This turkey is in the bag!

Bailey grabs a snooze while she waits for company to arrive!

Now we wait for our company to arrive. Bailey is putting the time to good use by resting up so that she can be a sparkling hostess!

A VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL MY READERS!!

(And for those of you participating in tomorrow’s madness, good shopping!)

Two beautiful days this weekend have forced me to work outdoors putting up Christmas lights. Every year when I take them down I say to myself, “Next year, I’m downsizing!” And every year when we start getting close to Thanksgiving I remember how beautiful the lights look…so fairy-like and pretty. Once again, I’ve stifled that voice inside me that says, “This will be a big pain in the patoot to have to take down, and who knows when the weather will allow you to do it!”

I’m so tired, and my back hurts. But they really do look nice……

The grand total at the end of week 7:

401,148 pets adopted!

Here the breakdown:

And don’t forget: FEED PETS IN NEED and LIFE’S BETTER SWEEPSTAKES!

You can help your  favorite Iams Home 4 the Holidays shelter or rescue win free food! Each month, for the next 13 months, the shelter with the most votes gets a month’s supply of free food! Here’s how it works:

• Visit and register at www.ih4th.com
• Vote for your favorite Iams Home 4 the Holidays shelter (one vote per day)
• For the next 13 months, the shelter with the most votes at the end of each month receives a free month’s supply of Iams Pet Food
• Terms & Conditions (for those who like to know the rules)

The Life’s Better Sweepstakes-You and your favorite Iams Home 4 the Holidays shelter could win a FREE YEAR of food!!

• Send in the registration card included in the adoption kit you receive when you adopt a pet from an Iams’ Home 4 the Holiday’s shelter
• You can also enter online.
• Every pet owner registration card also enters the shelter for a chance to win a free year’s supply of Iams Pet Food!
• There’s a total of four drawings (2 per dog parents and their shelters, and 2 per cat parents and their shelters)
• Official Rules, for those who like to play by them.

SHELTERS/RESCUES: It’s never too late to join us! We’re going to get 1.5 million pets into furever homes by the New Year!

I was messing around a few days ago, looking at dog blogs, and came across Hamburger’s House. This is a blog with a lot of imagination, and worth the time to read, but what really caught my eye was a post about a no-kill shelter in Texas.  

Burger (the Chihuahua who writes the blog) told the story of the 2nd Chance Animal Shelter which is run by the CenTex Humane Society. Early in the morning on Sunday November 1 the shelter caught fire and 114 pets died from smoke inhalation. Burger’s blog was a call to action for volunteers to help clean and rebuild the shelter and for donations to help pay for the repairs. 

CenTex/2nd Chance is an Iams Home 4 the Holidays shelter, and when I told my buddy Kris about this (Kris oversees IH4tH) he thought we should try and do something to help. This week, Kris is in Austin Texas attending an animal welfare conference. Killeen, where 2^nd Chance is located, is around 70 miles away from Austin, so Kris thought he would check things out.

Since the fire, staff and volunteers have been working every day to restore the shelter. Second Chance cannot reopen until it’s cleaned up and safe for people and pets.

Yesterday, Kris made the trip to 2^nd Chance and presented the shelter with a check. He called me last night to tell me about it. Two things that stick in my mind about our phone call: Kris said that the shelter is very near to Fort Hood, and that there was a contingent of Army Specialists helping to get the shelter back on its feet. He also said that the volunteers were painting a mural of the pets who were lost in the fire, with a rainbow in the background. The healing has begun.

[Edit: 11/18/09 10;35 pm. Kris emailed me a photo of the mural, which I thought folks might like to see, so I'm adding it here.]

Remembering the ones who crossed over the Rainbow Bridge.

 A big THANKS! to Burger, who started it all for us. I’m so glad I saw his blog post. I’m so glad we’re able to help 2^nd Chance. This is why I work where I do.

Walter, Kris, Elke, Ginger (Shelter Director), and Jim at 2nd Chance.

Party-animal Murphy loves playing in the leaves.

My friend Emily just posted a great article about the 5 Best Toys for Outdoor Fun. She should know–her Murphy is a party-animal and LOVES his toys!

The “For Sale” sign went up in early September.

So we spent September and part of October going through all the stuff we had accumulated during the time we live in our buildings on Poe Avenue.

And then, suddenly, it was our last week in the building. The week started with a “garage sale” and silent auction. A lot of that stuff that we had collected–stacks of branded tee shirts, pens, notebooks, clocks, watches, along with used office supplies—were all put in one room and we each purchased some memories to take home. And much of the dog and cat oriented art work that we had collected over the years was put up for silent auction. Our garage sale and silent auction raised over $7,000 for the United Way of Greater Dayton.

Shelley finishes packing in between phone calls.

Marti is nearly finished packing.

Boxes waiting to be loaded.

Sue, Consumer Relation’s move captain, has got it all under control.

Even with our downsizing, there seems to be no end to the boxes!

By Friday morning every cubical and office had a sign that said, “Checked and Ready to Move!”

 Friday October 23 was moving day, and we were required to be out the door by noon. Of course, it rained. If I was of a maudlin frame of mind, I might say that the sky cried to see us leaving. But I’m far more cynical—it rained because it made things more inconvenient and wet.

Marti got saturated loading last minute things into her car.

The ramp is down, the boxes are getting loaded.

One last look at our sign.

Over the weekend, the moving company would deliver our boxes to our new home.

Next: Iams & Eukanuba Find a New Home!

You’ve probably heard of the AKC (American Kennel Club) and the CFA (Cat Fanciers Association). Have you heard of Meet the Breeds?

 A few weeks ago (October 17 & 18), some of my co-workers were at the Javits Center in New York City (wish I had been able to go!) where they attended the AKC-CFA Meet The Breeds sponsored by Pet Partners, Inc. This really cool weekend event allowed people to “meet” 160 dog breeds and 41 cat breeds. Each breed had its own designated space that was designed and decorated to reflect the breed’s attributes, characteristics, history, and heritage. People attending the event were able to pet the dogs/cats/puppies/kittens and to question and talk to breed experts. What a great way to learn about different breeds of dogs and cats!

My buddy, Jason Taylor (from our External Relations team), was there to present a contribution to two outstanding organizations, the Bulldog Club of America and the Winn Feline Foundation. 

Munch looks on approvingly as Jason presents a check for $10,000 to Evelyn Heath of the Bulldog Club of America's Charitable Fund. To Munch's left are Adam and Deirdre Nardelli, Munch's owners.

Have you seen the Iams dog and cat ads we’ve been doing lately that call attention to the fact we’ve added prebiotics to our pet foods? The two breeds starring in these ads are the Bulldog and Cornish Rex. In fact,  the canine star of the ads — Munch the Bulldog – was at Meet the Breeds!

Everybody at Iams fell in love with Munch when we first started looking at his photos and video. He has such personality! That Saturday at Meet the Breeds, Jason and Munch presented a donation to the Bulldog Club of America. We know that they will put our contribution to good use to support the breed.

Janet Wolf, the executive director of the Winn Feline Foundation receives a check for $10,000 from Jason. On the left is David White of the CFA holding Artie the Cornish Rex.

The next day, it was Artie’s turn to shine. Artie is a Cornish Rex, and he is a magnificent example of his breed—sleek, healthy, and beautiful. The Cornish Rex is the breed of cat featured in our new marketing campaign for Iams Cat food. That Sunday, Jason and Artie presented a donation to the Winn Feline Foundation, to help honor and celebrate the unique Cornish Rex breed.

What an incredible event!

The grand total at the end of week 6:

309,353 pets adopted!

Here the breakdown:

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Do you have a favorite shelter that you would like to see win some free food?

Feed Pets in Need-vote for your favorite Iams Home 4 the Holidays shelter. Each month, for the next 13 months, the shelter with the most votes gets a month’s supply of free food!

The Life’s Better Sweepstakes-You and your favorite Iams Home 4 the Holidays shelter could win a FREE YEAR of food!!

• Send in the registration card included in the adoption kit you receive when you adopt a pet from an Iams’ Home 4 the Holiday’s shelter
• You can also enter online.
• Every pet owner registration card also enters the shelter for a chance to win a free year’s supply of Iams Pet Food!
• There’s a total of four drawings (2 per dog parents and their shelters, and 2 per cat parents and their shelters)
• Official Rules, for those who like to play by them.

SHELTERS/RESCUES: It’s never too late to join us! We’re going to get 1.5 million pets into furever homes by the New Year!

Hilary Swank and Mike Arms enjoy a photo op at the Helen Woodward Animal Center with K9 buddy Andy

I always advise hugging a vet, but today it’s the other kind of vet we should all hug. God bless all our veterans. Thank you for your service to our country!

This is a photo of my Grandmother’s living room during WW2. All the photos are my uncles and my Dad in their uniforms.

My Dad

The week 5 totals are late, but they’re  in!

Week 5 adoption totals: 63,917

Putting the grand total at:

252,801 pets adopted!

Here is the week 5 breakdown:

• 30,581 Dogs
• 29,566 Cats
• 3,770 Other Types of Pets

SHELTERS/RESCUES: It’s never too late to join us! We’re going to get 1.5 million pets into furever homes by the New Year!

Hilary Swank and a sleepy buddy.