Month: September 2011

Sometimes life imitates art, sometimes art imitates life. We’re excited about a new cartoon called Pound Dogs because it’s about – you guessed it, dogs in a pound. And although this art imitates life, it also adds some levity and humor to the world of homeless pets. This animated comedy focuses on two unnamed dogs known only as “Blue Dog” and “Yellow Dog” who are stuck in an animal shelter and waiting to be adopted. It’s funny and heartfelt, but also honest. The stakes get a little higher when it is discovered that the Blue Dog is scheduled to be put to sleep at the end of the day if he doesn’t find a home.

One of the things we love most about Pound Dogs is the conversation between Blue Dog and Yellow Dog. To pass the time, they discuss the trivialities of a dog’s life such as eating cat poop, which is bound to make the viewer chuckle. The hilarity continues as the dogs practice their special technique to relieve boredom: Blue Dog and Yellow Dog resort to rubbing their butts along the floor and wearing sombreros! But it’s not all fun and games as the dogs talk about desperately waiting for adoption at the animal shelter.

All of the characters in the cartoon are animated with polymer clay, a process that ends with all the characters being baked in director Mike Salva’s oven before being scanned into the computer. To see a trailer of Pound Dogs click the play button below!

POUND DOGS Trailer from Project Meatball on Vimeo.

The 13-minute pilot episode is being screened at the New York Television Festival a potential series for Pound Dogs, so if you’re in the NYC area you might want to check it out! We at Adopt-a-Pet.com are happy to support projects like this one, out there making meaningful art with a pet adoption message! We wish Pound Dogs luck and hope it leads to many more pound dogs finding happy homes.

We love it when a website starts helping homeless pets by featuring pets for adoption that are listed on Adopt-a-Pet.com! We’d like to welcome the Wet Nose Guide to that illustrious category. The first pet they are featuring is Zoey, a Great Dane from Colorado. She is 4-years old, trained and responds to her commands. She is a great walker, and is protective of her owners, but warms to new people quickly. To find out more about Zoey visit her Adopt-A-Pet.com page.

We are thrilled to be helping sponsor the 2012 Unexpected Pit Bull calendar! For almost ten years now this calendar has brought gorgeous pictures of Pit Bulls that melt hearts into thousands of homes. Capturing their playfulness, sweetness and loyalty, The Unexpected Pit Bull Calendar celebrates what we all love about Pit Bulls. This nonprofit organization creates, markets, and sells merchandise focusing on Pit Bull dogs. All of their profits go right to Pit Bull rescue, education, and advocacy organizations that are in need of support.

This time around, the calendar is in collaboration with HeARTs Speak, an organization made up of artists who work to improve the lives of animals in need. We at Adopt-a-Pet.com know that a compelling photograph can make all the difference in saving an animal’s life; a good snapshot can reach a potential adopter and help get a pet in need from shelter to home! We’re happy this calendar will help debunk the many Pit Bull myths out there, and help illustrate stories of Pit Bulls who share their lives in peace and harmony with people and other animals. Together we hope to inspire a better understanding of these dogs and combat the negative stereotypes that are unfortunately often held against them.

The Unexpected Pit Bull aims to keep Pit Bulls with the people who love them, and to fund legal, rescue, advocacy and education initiatives for these great dogs. They also plan to keep creating delightful calendars that every Pit Bull owner and lover can relate to and be proud of!. We plan to help them keep doing it!

Free pet food pantries are popping in cities and towns across the nation by people concerned about the recession’s effect on pets. We’ve all seen it or read the stories about people having to give up their animals due to financial trouble. Many people don’t know that most states and many cities have pet food banks available to help those going through a rough patch.  These food banks are designed to help keep pets in homes and out of the animal shelter.

Pet food banks are often run by a group of animal loving volunteers or a local animal shelters or rescue groups.  Most of the food is donated from retailers who have to get rid of their damaged bags of food or dented cans.  Some banks have pet-loving sponsors who make it all possible or they solicit donations in order to fill up their pantry.  There are compassionate veterinarians who also often donate extra food to their local bank to help support this cause.

Most food banks require the recipient of donated food to do their part, too.  It is common for pet food banks to make sure that pets are for companionship and not for breeding or illegal activities, see proof of spay/neuter for each pet receiving food (many of the pet food banks will help you make that happen!), and expect proof of income qualifications along with photo identification.  A one month supply of food for each pet is a standard amount, and recipients are asked to maintain a healthy environment for all their pets, not to tether or chain them, and to give their animals fresh water daily.  Some pet food banks also offer other supplies, and most have a list of low-cost resources and other support services to share. Animal-loving volunteers will likely know about organizations that provide financial assistance or medical services to pet owners in need.

Most pet owners discover the whereabouts of local pet food banks by contacting their local animal shelter, traditional food banks or other social service organizations.  There are a few websites such as Save Our Pets Food Bank, Pikes Peak Pantry , and Petco’s Food Bank Program  that list as pet food pantries from all over the country.

And if this article doesn’t apply to you directly, maybe you or someone you know can volunteer at a local pet food bank!  Getting involved at your local pet food bank is a terrific way to help animals.  Usual volunteer duties range from calling about donations, distributing food pick-ups, sorting pet food types, writing thank you notes, returning calls and emails, and sorting through applications requesting food. Want to do something less administrative?  Organize a pet-food drive at your local school or house of worship and involve your community!  Gathering pet food donations and helping refill those pantries just might make you volunteer of the month.  Lastly, donating money or food yourself is a great way to give back.  If you do not have a local pet food bank in your area and you want to help homeless pets, perhaps you can start one of your own! (Visit www.animalsheltertips.com/pet_food_bank.html for how to start a pet food bank.) This would be an amazing way to improve the lives of both animals and people in your area.

If you or someone you know needs a hand feeding their animals, please use support services and keep your pets in your home.  Spread the word in your community – a local animal shelter should be the last option for your pet (or better yet, not an option at all).  We at Adopt-a-Pet.com want to help both people and animals.  We want to help you stay together, stay safe and stay loved.  We all deserve that.