS DAY! 9/22: Louisville, KY 9/23-24: Memphis, TN 9/25: Baton Rouge, LA 9/26-27: Houston, TX 9/28-30: Austin, TX 10/1-2: Oklahoma City, OK 10/3-4: Little Rock, AR 10/5: Beachwood, OH for Marilyn’s Got Moxie Event.

Good luck!

*this giveaway is now closed, congrats to Louise #159*

Already we are 8 months into the year, and I just found out that this is the Year of the Frog! No, I am not talking about Chinese New Year, but rather a year long campaign to help save the frog. Frogs are disappearing at alarming rates, but you probably haven’t heard much about it. The Year of the Frog campaign is designed to help raise awareness and funds to stop the crisis.

From Africa to the Americas, frogs and other amphibians are vanishing from the planet at an alarming rate. Not since the dinosaurs has the world seen such a rapid extinction. In the past few decades, as many as 130 species of frogs and other amphibians may have been wiped out. Right now, one-third to one-half of the world’s amphibian species are threatened. Climate change, pollution and a silent killer — chytrid fungus — are the main suspects in the mass disappearance. Chytrid fungus is currently unstoppable and untreatable in the wild. The World Conservation Union calls it the worst infectious disease ever recorded among vertebrates.

Amphibian Ark is doing a lot of great work in efforts to save frogs and other amphibians from extinction. As a frog lover, I am alarmed at the news, and saddened by the thought of frogs becoming extinct. If you want to learn more about what is going on, and also how you can become involved in the problem solving process, please visit the Amphibian Ark website.

I know it’s a bit early to be thinking about Halloween, but it is one of my favorite holidays. At least I am not quiet as bad as someone I know who starts decorating in August! Costumes are my favorite part of the holiday, so I start my planning early for what I want to dress up as. And to be honest, we even dress our sweet Maltese, Baby, in costumes for Halloween.

Look at this cute “watch dog” costume from InCostume.com! I think it’s cute and a clever play on words too. They also have a lot of great human costumes as well, something that I am considering is the “couples costumes“! I think it would be a hoot to go as Fred and Wilma Flinstone! It’s too bad they don’t have a Pebbles costume for our little dog, then we would be a complete Flinstone family for Halloween!

What about you? Do you enjoy dressing up for Halloween? Do you dress your pets in Halloween costumes? What has been your favorite Halloween costume?

One lucky reader will receive a Rally To Rescue t-shirt. The shirt is awesome, and is made of 100% cotton. The Rally to Rescue T-Shirt comes in their signature shade of purple, with the classic quotation from Mahatma Gandhi on the front: “The character of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” The back features the Rally to Rescue “Do More for Pets!” tag line, and the Rally to Rescue logo is printed on the left sleeve.

Would you like to win? Here is what you need to do:

• Leave a comment on this post before 9:00 PM (mountain time) on August 2nd.
• You can comment once a day per email. Please be sure to fill in the email address field so you can be contacted if you win.
• The winner will be chosen at random and contacted by email.
• The winner will get to choose between a size large shirt, or an extra large shirt.

Good luck!
*this giveaway is now closed. congrats to #77 Sherri*

Doesn’t this cat look like he’s saying something?

Just look at how cute Monroe is! Thanks for sending in the photos Mara, Monroe is sure to become famous someday (check out the relaxation going on in that last photo!).