My Fire Hydrant

Chris has been part of Pet Care for one year.

1. What pets share your life? 
I have two best friends – Atlas and Sparta.  Atlas is a 2 year-old red Doberman from Alabama (Blackjack Doberman Kennel to be specific).  Sparta is three and yellow and hails from the Atlanta Humane Society. Atlas is our playful goober and Sparta is our wise protector.

2. What is the funniest or most endearing thing your pet has ever done? 
Atlas’ most famous office habit is farting — she’s been known to clear a room mid-meeting.  Literally. Sparta is very caring and considerate.  She knows if I’m sad and she comes to lick my face and/or lay her head in my lap to show her support.

3. What’s your favorite story about pets in the office?
It is so funny to watch Atlas, my 88 pound, doberman “play” with Pricilla’s two Shitzs, Pebbles and BamBam.  The best part is that Pebbles (who weighs in at 10 pounds) bosses Atlas around!

4. What’s your favorite part about working at Pet Care? 
I LOVE going to consumer research or pet events (like the Reindogs Parade) and seeing how much joy a pet can bring to someone’s life.  The human-pet bond is so powerful and beautiful – I am lucky that I get paid to nurture this bond (via high quality nutrition).  I truly feel that Atlas and Sparta bring so much joy to my life that I owe it to them to ensure that their animal friends have the opportunity to lead long, healthy, happy lives which is why I work at Iams and volunteer at SICSA.

Reco = Recommendation

I mentioned on Monday that I had attended the BlogHer Conference. I know that there are some pet bloggers out there who follow me, so this week I wanted to recommend the BlogHer site because there is so much useful information there for folks who blog–regardless of your sex.

There’s lots to see, but to get your feet wet, from the blue horizontal tool bar at the top of the home page, check out the All Topics drop down menu for blog posts that you might find interesting. Among the ones I find interesting are Pets (an under-represented subtopic of Life) and Tech & Internet.  One of my favorite posts under T&I is Tai Chi for Trolls.

Information on the Chicago conference which took place last week continues to be updated. Take a look at the agenda for the BlogHer conference–especially the training tracks. Granted, there is some stuff there that focuses on mommy bloggers, but each session has something that a pet blogger could learn from. Also, check out the Geek Labs.  (The agenda lists live links that take you to a description of what that topic is about.)

All of the sessions for the BlogHer conference were captured as live blog posts. Included with each entry is the blog address for the folks who presented each particular session–so this is a really good way to find blogs you might be interested in reading on a regular basis (yes, I know they’re not pet blogs, but people who don’t blog about their pets can also be interesting).  

I’m continuing to come down off my estrogen high achieved in Chicago. And I’ve been talking some more with Romeo the Cat and Scratchings & Sniffings. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a blogger conference that focused on pet bloggers? Where pet bloggers could exchange ideas and learn ways to make their blogs better?

I am exhausted!

Last Thursday, I took a plane ride to Chicago for the BlogHer Conference.  OMIDOG! What an incredible event!

BlogHer is all about women who blog and what we can do to be better bloggers. It’s a wonderful support network of women bloggers that I am just beginning to appreciate. I learned so much and met so many incredible women over Thursday, Friday and Saturday…frankly, my brain is full and I need a little decompression.

My only complaint is that most of the women attending seemed to be “Mommy Bloggers,” and not enough of them are “Pet Bloggers.” Hmmm. We’ll have to see what we can do to bring out more dogs and cats (and bunnies, fishes, guinea pigs, mice, etc.) who blog.

After exchanging emails for months, I finially got to meet, face-to-face, my buddy, Caroline AKA Romeo The Cat.

Bev and Caroline at BlogHer

I also was very pleased to meet Yvonne, who blogs over at Scratchings & Sniffings. The three of us had a great time discussing how pets are going to take over the blogosphere.  Just you wait!

OMIDOG! My buddy Kris called me (REALLY EARLY!) this morning to remind me that the Doggie Dash is happening in NYC today!!

More details at Bideawee’s site. And I’m going to try to re-tweet Kris’ tweets as it happens (I haven’t had a moment to mention that I’m in Chicago at the BlogHer conference!)

Amanda has been part of Pet Care for nearly three years.

1. What pets share your life?    
I currently have 3 pets: 1 dog and 2 cats.

My dogs name is Darby and he is a Cairn Terrier. He turned 1 year old last April. I found him at a breeders when he was around four months old. They hadn’t had any luck placing him because of his age and he had a minor health concern. He is now a healthy ball of energy and we love to take family outings to events like the Furry Skurry, Boxer Bash, and lots of camping.

The old man of the house is Pistol at 14 years old. He is a solid black cat and has a personality that never ends. Pistol’s mother was a stray and she left him in our garage, so I took him in and couldn’t imagine a minute of the past 14 years without him. His favorite pass times are doing anything for a treat and picking on my husband.

Bella is going on 3 this fall. She is tiger in color and a complete Diva. I found her on Halloween weekend. I was at my grandparent’s farm and heard a kitten crying. I went up in the hayloft and discovered that a raccoon had found and destroyed most of the litter, Bella was the only survivor. She was about 2 weeks old at the time. I took her home and bottle raised her because I was worried about her freezing without a litter for warmth, fear of the raccoon coming back, and fear that the mother was hurt or gone. There were a lot of long nights but it was worth it to see her grow and flourish in our family..  

 2. What is your pet’s funniest or most endearing habit?          
Darby is always making us laugh but there is one thing that is always a classic. He has learned from watching the cats to sleep on the back of the couch it looks so funny having 2 cats and 1 dog curled up along the back of the couch.

 Pistol for some odd reason always sleeps upside down on his back. It is very cute but he falls of the couch a lot.

Bella loves to get hugs. She will sit in front of you and meow so you pick her up and give her a hug. She will also lay across peoples’ shoulders while doing anything from laundry to sewing.

3. What’s your favorite story about participating in a dog event?
Darby was about five months old when I took him on his first marathon. We were the only small breed dog at the Boxer Bash and finished dead least but still took 3rd for our age group. I was a proud parent mostly because he did a 5k marathon without having to be carried for any of it, and he played great with all the larger dogs. It was a big feet for the little guy and he look very cute with his little metal.

4. How does your job at Pet Care make a difference?   What is your favorite part of working at Pet Care?
My favorite part of my job is assisting with the P&G Pet Care Adoption Program at our Pet Health and Nutrition Center. I know what an impact a loving four legged companion can have on a person, family, and community. It brings me a lot of joy and satisfaction helping people find the perfect pet and finding these great animals their forever homes with a loving family.

Reco = Recommendation

Do you volunteer at a shelter or with a rescue group? You need to check out Iams Home 4 the Holidays.

Last year, we (Iams) partnered with shelters and rescues around the world and found homes for more than 1.2 million orphaned pets! This year (our 11th), runs from October 1, 2009, through January 4, 2010, and our goal is 1.5 million adoptions!!

Participation in Iams Home 4 the Holidays if absolutely FREE! No hidden cost. No shipping or processing fees.

Registered participants receive:

• A DVD copy of the “How-To Guidelines” including
  • materials that can be used to contact local news media,
  • proven successful ideas for pet adoption events,
  • fill-in-the-blank news releases and governmental proclamations,
  • and other materials to increase success.
• Your own IH4TH online web pages to use in promoting pet adoptions and to keep track of successes.
• Your local radio and television stations will be able to download IH4TH Public Service Announcements recorded by the official IH4TH celebrity spokesperson (I know who she is, but I can’t tell you yet, but it’s really someone wonderful!!) 
• Iams “Starter Kits” that can be used as an added incentive for potential adopters which includes food.

It’s time to sign up for Iams Home 4 the Holidays!

I visited Technorati today and decided to claim my blog.
guzryvf7p3

Mary Lou (one of my favorite people in Consumer Relations) joined Pet Care 2 years ago after working for many years in Consumer Relations for other P&G brands.

1. What pets share your life?    
I have three dogs, two cats and three horses.  

My first dog Tessa is a 7 year old fawn Great Dane.   She is the love of my life and often spends the day at work with me.   She is very quiet and content to lay by my side all day long.  

My second dog is Doc.   He is a brindle Great Dane.   Doc is quite the character.  He is three years old but still thinks he’s a puppy.  He runs and plays and is very active.   He doesn’t often get to spend time with me while I’m working because he just can’t sit still that long.   His entire body moves when he wags his tail which is nearly all the time.  

My third dog is Nickel.   He was a rescue.  He is part Jack Russell and part Rat Terrier.  He is ALL ATTITUDE.   He absolutely rules the roost at the house and will start fights with the Great Danes.   He doesn’t know he’s a little dog.   We don’t know for certain how old Nickel is, but we suspect around 12 or 13 years old.   He’s starting to slow down a bit as he has some arthritis in his back now.   We give him medicines and glucosamine to help keep him spry.   When Nickel runs across the yard he looks a bit like a skunk as he springs up with every jump. 

As for the cats, we have two at our house.  They technically belong to my daughters as they were 4H projects.   The girls have taught the one cat to allow its teeth to be brushed.  Both cats are about 7 years old.  We live on a farm so they spend much of their time outside at the barn. 

And then, there are the three horses…..Zippy (a 22 year old Quarter Horse), Skye (an 11 year old Paint mare) and Fancy (a 1 year old Paint baby)

(Editor’s note: In this photo, Mary Lou holds her grandpuppy, a Beagle-mix named Bella who goes to college with Mary Lou’s daughter. Bella is about 3 months old and thinks that Mary Lou’s Great Danes are play toys. Bella plays “King of the Mountain” on Doc’s back all the time and then when he gets tired of her he stands up and she slides off……..)

2. What is the funniest thing your pet has ever done? 
Doc is probably my funniest dog.  He is so different from most Great Danes that I know.  He is just a bundle of energy.  His entire body moves when you pet him.  And if my husband plays a little rough with him he will rear up on his back legs like a horse.   We call him our miniature reining horse as he does sliding stops and spins and such.

 3. What’s your favorite story about pets in the office?
We have a dog named EUKANUBA (naturally) that spends much of her time at the P&G Pet Care office.   She is very talented.  I think her funniest trick is the one where you ask her what happens if you eat (competitor’s pet food – insert name here) and she rolls over and plays dead.

4. What is your favorite part about working at Pet Care?         
I love talking to our consumers and hearing about their pets.  I know how important each person’s dog or cat is to them because I know how important my pets are to me.   Every employee here at P&G Petcare has a deep commitment to animals.  That makes this such a refreshing place to work.

I’m sitting here it tears because someone I don’t really know lost her dog.

Maybe it’s because her dog was 13 years old, just like Bailey.

Maybe it’s because one of my secret fears (now revealed so no longer a secret) is that one day I’ll come home and find that Bailey has already crossed over (I can’t even type the “D” word). I think of this every time I leave the house. I make excuses, sometimes, not to go anywhere. Probably not a very healthy mental attitude, but I have never claimed to have a healthy mental attitude about my dog.

Anyway, my heart goes out to Karen (and everybody else struggling with their grief). Hunter was a good dog.

Reco = Recommendation

Ron Burns!

For a long time, Ron Burns has been one of my favorite artists. I discovered him on a poster for a shelter—I don’t even remember which one it was so long ago. He does dog and cat portraits that are incredible.

I recently ran across him on Twitter.

I like his work because his color choices are totally electric, and his subject matter is nearly always four-legged. And he does a lot of  wonderful charitable work for animals.

And now, he’s just finished illustrating a new book called Rufus Rhymes! It’s a lovely book of lullabies featuring his dog, Rufus, and definitely worth checking out!

Look at that happy pooch! Gotta love those colors!