I just want to remind everyone that the official kickoff of American Humane’s Adopt-A-Dog Month has begun. It’s a great time to adopt a rescue dog or help out by volunteering your time at a shelter.

Send me in your dog’s rescue story, using the ‘Bark Back‘ form, and if I feature it on the blog you will win 50 zealies.

You can become a hero to a dog this October by observing and celebrating the American Humane Association’s Adopt-A-Dog Month® event. Millions of dogs in shelters are facing an uncertain fate, and many more are joining them each day due to the effects of the recession on pet owners. But there are simple steps each of us can take to make a difference in these dogs’ lives.

Save the day for a homeless dog — and find a faithful companion who will be at your side for all of life’s adventures — by adopting a dog from a shelter or breed-rescue group during October. It’s the perfect time to visit the shelter, meet potential sidekicks and discover how much fun and happiness a dog can add to your life.

Companionship, improved physical and emotional health, social interaction and devoted love are just a few of the super-size benefits of having a dog. Dogs also encourage people to exercise, enhance family and social relationships, promote laughter and act as a nonjudgmental audience and sounding board.

Bringing a dog into your home is a lifetime commitment (the dog’s lifetime, that is) and can require immense lifestyle adjustments for everyone in the family. If you aren’t ready to adopt, but still want to make a difference for homeless dogs, here are some other ways to celebrate Adopt-A-Dog Month:

Volunteer: Shelters and rescue groups are always looking for dependable people who can help in almost any way. Are you good at taking pictures or working on websites? Offer to take appealing photos of adoptable dogs and post them on the organization’s website. Do you have a way with words? Volunteer your time to help edit the organization’s newsletter or website. We all have something to offer; we just need to ask how we can help!

Support: While financial support is always welcome, your donation of blankets, toys, dog food and volunteer time are just a few of the things you can offer homeless dogs in your community. You can also make contributions to help fund grants that are available to community shelters and rescue groups through American Humane’s Second Chance Fund and its Foreclosure Pets Grant. These grants help abused, neglected, abandoned or relinquished pets and are funded entirely by donations, so your support goes directly to help these animals get the care they need to survive.

“Right now there is a greater need than ever for people to go to a shelter and find their new best friend,” said Marie Belew Wheatley, American Humane president and CEO. “The nation’s economy is negatively impacting community shelters and rescue organizations, filling them to capacity many times over. This October, we hope people will renew their commitment to help these animals that are so in need of forever homes.”

We’re only a couple weeks away from the start of American Humane’s Adopt-A-Dog Month.  It’s important to help them get the word out about how great rescue dogs are.

Want to be a Superhero?

Rescue a Shelter Dog … and Get a Loyal Sidekick for All of Life’s Adventures

You can save the day for a homeless dog — and find a faithful companion who will be at your side for all of life’s adventures — by adopting a dog from your local shelter or breed-rescue group during American Humane’s Adopt-A-Dog Month® in October.

Adopting a dog is a heroic feat that’s easy to perform, and animal shelters and breed-rescue groups are filled with amazing dogs: large, small, mixed breeds, even purebreds. In fact, millions of loyal, lovable dogs are surrendered to our nation’s animal welfare organizations every year because their owners simply couldn’t take care of them anymore. Now they’re homeless — and just waiting for a hero like you!

During Adopt-A-Dog Month, we encourage you to visit your local shelter or breed-rescue group, meet potential sidekicks and discover the many super-size benefits of having a dog: happiness, companionship, improved physical and emotional health, and devoted love. Dogs also encourage people to exercise, enhance family and social relationships, promote laughter and act as a nonjudgmental audience and sounding board. Now that’s super!

American Humane works year-round to support animal welfare organizations, promote adoptions and enhance the bond that people share with their companion animals. And each year during Adopt-A-Dog Month, we give shelters tools and resources to continue fostering connections between people and pets.

If you would like me to feature your rescue on the For The Love Of Dog blog next month write a story about their adoption and send it to me using the Bark Back form.  One can never tire of reading rescue stories with happy endings. The Dogster with the best rescue story will be awarded 100 zealies!  Better get those paws typing.

Our beautiful rescue crew: Copper, Bo, Logan.  They are such a huge part of our lives, sometimes I wonder if we rescued them, or they rescued us?

*Pic courtesy American Humane

Here’s Mark explaining how the photo came to be…

The photo that won is one of my favorites from this year. It’s a shot of a cute Maltese named Louis taken in my backyard studio called “Give Me Paw”. It was one of those on-a-whim deals where I thought it might look cool if I got on my back and got Louis looking down from above. Of course, right after the shot was taken he jumped on my stomach but at least he’s a Maltese and not a Mastiff.

American Humane is having a photo contest, after all, a picture is worth a thousand words. Or in this case, possibly a $1,000!

Attention all the wannabe photographers, it’s time to get the camera out and start shooting those award winning photos.

DENVER, June 1, 2009 — Starting Monday, June 15, 2009, the American Humane Association will accept entries for its 2009 Pets & Pals Photo Contest^TM. This popular annual competition encourages photographers of all skills levels to send in shots of animals in four categories. Enter as many photos as you like for a shot at a Grand Prize of $1,000. The call for entries will run only until July 31, 2009, so dust off your camera and take your best shots!

2009 Pets & Pals Photo Contest Categories

1. Pets — Whether they’re dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets, birds or lizards, they’re your pets and you love them! This category is open to pictures of one or more pets or companion animals of any species.

2. People & Pets — What are we without our pets, and what are our pets without us? Honor a special human-animal bond. This category is open to pictures of one or more companion animals with one or more people.

3. Down on the Farm — Take your pick of the many animals found on a farm and capture a unique shot. This category is open to pictures of one or more farm or ranch animals.

4. Shelter Life — At an animal shelter, amazing, devoted people take care of homeless animals waiting to be adopted. Snap a shot honoring both the animals and the professionals. This category is open to pictures of shelter staff, volunteers, veterinarians, and animal control professionals and/or animals, in shelter settings.

Give it a try and see what develops!

Visit www.americanhumane.org/petsandpals for submission guidelines.

* Kensy ready for stardom!

On January 16th you can check-in at your local movie theater and watch Hotel For Dogs. It’s the story of two foster kids who have a dog they need to keep hidden, and the lengths they go to do so.

The movie is about unconditional love, showing it doesn’t always take a family in the traditional sense to make a home.

“Hotel for Dogs,” Andi (Emma Roberts, niece of Julia) and her younger brother, Bruce (Jake T. Austin) live in a strictly no-pets household and are fast running out of ways to keep their perpetually hungry dog, Friday, under wraps.

When they accidentally stumble on an abandoned hotel that is already home to a couple of resourceful strays, Andi has an idea. She taps Bruce’s mechanical genius for turning everyday objects into mechanical marvels, and, with the help of their friends in the neighborhood, transform the down-and-out hotel into a magical dog paradise – not only for Friday, but for every stray they can find.

But when the barking dogs make the neighbors and the suddenly out-of-work local dog catchers suspicious, Andi and Bruce have to use every invention at their disposal to prevent them from finding out “who let the dogs in.”

There were many dogs used in the making of Hotel For Dogs.  When you see a film with animals you  may recall the  “No Animals Were Harmed” disclaimer, that’s part of the American Humane Film & TV Unit. They make sure that when animals are involved everything is done in a safe and non-stressful environment. Have you ever watched a movie where there is a stunt that looks like an animal was harmed ?  That’s called perception vs. reality, it looks so real, but it was done in a safe manner with a lot of prep work.  The American Humane is there to document this so that there is no doubt everything was done properly.

I had the pleasure of doing a phone interview with Jone Bauman, Head of Communications for the American Humane, and Beth Langhorst who is a Senior Certified Animal Representative. Beth has a very impressive background, graduating from Moorpark College with a degree in Exotic Animal Training and Management. She was on the set of Hotel For Dogs for three months during the filming overseeing everything that involved the dogs: stunts, make-up, special effects.

One of the neat things I learned from the interview is that approximately 75-80% of the dogs you see in movies are rescued animals. After the movie many are adopted by the cast and crew, the rest go to other forever homes.

The American Humane provides this service free of charge which is great, plus they can never be accused of making a decision based on who’s paying them. They work on over 1,000 productions a year with only 11 full-time  and 25 part-time safety reps.

So, go enjoy the movie and know that “No Animals Were Harmed” thanks to the wonderful work of the American Humane.

* Photo courtesy American Humane.

If you live in the Denver, Colorado area here is a great way to help out some very needy dogs.  It doesn’t cost much, only a can/bag of food or a blanket, and will make a big difference for these homeless animals.

The drive is in conjunction with American Humane Association and runs from December 1st to the 12th, so you have still have plenty of time to donate.

Hard economic times are taking their toll on everyone — including pets. Shelters and rescue groups are overcrowded and in even more need of basic supplies.

To help, the American Humane Association and 20th Century Fox’s new movie “Marley & Me” — based on the best-selling book about a family and its rambunctious Labrador retriever — are teaming up this holiday season to support Denver area animal shelters and rescue groups through the “12 Days of Marley — Dog Food & Blanket Drive.”

The Denver area community is urged to drop off unopened bags and cans of dog food or clean blankets at one of 65 participating locations, including Denver metro area Suncor Energy/Phillips 66 sites and independently owned pet stores. Suncor Energy/Phillips 66 sites will also host a donation drive at the cash registers of its Denver area locations, so patrons can opt to make monetary donations as well. The pet food drive will run Dec. 1-Dec. 12, 2008. Select locations will participate throughout December.

To learn all the details on how to help and participating drop off locations visit the American Humane site. Thanks in advance to all the generous Dogsters out there.

This is a very sad report out of Orange County, CA where the kill rate has skyrocketed as the housing slump worsens.

Just as the County of Orange rejected a mandatory spay/neuter law for pets, statistics show a 21 percent leap in the number of unwanted animals killed at the Orange County Animal Shelter over the past year, and a 3 percent drop in adoptions.

The terrible economy is partly to blame, said shelter spokesman Ryan Drabek. When money gets tight, the expense of a pet can be hard to justify. And when people lose their homes, it can be hard to find pet-friendly new digs. It’s not just a phenomenon here; it’s happening all over the place as the economy tanks, Drabek said.

* In 2006-07, the county euthanized 12,068 unwanted animals.
* In 2007-08, the county euthanized 14,642 unwanted animals.

As it mentions in the article, this is a national phenomenon, happening around the country.  There are so many wonderful dogs in shelters around the country waiting for their forever home.

October is American Humane’s Adopt-A-Dog Month, so if you’ve ever thought about doing so this would be a great time. Isn’t it time to add a furry tail wagging bundle of unconditional love into your household?

If any Dogsters have adopted a new best friend because of American Humane’s Adopt-A-Dog Month give us a bark and share your story.