Paws for Japan: Help World Vets Help Japan Animals

Together, we can make a difference far greater than any of us can do alone.

Today, the online pet community is coming together as we have done so many times before... this time, to help the pets affected by the earthquake and tsumami in Japan. We're helping spread the word and raise funds for World Vets, on the ground and helping the animals in Japan. To find out more how you can help, visit BlogPaws Be The Change for Pets.

World Vets is in Niigata, Japan with a shipment of veterinary supplies. They are headed out toward the hardest hit areas to make assessments and provide relief. You can also follow their updates on the World Vets Facebook page and on Twitter.  More from CNN on how World Vets is helping support animal rescue efforts in Japan.


A look at the animals who need help. Thanks Your Daily Cute for posting this video.

Together, the anipals on Twitter showed what one caring community can do.

On March 17, 2009, we participated in the very first PawPawty on Twitter. Today, celebrating its second anniversary, the PawPawty anipals have raised nearly $50,000 dollars for animal welfare organizations all over the world. Well done mai pals. Thank you @FrugalDougal for being a great pal to @CosmoHavanese! And today, the anipals are rallying again with a “We ♥ Japan” Pawty, to help the anipals who need it most in Japan.

Together, we can make the our planet a better place, one person at a time.

Every donation helps, no matter how big or small. You can donate to World Vets by using the Chip In widget on our sidebar to the right, or donate here.

Earlier this week we showed you how the animals from the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF) are helping the people of Japan. Dog Bless You fans came together to help spread the word and now the SDF dogs are on the ground helping in Japan. Now it's time to help the animals too. Here's some great info from Reader's Digest that shows even more ways to help.

Wordless Wednesday: Woof Gang Bakery Stop on the Simply Buckhead Pet Boutique Tour!

First, some not-so-wordless Wednesday to address the critical needs in Japan, and then we'll get to some much-needed Wordless Wednesday love.

Please join us tomorrow to help spread the word about Paws for Japan, a day when the pet community will come together to support relief efforts for animals in Japan. Led by BlogPaws Be the Change for Pets, we'll spread the word and help raise funds for World Vets, an organization dedicated to providing veterinary aid worldwide.

The first World Vets responder deployment is en route to Japan to support a coalition of Japanese animal welfare groups. You can read a little more about it on Pawcurious and get codes for all the badges and other idea from BlogPaws.  Also, donations can be made by clicking "ChipIn!" on the Japan Animal Aid widget on our right sidebar. 

You might also like to know about Dog Bless You, a wonderful organization that champions the selfless acts of animals. We had the chance to hang out with them at SXSW and tell you more about them here.

Now back to regularly scheduled programming:

We recently toured our favorite local pet boutiques for an article in Simply Buckhead magazine. Today's feature comes from Woof Gang Bakery Buckhead!

In addition to having incredible baked goods for dogs and a full supply of pet products, Woof Gang Bakery hosts lots of events to help raise money and awareness for animal causes. At a recent event, Cosmo and his pal Frankie from BarkWorld got a chance to visit with Victoria Stilwell from Animal Planet's It's Me or the Dog!

The fabulous table of bakery goods for dogs is the focal point of the store!

Cosmo hopes some baked items will fly off the table and into his mouth!

On our trip last weekend to SXSW, we got to meet our pal @WrigleySchnauzr! He sent these treats home to Cosmo from the recently-opened Woof Gang Bakery in Austin! Here's more about our recent tour of Atlanta area pet boutiques.

Santa Paws Drive Brings Holiday Joy to Shelter Animals

I don't go anywhere without my big green bone. I want all
the shelter animals to have special toys too! -- Cosmo Havanese

Because shelter pets deserve toys too,  a couple of our best pals created the Santa Paws Drive -- an online toy, treat and donation drive designed to bring holiday cheer to shelter pets this season. While we're all warm and cozy at home with plenty of food, toys and treats, we'd like to think the shelter animals can have a little something special too. The Santa Paws Drive makes it easy to help.


Just go to the donation tab on SantaPawsDrive.com and choose what you'd like to donate. The Santa Paws elves have made it super easy to choose from dog toys, cat toys or cash. The elves will take care of all the shipping and send the goodies off to six shelters across the world.


Here are a few other ways to help too! 

• Buy a $1 raffle ticket for a chance to win some great prizes from some generous sponsors. All proceeds raised will go directly to the shelters.  
• Participate in one of the Santa Paws Drive special events to help raise awareness AND have a great time!
• Spread the word by writing a blog post, tweeting (#BeTheChange #SantaPawsDrive), posting to Facebook and then add your link to the list below so we can see our collective effort!

Special thanks to the elves behind the Santa Paws Drive: Your Daily Cute, PawPawty, Nip and Bones and The Kitten Crew!


December 10 is the last day for treat donations and December 20 for cash donations so what are you waiting for!!  It's time to get hopping!

Pet-spiration: The most inspiring pet parents I know! #momblogoff

Because pets are the new kids, tonight we're participating in a Mommy Blogoff at the WXIA-TV studio in Atlanta. It's all part of social media week in Atlanta -- a week of all sorts of events around the city to showcase Atlanta's involvement in social media. 


Even Mom bloggers need to eat, so we started the evening with a nommy (that's "tasty" in pet speak) cajun-creole spread from Nawlins restaurant in East Atlanta Village.  


But now for the reason we are here. We were just given five topics from which to choose and we are being challenged to write a post about one of them.  I'm choosing "Mom-spiration: The most inspiring parent I know" because our pals in the anipal (that's our animal pals for you mommy bloggers) inspire me every day.


One of Cosmo Havanese's  first pals on twitter was Frugal Dougal, creator of the world famous PawPawty. With the help of 100's of animal parent volunteers participating in PawPawties each month, we've raised nearly $40,000 for animal welfare charities across the world! 

Portrait of Cosmo Havanese by artist @BZTAT

Now Frugal Dougal and our pals at Your Daily Cute and Nip and Bones are kicking off the second annual Santa Paws Drive, the first ever virtual toy drive for pets!! If you like kids, you gotta LOVE pets, so check it out and see how you can pawticipate!


Another one of Cosmo's first twitter pals was @Brewskiebutt. Brew is a kitty, but his mom @BZTAT paints wonderful pet portraits. See the portrait BZTAT did for us at left!  


Now, BZTAT, known in the real world as Vicki Boatright, is planning a 24-hour paint-a-thon this weekend! Along with eight other bloggers who will also be blogging for 24 hours, the group who is led by Dr. V. of Pawcurious, are raising funds for various animal charities. Your can read all about it at Pawcurious!

With so many amazing pet-spirational parents in our community, it's impossible to mention just one, and even more impossible to list them all. So I'll leave you with this video that sums it all up. 


Turn up the volume. Way up!! Pass the tissue's please! 

Thanks to Frugal Dougal and his mum Lynn Haigh of Dougals Den and PawPawty for this amazing video from BlogPaws earlier this year.

Don't Stop Belieeeeeeeeving! 

Adopt a Less Adoptable Pet Week: Are you Mavis' Angel?

I'm a sweet girl looking for my angel

Not all shelter pets are created equal. 

According to a recent survey by Petfinder, older pets and those who have special needs have the hardest time finding homes.

That's why we're introducing you to Mavis, a sweet 8+-year-old Corgi mix who currently lives at Mostly Mutts animal rescue near Atlanta, Ga.

Mavis, who looks to be a little "Puggish" as well, is a sweet little girl -- about 25 pounds -- who's looking for a quiet, loving home. She loves belly rubs and playing with her toys and is quite happy taking nice, long naps during the day.

While she is a healthy little dog, Mavis has  "dry eye" and will require drops twice a day. Mostly Mutts founder Paige O'Neill says, "she allows me to do it as long as she gets a treat and some play time after!"

Dry eye is easily treated -- I know because I had a Lhasa Apso who needed eye drops -- and it became an easy and important part of his day-to-day routine. With a little practice, it became a piece of cake for my Lhasa Thai, and he always looked forward to the ensuing treats! Thai lived a long and happy 16 years before Cosmo Havanese came along.

While Mavis may be considered less adoptable because of her eye condition and her mature age, anyone with an 8-year-old dog will tell you it's the best age ever! She's a perfect partner for someone looking for a loving companion!

This week also is Adopt a Less Adoptable Pet Week, the latest Be The Change For Pets challenge from the folks at BlogPaws. We're hoping that with a little extra awareness this week, Mavis and other pets like her in shelters across the country will find their forever homes. To check out more stories about less adoptable pets, scroll down to the blog roll below.