Miss Kimberly from Animals Deserve Better paid us a visit today. She brought Simon, her service dog. They visited us last year as well so it was great to see them return! She told us about how they rescue and train dogs to be service dogs for people in wheelchairs or those with other needs. She also gave us a lot of background on the history of St. Bernards. She told us how monks in Switzerland used to train them to rescue people trapped in the snow. The dogs would go in threes; two St. Bernards would stay with the stranded people and keep them warm, and one would return to let everyone know where they were trapped! That's amazing! She also explained how pet dogs evolved from wild wolves. She even told us about a dog they rescued who had been abused by a group of teenagers, and that dog now works to help sick and injured children. You can learn a lot from people who work with rescue animals every day! PS...even professional trainers have trouble from time to time; she was supposed to bring us a puppy in training as well, but the puppy got into a box of treats and ate the whole thing, so he was a little under the weather. We are happy to support groups like Animals Deserve Better, who rescue dogs, train them, make sure they are spayed and neutered, and find them homes.
We are off to a great start for the new year! Our fundraising total is approaching $1,000 and we still have half a year to go. Good job! Our next upcoming fundraiser will be selling Candygrams for Valentine's Day. Encourage all your friends to buy one!
Candygrams will have a box of Valentine candy with a personalized Reigning Cats and Dogs valentine card. Cards will feature our sponsored pets. We will take orders Feb. 6 ,7, and 8 in Mrs. Dickey's and Mrs. Conner's rooms on the 300 hall, and they will cost $1.00 each. They can be delivered to students in any classroom, as well as to adults in the building. Students can also buy one for family members if they wish to, but will have to take them home themselves. We will deliver them on Feb. 14, Valentine's Day! So tell all your friends to save their money and send a valentine Candygram!
We had a great holiday party! Thanks to so many of you who sent in such GREAT treats...we had dog bones, puppy chow, dog and cat pops, an amazing dog cake...the list goes on! It was fun to celebrate all our hard word so far this year. We will not meet again until after the break, so have a wonderful holiday. I so appreciate all that you do to help save animals' lives and find them forever homes! And don't forget to remind everyone you know...we are sponsoring some great dogs, Brewster and Grady, right now. They would make a great holiday companion!
Our holiday party will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 14 at our regularly scheduled time. Please bring a food item to share...there are about 65 of us. You don't have to bring enough for that many, but if everyone brings something, we will have plenty! Try to bring something dog or cat themed. Be creative!
Update: We should have a final fundraising total soon; I am working with the candy bar company to make sure our balance due is correct. We sold around 2,000 candy bars! Good job advertising! Also, we raised a few dollars with our holiday cards. The rest were donated to a local rescue group, who plans to use them to send out to adopters and to people who have made donations. You are now famous artists!
Thank you to Elizabeth for making a birthday donation to Mostly Mutts! She has been doing this since she was 7 years old, and this year she donated over $200! Wow! Your love of animals makes a difference in the world. Elizabeth was featured in the Mostly Mutts Flea Mail newsletter.
Also, Jordan raised money for her birthday, and donated $65 to the Etowah Valley Humane Society. Again, one of our great club members helped make a difference in the animal world! Thanks to both of these thoughtful and caring young ladies. You really CAN make a difference. And all of you who are pushing your friends to buy our candy bars are making a difference too! Though our official sales time is over, we are still selling candy bars from Mrs. Dickey's classroom in the mornings. Let's see if we can sell a few more...all the money we raise will go to helping homeless pets.
We had a great visit from Ms. Laura with Mostly Mutts today! She brought Lilly, her rescue dog. She told us with Lilly it was love at first sight. Ms. Laura showed us a slide show featuring pictures of their facility, as well as pictures of some of their success stories. Many of their rescued dogs came in with terrible skin problems, grooming neglect, or are victims of slow starvation. But with loving care from Mostly Mutts volunteers, they are all doing great now! And they have great success finding forever homes for their dogs. If you are interested in volunteering or fostering for them, you can find out more at www.mostlymutts.org.
On another note, our candy sales are off to a slow start...be sure to encourage your friends to pitch in! We have sold about 200 bars, but our goal is 2,000! If your parents want to purchase a case for $25, and then re-sell them at work, or gymnastics, or cheerleading, or karate....we welcome their participation. As a group we voted to donate some of the funds to help build a fence for a play area at EVHS. So let's get those candy bars sold! And a big thank you to the parents and students who volunteered to sell them in the mornings! We couldn't do it without you!
Finally, our artwork was displayed at Pawcasso, among many other beautiful works of art. Hopefully Animals Deserve Better raised some funds to help continue their program.
Thanks for the great art you created for Pawcasso! It will be picked up Friday, so if you have an entry, it's not too late to turn it in!
Come one, come all and support your community your children, and your companion animals.
Paw-casso: An Art Exhibit By, For and About Animals, Marietta, GA. The 3rd Annual “Paw-casso” Art Show, Auction & Pets are fURever Poster Contest by, for and about animals, is a unique art show featuring works from private, public and home schooled school students that reside in Cobb County. Each school has been asked to submit works of art that will be offered for auction. “Paw-casso” will take place on November 5, 2011 at the Mountain View Community Center. Free parking. Face painting, soft drinks, snacks, music and a service/assistance dog or two. Event starts at 10 until 3.
Also, don't forget to post your adoption posters somewhere in our community! October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month!
Finally, remember to turn in your permission to help sell candy bars in November!
We had another great weekend of adoptions at Petco, helping out the Etowah Valley Humane Society! Thanks to all the students who came and helped out. There were three adoptions on Saturday, including Brandy, one of our sponsored dogs! And big news...on Sunday, Marley was adopted. So they both now have forever homes.
You can download a slideshow here, and see some photos below.
Mr. Bryan Canty with the Etowah Valley Humane Society visited us today. He brought along Marley, one of our sponsored dogs. She had a great time getting petted by everyone! He talked to use about how to take care of our animals and the importance ofspaying or neutering your pet. If you received a permission form for adoptions on Saturday with EVHS at Petco,please return them to Mrs. Dickey, or bring them with you on Saturday. Maybe we can find Marley a home!