Tis the season for giving!

Hi dawgs! An Occassional Dog Blogger here with some news your humans can use.

We'd like them to join us in a giving project for dawgs waiting for great new homes at shelters all over the dawg world. Dawgdom is sponsoring a shelter-blanket project that young and old can do quickly and easily.

This project is designed for people of all ages and is great to do as a family project. The blanket is made of fleece and requires no sewing skills. Make one, or many, and bring them in to Dawgdom at 441A Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY.

If you don’t happen to live nearby, you can bring your blanket(s) in to a shelter in your town that accepts blankets (not all shelters have the facilities to wash them so call ahead and ask). Google “Animal Shelters” or “Humane Society” to find one near you.

Dawgdom would love to share your good work to inspire others, so take a picture

• while making the blanket
• of the finished masterpiece
• and/or of you dropping if off at the shelter.

Then send your pics and story to us! Post on our Dawgdom Facebook page, email us at info@dawgdom.com OR comment here on the blog and attach a link to your story.


Supplies Needed:

• A pair of good scissors (If your scissors are dull, it will take a lot longer to complete!) OR rotary cutter and mat
• Ruler or tape measure
• Two coordinating pieces of any fleece . . . Xsmall 17” x 17”; Small 21” x 21”; Medium 27” x 27”; Large 36” x 36”

Directions:

1. Cut off rough selvage edge on both sides. (This is the side that is machine finished, not cut.) Trim only as much as necessary, usually not more than 2 inches on each side. At this point, make sure that your cut sides are relatively straight.


2. Lay your fleece wrong sides together, with edges matching up. (Often times with fleece, it's hard to tell which side is the wrong side and it often doesn't matter which side you use as the front or back.)


3. Cut a 3”x”3 square out of each corner (through both layers of fleece) and discard


4. Make 3" cuts into fleece at 1" intervals around all four sides. (no need to be exact, but if you’d like you can use a tape measure placed above the 3 inch cutting area.)


5. Tie overhand knot close to blanket edge by using one strip from the front and one strip from the back to create finished fringe edge - then tie again. Tie every other set of strips around all 4 sides. Then flip the blanket over and tie the remaining sets of strips. Make sure you make two tight, overhand knots for your fringe.

Happy blanket making. We are thankful for a great community of followers who are always working to make a dawg's day!

WAGGIN' TAILS PET RESCUE

ADOPT A DOG!

Hey, this is Fred and I am the newest pack member in the DAWGDOM household. I joined the group a few months ago and thought, now that I am settled in that I should tell you about the great rescue group I came from. Amy Ranucci, a nice lady, runs Waggin' Tails Pet Rescue out of Schenectady. They have great foster homes from Albany to Saratoga and work really hard to make us safe and comfortable while we are trying to find our forever homes. I started out in a Penn. Shelter and ended up being fostered in Saratoga. My foster mom and sisters kept bringing me into DAWGDOM. Finally, Dave and Sara agreed to bring me home. Waggin' Tails is a great place to adopt a dog. There are adoption clinics at DAWGDOM and boy do those bring the crowds - Cute Loving Dogs, what more could you ask for? Check out Waggin' Tails Website for Available Dogs and more!

Sadie's Product Pick

Mom brought home our new Inital ID Tags and they are unbelievable! They're really fun on the front with an initial surrounded by almost any color you want, but the best part is the quality. The back of the tag is impressed and then filled with an epoxy. Do you know what that means? It means the engraving won't wear off - Amazing! My Tag is Purple Sparkle with an S for Sadie.
They are made of lead-free pewter and handcrafted in the United States. They come in a ton of colors and 3 sizes. They come in Small: $18; Medium: $20; Large: $22 and ship straight to your house.
Call the store for more info!

HOPE fundraiser @ DAWGDOM

Hi everyone.
Pip the Dog here. I know I have been out of the loop lately. I had a bit of a setback in my behavior and have been working with Miss Justine on being a better boy. Maybe I will post more about that later. Anyway, I haven't been downtown in a few months (forever in dog time!). Mum told me about the fundraiser that HOPE did last weekend at the store. They brought in super cute kittens and raised some money for their rescue. Click here to see the mention in the Saratogian.

HOPE is going to be at DAWGDOM again this weekend for the big Travers Festival. Stop by and see the kitties and throw some quarters in the pot while you're at it. If you would like find out more about HOPE click here.

This is Pip, signing off!

Avoid Getting a Puppy Mill Dog

Here is a great Set of Tips that the Humane Society has put together to help people avoid Puppy Mill Dogs. The only way to put these awful facilities OUT OF BUSINESS is to STOP BUYING THEIR DOGS!

1. Consider adoption first when getting a pet. Animal shelters are filled with dogs and cats of all breeds and sizes who need and deserve loving homes. Nationwide, approximately 25 percent of the dogs in shelters are purebreds.

2. Find a responsible breeder and visit their premises in person to see how the parent dogs are living and the conditions in which the puppy was raised. Responsible breeders house their dogs as members of the family and do not keep them confined to cages.


3. Don't be fooled by common claims made by pet stores when pushing their puppies. Good breeders do not sell to pet stores because they want to meet the families who are taking home their puppies.


4. Don't be swayed by a great website or ad; many of the puppy mills The HSUS has raided in recent years hid behind beautiful and deceiving websites promising "family raised" puppies.5. Avoid the temptation to "rescue" a puppy mill puppy by buying him; your purchase will only help perpetuate a cruel industry and another dog will quickly fill his cage.

If you are set on Purchasing a Puppy, please:
Download our "How to Identify a Good Dog Breeder" [PDF] checklist and take it with you as you visit different breeders. If the breeder you're working with doesn't meet all of the minimum criteria listed, The Humane Society of the United States advises you to walk away. Remember, your dog will likely live 12 to 20 years, so it's well worth investing some time now to be sure you're working with a reputable breeder who breeds healthy, happy dogs.

For more information on how to get a puppy from a shelter or a responsible breeder, go to
http://www.humanesociety.org/puppy

CANINI WINNER - CHASE DECKER

CONGRATULATIONS CHASE!

Chase and his people came in on Sunday and picked out a large green "Verve" Canini Collar (worth $50) for winning our July Giveaway! He seemed like a very happy boy!

Chase is a 2 year old yellow lab who has been such a gift to his new family. The Deckers adopted him from another family who decided they couldn't care for him as he deserved. He is described by everybody as "loving and mellow." He loves car rides and going for long walks.

"We are so excited. Thank you! I discovered that Chase looks like the store's mascot Maverick! He looks good in the simple red collar we brought him home but it will be nice to change it up every once in awhile after a swim! THANK YOU FROM CHASE AND HIS FAMILY!"

- Karen Decker

Canini Winner to Be Announced!

WE HAVE A WINNER!
We are waiting for them to get back to us with all their info and we will let everyone know.
We will soon be announcing a new Contest so stay tuned!