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Your Help is Needed in the Corridor of Cruelty!

I have been to the Corridor of Cruelty twice with SNAP and have seen these volunteers work tirelessly to save the lives of the abandoned dogs in the COC.  I am including an excerpt from an email that Corridor champion Deborah Hoffman sent today.  I urge anyone who can to help!  They are literally dragging these dogs from death's door and they need a little help to keep up with the demand!  Just one look at the face of this pup and you know it is worth it!

Following is what Deborah sent:

"This is a Mini-Update and I will try to be brief.  Next week I will send out my regular update providing all the details on Corridor activities in the last month including photos of the 7 dogs and 1 cat we have rescued since my June 8^th update.  At that time 75 animals had been rescued to date.  As of today, 83 animals have been saved in the Corridor of Cruelty.  I dread every time I drive through the Corridor.  Just this past Sunday I was particularly uneasy and rightly so.  An hour and a half after rescuing a black lab on Dodson and refilling feeding stations, I came back around to check on 2 small white strays I had seen behind the Sak N Save and found that 2 dead pitbulls had been dumped while I was gone.  One in a bag and one not.  Both right in front of our feeding station.  My heart aches for these dogs and others like them.  When I see living dogs on this road, it is VERY difficult for me to leave them behind if they will come with me…… only through your DONATIONS is it possible for me to keep saving these poor souls.

 

Corridor Rescue Inc. (CRI) has been formed.  I still need to get the ball rolling and file for our non-profit status and will make time over the next few weeks to do that.  I’ll be setting up a PayPal account and a PO Box.  In the meantime, the best way to make a donation to help the many animals that CRI rescues is to make a donation to our account at Abbott Animal Clinic.  Our current bill is VERY high and a great source of stress for me.  If everyone on this list donated just $20.00, the effect would be miraculous.  To all of you that have already contributed - please know how GREATLY your generosity is APPRECIATED….THANK YOU.

 

Remember…..just $20.00 can make a huge difference……

Abbott Animal Clinic

17006 Sugar Pine Dr

Houston, TX 77090-2213

(281) 893-5000

 

OR

 

You can send a payment via WWW.PAYPAL.COM to debbzweb@yahoo.com."

SNAP Announces Expansion of Services!

This is really exciting!  Now SNAP will be able to not only provide more free and low-cost surgeries, they will also be able to expand their low-cost wellness services!  Here's the official word:

SPAY NEUTER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ANNOUNCES 

EXPANSION OF SERVICES

Group to combine surgery and wellness services into one larger 

location to better serve Houston

Houston (June 30, 2009) – The Spay Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP) announced today that it will be combining its reduced-cost stationary veterinary Spay-Neuter Clinic and its reduced-cost Wellness Clinic into one larger space that will greatly increase its ability to meet the needs of the community.  This expansion is being made possible by a $225,000 grant from PetSmart Charities, which will cover initial lease, renovation and equipment costs.  "SNAP's spay/neuter program is an excellent example of collaboration," said Susana Della Maddalena, executive director of PetSmart Charities. "Partnerships like these are the key to successful, low-cost spay/neuter in local communities." 

Book to Bark About! Lost Souls: Found!

 Forever Families” of adopted dogs share stories in “Lost Souls: FOUND! Inspirational Stories of Adopted Boston Terriers.”

Happy Tails Books, a new company that publishes breed-specific compilations of adopted dogs, has teamed up with nine Boston Terrier Rescue Groups to collect stories for their first book, “Lost Souls: FOUND! Inspirational Stories of Adopted Boston Terriers.” The stories, which are submitted by members of the rescue groups, dispel many misconceptions about adopted dogs and shed light on the indecencies that occur in the dog breeding (puppy mill) industry.

Several times a year, Happy Tails Books publishes a new compilation of stories about a specific type of dog. The series is call “Lost Souls: FOUND!”  These books are the result of partnerships with rescue groups of that specific breed. The rescue groups are located around the country and normally serve between one and five states. They take in dogs that were released from puppy mills, found as strays or surrendered by owners.

Happy Tails Books donates a portion of proceeds from every sale back to the rescue groups who helped gather stories for the books. The rescue groups use the money to help dogs that come into their care by funding medical bills, arranging transports, organizing foster care and advertising for the appropriate adoptive “forever families.” According to Jennifer Misfeldt, President of Nebraska-based MidAmerica Boston Terrier Rescue, "MidAmerica Boston Terrier Rescue was excited for the opportunity to partner with Happy Tails Books for their Boston Terrier "Lost Souls: FOUND!" book. It gave our members who have adopted puppy mill survivors the opportunity to share how great life is with their new companion."

Macy's Charity Day to Benefit Austin German Shepherd Dog Rescue!

Austin German Shepherd Dog Rescue is participating in Macy's Charity Day at the new store north of Houston in Humble, Texas at Deerbrook Mall on Saturday, August 1 from 10 am to 9 pm. Charity Day is an all-day shopping event that supports local non-profit organizations.

Austin German Shepherd Dog Rescue is selling $5 tickets to the event and purchasers will be entitled to 10% - 25% off discounts throughout the store and a chance to win a $500 Macy's shopping spree. There will be other fun through out the day. Charities get to keep 100% proceeds of the tickets they sell. At the event, Austin German Shepherd Dog Rescue will have a table setup in the store 10 am - 12:30 pm and some available dogs to meet and to learn more about the organization. If you are interested in helping us raise funds for the care of their dogs, please purchase by clicking here. To allow time for tickets to be received, the deadline for purchasing tickets is Saturday, July 25, 2009.

Tiki Post: Tiki Says See the Buddha in Every Barking Puppy!”

Weekly words of wisdom from Tiki, our resident yoga dog!

Hello all!  It's Tiki here with a few words of wisdom and a little fun for your morning.

 

So, this week I was hard at work in my job as guard-dog for the studio.  Usually things are pretty quiet, but this week I really had to earn my keep - there were tons of people coming in and out, and for some reason, a lot of them had their puppies with them.  Now most of these puppies were not nearly as well-behaved as I and were barking their little heads off at me.  Not only was their barking loud and annoying, it was cutting into my nap time; all I could think about was how much I wanted them to go away and leave me alone.  Then I remembered a meditation I've heard in yoga class: every person (or puppy) that comes into your life is really just teacher, placed exactly where they need to be to teach you the lessons you need to learn.  Every person and every doggie we encounter, whether they are nice or rude, barking or calm, are really just Buddhas for us.  So as much as I hated to admit it, I realized that these barking puppies had a lot to teach me about compassion and acceptance.  Rather than just being annoyed with them, I made a choice to change my attitude and appreciate them and the lessons they were teaching me.

 

Rockstar for a Cause! Help SNAP and Sing Your Heart Out!

You won't want to miss this fun event at Sammy's this Friday night!  This month's Rockstar Karaoke is benefitting SNAP and will help the group provide more free and low-cost spay/neuter resources in our community to those who need it most!  SNAP will receive half of the profits from the signature drink being sold, so make sure you order the signature drink of the night, the Leg Humper -- a.k.a. a Mojito!

Fetching Dog Collars! Discount for our Readers!

We have just learned about another great place to pick up a cool collar for the summer, or any season for that matter!  Fetching Dog Collars are unique, strong and most of all, stylish!  All Houston Dog Blog readers will receive a special 15% discount by entering the coupon code "15dogcollar" during checkout....so shop away!!

Here is a little more info from their website:

"Our handmade designer dog collars and leashes are made of strong nylon webbing. 5 different widths can fit both small dogs and big dogs. We have a huge variety of trendy & stylish designs, including pink skulls, leopard print and preppy stripes! Styles include Martingale, Quick-Release buckle and No-Buckle Adjustable. Bulldog tested for strength and quality."

Scout's Honor Rescue 4th of July celebration at Firkin & Phoenix!

Great event from our friends at Scout's Honor Rescue!  

Tiki Post: Tiki Says Take a Breath and Enjoy the Walk!

It's Tiki here, sharing a little bit of wisdom that I gained on a walk to the park this week!

 

You see, I love going to the park, and this past week, my mommy took me on a nice walk to my favorite park near our house.  For the entire walk, I was so excited that I was practically bouncing down the sidewalk.  All I could think about was how much fun I was about to have at the park and what a great time I would have running and exploring.  By the time I actually arrived at the park, I realized that I hadn't taken the time to enjoy the lovely walk we had just been on.  I had been too focused on the goal, and missed all the beautiful details along the way.

 

From all the yoga classes I've watched over the years, I've noticed that it's very similar with your yoga practice.  I can see that you get so intent on accomplishing a certain pose - whether it's the crow, headstand, or the splits - that you forget to take a breath or two and enjoy where you are right now.  Just like my walk was physically moving me closer to the park, you know that each time you practice the headstand, you're moving a little bit closer to actually performing that pose.  But somehow we tend to become impatient and want that headstand or that park right this instant.  Just as the walk to the park was part of the fun of the whole trip for me, so practicing that headstand can be part of the fun of actually performing a headstand.

 

Surfing Dogs!

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