Archive for September, 2008
We are once again haunted by a ghost in the machine of sorts and having some technical difficulties getting our voting system up and running for our pet photo contest. The experts are working to try and resolve the issues and we will begin the online voting phase of the contest as soon as it is possible. When it is ready to go we will notify the twelve finalists that they are in the running for an 18″ custom pet portrait, then we’ll let the games begin!
This means we will also be extending the dates for online voting so we’ll be sure and keep you posted. In the meantime, thank you so much for your patience!
We have received some awesome entries for our photo contest, but we are still waiting for yours!
Send us your favorite photo of your favorite dog, cat, horse, gerbil, goldfish, whatever.. we’ll be selecting 12 finalists then letting online votes determine the winner. That winner will receive a complimentary, custom 18″ Pop Art Pet portrait!
Pet
Photo
Contest
But there are only a few days left – September 27th is the deadline for photo submission. So don’t wait, visit our contest page to find out how to enter now.
Lately, it’s been like “Old Macdonald’s Farm” around here! In the same week we started working on a custom portrait of a lovely little filly named Zoey, we got an order for King Louis, II, a GOAT!!
Because he is our very first goat we just had to ask Ashley, our client, the back story. Apparently King Louis, II is the love of her little girl’s life and the portrait is a Christmas gift for her. Here’s the whole story in Ashley’s own words:
“At 5, [my daughter] sat on Santa’s lap at the mall and asked for a goat–said that was all she wanted. This was the first I had heard of this, and I had already purchased numerous toys to put out by the tree. So what does any good mother do? Find a way to get her a goat! Called around town, found a goat, and purchased it. We kept him in a nearby barn until Christmas morning. After my daughter awoke, she went screaming through the house, woke us up and said she heard a baby crying outside. There he was, in all his perfect white splendor…King Louis the I she called him. I have never seen a child so smitten. After falling in love with him…and I mean the entire family, Louis passed away on New Year’s eve. No one is sure what actually was wrong with him, and my daughter’s heart was broken. I didn’t know how to explain death to a 5 year old, and I didn’t want too.
Some of the towns people from our church heard about what happened and were devastated for her. We had a couple that called and offered a baby goat to us but said that he wasn’t quite ready to leave his mother. So again, what does any good mother do? We took the mama goat Lucy and her baby (now King Louis the II) into our home and introduced them to the rest of the family–including the stray cat (Tiger) that came up after Hurricane Katrina, our two yellow labs–Belle and Moose, the animal I rescued from a shelter named Copper, and our little diva long-haired dachshund named Dolce. Boy, did we have our hands full.
King Louis the II survived. Lucy went back to her original owners. And my daughter feels that she is the luckiest little girl in the world! Louis has been taught how to slide down her slide–standing up. Then she hides with a cup of corn, shakes it and Louis comes looking for her (their version of hide-n-seek), and he climbs the rock climber on the side of her swing set and sits in the clubhouse while she puts bonnets on his head and pretends to play house. Did I mention that he packs with our labs? We are thinking of getting him a partner because lately Louis has been having an identity crises and believes he’s a dog, too!
King Louis is very pampered. He has his on mini-barn, tons of hay, is spoiled to protein and corn—so he doesn’t graze like normal goats as much. He gets a bath and smell good animal perfume, which he hates. We let him out on the rest of the farm every weekend when we are at home and can keep an eye on him. We don’t want him to eat something poisonous (he doesn’t have “meadow smarts”). Louis still doesn’t understand the single file line thing that the other goats do, but has tons of female and male goat friends. But at the end of the day, he will cry to be back with our daughter and our labs.
Our daughter is an only child, and I am very lucky to have her. King Louis the II is more than a best friend, he is a family member–the second child of sorts, that I could never have.”
We are flattered to have been able to capture Louis’ spirit in the vivid, Pop Art Portrait!
Coming soon.. the story of Pedro – our first Pop Art “burro.”
This one has already made national headlines:
A 9-1-1 operator didn’t expect to hear a canine when he answered the phone.
A dog had his day last week in Arizona. A German Shepherd saved his owner’s life by dialing 911.
In Scottsdale, Buddy saved the life of his owner, Joe Stalnaker, after he had a seizure. Buddy called 9-1-1 and began barking and whimpering to the operator. The dog stayed on the line enough for police to trace the call and arrive at the scene.
Chris Tott was caught off guard when he said, “Hello, this is 911. Hello . . . Can you hear me? Is there somebody there you can give the phone to,” and was greeted with barking from a furry friend.
Police arrived 20 minutes later and Stalnaker spent the next two days in the hospital recovering from the seizure.
“It’s pretty incredible. Even the veteran dispatchers – they haven’t heard of anything like this,” said Sgt. Mark Clark of the Scottsdale Police Department.
Stalnaker suffered injuries to the head several years ago due to a military-exercise accident. He adopted Buddy at eight weeks old as part of the Paws with a Cause, a company that trains animals for assisting those with disabilities.
“He’s my world. He’s my best friend, no question. He’s always there, and I just hope I can be as good to him as he’s been to me,†said Stalnaker.
From: thecelebritycafe.com
Now that we’re having a very active hurricane season it’s encouraging to see how animal rescue efforts have improved since Katrina. For example, in an article on nola.com we read about how many animal rescue organizations were entering Louisiana as residents were evacuating to avoid Hurricane Gustav, and how many more people this time chose to take their pets with them when they fled the storms.
“The American Humane Association was one of several national organizations that arrived as Gustav entered the Gulf, and it took part in the Louisiana State Animal Response Team (LSART). The International Fund for Animal Welfare and Animal Rescue League of Boston was here after the recent rescue of farm animals in the flooded areas of the Midwest. Also participating in LSART shelter operations were the ASPCA, Best Friends, Code 3, the Humane Society of the United States, United Animal Nations and Noah’s Wish. Many of these groups also helped local animals after Katrina and are working in other evacuation shelters during this evacuation.
The Best Friends Rapid Response Team provided 3,000 pet carriers when it learned some animals were turned away from buses because they didn’t have their own carriers. The group also assisted at the Jefferson Parish shelter.
The groups provided manpower for the state’s “mega shelter” in Shreveport.”
“Last August, an American Humane Association survey revealed that about 47 percent of pet owners would be reluctant to evacuate without their pets. Many died during Katrina because of this strong animal-human bond.
This time, with Gustav, the empty streets of New Orleans prove that a lot has changed. More people are leaving and more evacuees are taking their pets with them. And those without private transportation no longer have to leave their pets behind. Thanks to new law, policy and practice, the evacuation and treatment of our pets during storms has changed dramatically since Katrina. And that winds up benefiting their owners, too.”
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You can also read about dozens of “Storm Orphans” now safe at Best Friends on their website.
Our Second Annual Photo Contest has been underway for about a week now, but we didn’t realize for several days that there were some technical difficulties using the contest entry form. It has now been fixed and is working great, but since this caused a bit of a delay we decided we should extend our dates and deadlines.
You now have until September 27th to submit your photos. We will announce the 12 finalists on September 30th and then open up online voting for the winner through October 5th.
So make a note of these changes, you now have a little extra time to get your favorite photo to us. Also, please visit the contest page when you’re ready to enter, and be sure and read all the rules and details and such.
Over Labor Day weekend we went on a safari, and we only had to go about 30 miles from home to do it! The Wild Animal Sanctuary has been rescuing animals for 28 years, but we just found out about it so we had to go and check it out. It’s really quite amazing!
Did you know that there are more privately kept tigers in the United States than remaining in the wild around the rest of the world combined?
According to their literature, The Wild Animal Sanctuary is a true sanctuary for abused, abandoned, exploited and endangered exotic captive wildlife. They are the home to over 150 of some of the most magnificent creatures on the planet, including Tigers, African Lions, Jaguars, Leopards, Wolves, and Bears. This unique refuge for captive wildlife is like no other. The animals they rescue who have suffered abuse, neglect, abandonment, commercialization and exploitation get to come “home” to a wonderful safe haven that provides them with spacious indoor-outdoor living quarters, large habitats, the best quality food available, and lots of free time to roam, play and swim on the center’s 160 acres. They also receive the most important ingredients to a happy life, lots of love, affection and interaction.
As visitors we were able to view the animals from walk ways above their habitats without disturbing them, and we were given a handbook which included the names and the rescue stories of every single rescue. They also provide tons of educational films and information, it was a truly unique experience.
You can learn more about The Wild Animal Sanctuary, how you can make a donation, or even adopt an animal to help support them on their website.
