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

Dave with Katie and Lacey

Over the short time that I’ve known Dave (he’s been part of Eukanuba for over a year), I’ve learned to really appreciate his passion for dogs. And any time an opportunity presents itself, he’s the first to jump up and yell “I feed Eukanuba!” 

1. What pets share your life?
We have a 12 year old Yellow Labrador Retriever, Katie, who picked out from a breeder. I was deploying quite frequently as a US Marine at the time, and Katie kept my wife company and a lot less lonely during my absences.
About a year ago, we recognized that Katie, as most older dogs do, was starting to slow down, and be much less active. We thought it would be a good idea to find a puppy to keep her company. As luck would have it, while doing a store-check one weekend with my kids, we happened upon a rescue-adoption program, and just fell in love with our second dog, Lacey (because she likes to chew shoelaces). She is now 8 months old, and is a mixed breed, probably primarily Chow and Black Lab. Her tongue is spotted and her hair stands on, but she also howls like a Beagle and jumps straight up like an English Springer Spaniel, so there’s no telling what’s really in her family tree!
At any rate, she and Katie get along great. Katie’s activity level has gone way up, and Lacey has a great companion to show her the ropes around the house.

John (of Avenue K9), and Dave participate in "Pins for Pets" at our recent blogger summit.

2. What is your pet’s most unusual habit?
We took Katie, as a puppy, to the beach. We thought that she really liked licking the sand off her paws, but later realized that she was eating the sand. She had pure sand poops for the next two days!

3. What’s your favorite story about participating in a dog event?
I really enjoyed participating in the Morris Animal Foundation “K9K” Event – a walk to help raise funds to cure canine cancer, held in Sep, 2009, in Estes Park, CO. The locale was fantastic – right at the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park. Not only did we get to enjoy all the great dogs that participated, but also the Elk that really covered the landscape

4. What is your favorite part of working at Pet Care?
I truly believe in our mission “to enhance the health and well-being of more dogs and cats.” The science and research behind our all-natural food really gives credence to this mission. We’ve feed Eukanuba or Iams products to both our dogs for their entire lives, and both dogs thrive on the true nutrition that these products deliver.

Dave cuts the ribbon on the new agility course at the PAWS shelter in Middletown, Ohio.

Our guests (Caroline, Amy, Lana,  Nicole,  John, Dr. Janet, Dr. Eric, Karen and Skeezix) arrived on Wednesday September 9 in the afternoon. Our first activity was a get-to-know-you dinner at a very nice restaurant. Karen and Skeezix were the last to arrive–in fact, they were driven directly from the airport to the restaurant where we had just started on the appetizers.

As we sat around the table getting acquainted, we talked about our pets. Karen (also known as the Food Lady, or FL, on Skeezix’s blog), told us that she never traveled anywhere without her cat, Skeezix, and did we want to meet Skeezix? (Remember, Karen came to the restaurant directly from the airport, and she came in with a large shoulder bag which she had pushed underneath the table when she sat down next to me.)

Meet Skeezix? We’re in the middle of a fancy restaurant….does she mean that her cat is in that big bag she had pushed under the table? Poor kitty, stuffed in a bag under a table!? What if the wait staff saw him?–we’d be thrown out! Does the hotel know she’s traveling with her cat? What would we do with the kitty the next day when we toured our Pet Health & Nutrition Center?

I looked across the table at my boss, Marti. Her eyes were glazed and the size of our dinner plates. I watched her reach for her cell phone and I knew she was about to make a call in search of a kitty sitter. Everyone else at the table watched Karen, and we all expected to see a furry feline at any moment.

Next to me, Karen leaned down and pulled her bag out from under the table. I watched as she opened it. All I could see were her laptop and some file folders–was the kitty hiding in the part that was still under the table?

And then, she pulled out the Flat-Cat!

Skeezix Joins Us For Dinner.

Skeezix-the-Flat-Cat was an immediate hit with all of us and became our blogger summit mascot. He had dinner with us. And then joined us for ice cream.

Marti, Karen (AKA the Food Lady), Skeezix, and Nicole

Caroline, the FL, and Skeezix

Discussed kitty politics with Caroline, who is a staffer for the famous Romeo-the-Cat.

Skeezix Enjoys a Beverage

Skezzix went bowling with us, where we competed in the first ever Pins for Pets Tournament (more about that later).

Kitty and OJ? Great way to start the day!

 Skeezix entertained us during breakfast, 

Skeezix, Karen (FL), and Kris

and acted as tour guide when my voice gave out. Skeezix even made friends with my Substitute-Bailey while the humans talked with Dan Rajczak and other Iams/Eukanuba key people. 

Substitute-Bailey and Skeezix-the-Flat-Cat

Skeezix-the-Flat-Cat is a charmer! (More photos here.) If you visit Karen’s blog or Skeezix’s blog you will find all kinds of photos of him and his travels. Karen told me that she will soon be posting directions that anyone can follow and create their own Flat-Cat or Flat-Dog.

I see a Bailey-the-Bichon-Flat-Dog in my future!

Caroline, who is on staff for Romeo the Cat

Amy, who blogs at Love Meow

Lana from Petside

Nicole from DogTime 

John from Avenue K9

Dr. Janet, who blogs at About Vet Med

Dr. Eric who blogs at The Dogster and Catster Vet Blog  

And Karen, the The Cat’s Meow on Catster blogger, who brought her flat cat Skeezix who blogs at Skeezix’s Scratching Post.

 I am working on an overview of the event which I will post in a few days. For now, check out these wonderful sites!

On our way, Thursday morning.

Patch, Harry, Lisa, Mona, Wheatie, and Dusty

Lisa has been part of Pet Care for 13 years.

1. What pets share your life?   
I currently have five dogs and a cat. Three of my five dogs are adoptions from work, as is my cat. My dogs are Patch (Dalmatian mix), Mona (long-haired Chihuahua), Dusty (yellow Labrador), Harry (Brittany Spaniel), and Wheatie (Pembroke Welsh Corgi). All are over eight.  My cat, Portnoy, will be 17 this year.

 2. What is your pet’s most unusual habit?      
All of my animals have odd behaviors, LOL! But odd as in funny. One of the most endearing things Mona does is greet me at the door when I get home from work, smiling at me like she is gushing “hee hee hee, mommie’s home”! They really are my babies, so nearly everything they do is endearing.

 3. What’s your favorite story about participating in a dog event?
One of the coolest things that happened at the Furry Skurry one year was that I realized Patch was extremely smart. He kept getting behind me as we walked, moving to a particular side at a particular time. What I realized was that he was using my shadow to block the sun in the mildly warm spring day. What a smart cookie!

 4. What is your favorite part of working at Pet Care?
My favorite part of working at Pet Care is the dogs & cats and the difference we make in their lives through our spectacular program. I also love the thought of improving the lives of dogs & cats around the world with what we do with nutritional research. All dogs & cats benefit from our work and that thought enriches my life!

Wednesday at 3 o’clock everybody at work received an email saying that there would be a mandatory company meeting at 8:30 yesterday morning. The message gave us just barely enough time to rearrange our schedules, but not enough time to really sniff out what the heck was going on.

Our Front Door

For several years now, we have all seen many of our teams migrate south to other P&G offices in Cincinnati so that we can take advantage of efficiencies and streamline our work flow (OK, I realize that sounds like corporate-speak—but at least I’m not using words like “synergy” and “leverage”). The number of people actually working from our HQ in Dayton has shrunk considerably to the point of being cut in half over the past couple of years.

I won’t say I lost sleep in speculating on the topic of the meeting, but it was the last thing I thought of as I dropped off to sleep last night, and the first thing I thought of this morning.

So yesterday morning we all trooped in to the biggest meeting room in the building. And the topic of the meeting? We’re going to sell our building after we all move down to P&G’s Mason Business Center (MBC). The announcement was met with hardy applause. Quite a few of the people who work in our Dayton office must commute from Cincinnati.

To me, this is a little bitter-sweet.

Our building at 7250 Poe Avenue became our corporate headquarters in February of 1985. When we moved in, we occupied three-quarters of the first floor. By July of 1990 we occupied the entire 4 floors of the building. Before 1995 we had built a 2nd 4-story building of offices to the north of the original building, connecting the two through a lobby. I started with the company not long after we expanded into the 2nd building. I’ve worked from this building for nearly 14 years.

The Paw over our Front Door

I will miss this old building with the Paw Print carved into its concrete façade.

But I won’t miss our cafeteria—the one at the MBC is much nicer with a larger selection of food and a bank of windows that looks out onto a green space.

Plus our new digs has a fitness center, on site banking, a dry cleaning service, and a little corner shop in case your pantyhose gets a run. There is a beautiful outdoor walk surrounded by lots of trees. We will be investing in an on site dog park, so that we can continue to bring our dogs to work with us. And we will all be together under one roof instead of scattered between Dayton and Cincinnati.

We will continue our relationships with the three shelters here in Dayton. And we get to keep our jobs, which is really the very best part of the deal in this economic climate. Did I mention that it will be 10 years ago in August that we were acquired by P&G? And we are now, finally, moving in together. I think this will be a good thing for P&G Pet Care (AKA The Iams Company).

Here’s what the press release says:

Cincinnati, May 28, 2009 – Procter & Gamble, maker of Iams and Eukanuba pet foods, announced today it will move its North American operations for this business from Dayton to Mason, Ohio.

These operations will now become part of P&G’s Mason Business Center, where the company’s oral care, personal health and pharmaceuticals business are also based.

P&G said that moving its NA Pet Care business to Mason will increase productivity and enhance collaboration among even more of its health care employees at this site. About 2000 P&G employees work in Mason.

About 240 P&G Pet Care employees, currently based in Dayton, will now work in Mason. P&G said it expects the move to begin in early October.

“Our home address is changing but not our commitment to improving the well-being of all dogs and cats,” said Dan Rajczak, vice president of P&G’s pet care business in North America. “If anything, this will help us do an even better job of connecting with our colleagues in health care to bring great innovation to pet care.”

P&G acquired The Iams Company in 1999. Since then, sales of its Iams and Eukanuba brands have more than doubled. The pet food category remains attractive to P&G. It is large, growing and fits well within the company’s core strengths.

Some of our (Iams/Eukanuba) feeding guidelines are changing.

1. What’s changing?
In the past, we’ve used feeding trials to figure out the number of calories in our food so that we can set up our feeding guidelines. In 2006 we replaced feeding trials with something called the Modified Atwater Calculation. Since that time, whenever we’ve made changes to our packaging we’ve also adjusted our feeding guidelines so that they are based on the Modified Atwater Calculation, instead of on feeding trials.

Iams dog and cat formulas have already had the Modified Atwater Calculation applied to the feeding guidelines. In the next few months, the Modified Atwater Calculation will be applied to Eukanuba dog feeding guidelines.

Let me emphasize that we (Iams/Eukanuba) always advise people to use our feeding guidelines as a starting point, not as an amount that’s written in stone. A dog or cat may need more or less food depending upon age, activity and temperament. The pet owner knows the pet best, and we encourage pet owners to be responsible for adjusting the amount of food so that the pet gets the right amount for their individualized needs. Your pet’s body condition (Too fat? Too thin? Just right?) is the best indicator of how much to feed.

If you’re feeding your pet one of our diets, and your pet is thriving, there is no need to change the amount you’re currently feeding because you’re feeding to satisfy your pet’s nutritional needs.

2. Why did we do this?
The Modified Atwater calculation is globally recognized by professionals involved in pet food nutrition as the official method for calculating metabolizable energy (calories) in dog and cat foods. Also, it eliminates any of the variables that can happen with live animals and environmental factors. It gives us a more consistent calorie amount comparison across our products. And it reduces the use of live animals in feeding trials.

One of the things I like about the way the new guidelines are presented is that they now give a range of how much to feed instead of a specific amount. For instance, it might say “1/4 — 3/4 cup” instead of “½ cup” which I think encourages people to adjust the amount to meet the individual pet’s needs.

3. How does it work?
The Atwater Calculation is used to figure out the number of calories (a unit of energy) per kilogram (a unit of weight) of food. From that number, we can figure out the amount of food that is needed to feed a dog or cat on a daily basis.

4. Why is it “Modified?”
This kind of calorie calculation was the result of work done by Wilbur Olin Atwater. In 1896, Dr. Atwater headed the federal nutrition program and published a work titled “The Chemical Composition of American Food Materials” which listed minimum/maximum/average values of all known American foods—the first calorie-counting guide!

According to Wikipedia: “The Atwater system (after Wilber Olin Atwater) or derivatives of this system are used for the calculation of the available energy of foods.” His calculations for human nutrition have been modified for dog and cat nutrition.

DISCLAIMER:
I’ve put this information in my own words after training and study. I reserve the right to add to and/or edit this post if it becomes outdated or additional/better information becomes available. Information posted on my blog (or on the Internet for that matter) should NEVER be substituted for the guidance and advice of your veterinarian or your animal behavior professional.

 
Today, I want to introduce you to Emily, a Veterinary Technician, and one of my teammates in Consumer Relations. She has been with P&G Pet Care for one and a half years.

Here are her answers to my 4 questions:

Emily and Murphy

I work with a great bunch of people!

1. What pets share your life?
We have 2 dogs. India is our rescue Greyhound and is ~ 10 years old. We adopted her about 6 years ago. She came from a race track in Kansas and has been a wonderful pet. She is a big couch potato. Murphy is our 2 year old Golden Retriever. I lost my Golden Retriever to cancer back in 2006 and could not live without another one. We purchased Murphy through a breeder that had similar bloodlines to Goldens that I had owned in the past. He is a great dog and our family has a lot of fun with him.

2. What is the most unusual or most endearing thing your pet has ever done?
It is so much fun to watch Murphy interact with our daughter. He has become so attached to her and she loves to play with him. Sometimes he will let her sit between his two front legs and she pretends like he is her chair.

3. What’s your favorite story about participating in a dog/cat event?
I’ve participated in several events since starting with Pet Care. My favorite one was Bark in the Park at the Cincinnati Reds baseball game. It was so much fun to see all the dogs attend the game with their owners. The parade and the costumes were so entertaining!!!

His strange habit is that he likes to lick the floor over and over and over again. He must think that food is going to eventually come out of the carpet.

4. What is your favorite part of working at Pet Care?
I enjoy working in Pet Care because I feel like I’m making a difference in the lives of dogs and cats. The human-animal bond is an amazing relationship and I enjoy hearing about this from our consumers. Also, it is very rewarding to talk to a consumer, veterinary professional, or breeder to help address nutritional concerns with their pets or clients. I have personally fed Iams and Eukanuba for as long as I can remember and it has made a huge difference in the lives of my pets. I’m so proud to work for a company that is focused on enhancing the well-being of dogs and cats through high quality nutrition.

Today is the end of Be Kind to Animals Week, but there’s still time to enter the contests on 4 The Love of Animals and Romeo the Cat and Puglsey Too! The prize on both blogs is a fabulous Iams basket of goodies!

Pronounced: Fruwk-toe-ol-lie-go-sack-er-ides, a probiotic available from a veterinarian.

1. WHAT IS FRUCTOOLIGOSACCHARIDES?
Fructooligosaccharides, or FOS, is a prebiotic. It’s found in a variety of foods, like bananas, barley, garlic, honey, rye, and wheat. It can also be produced commercially. We (Iams/Eukanuba) have used a natural form of this ingredient (which we source from Canada) in selected diets since 1994. FOS is a fiber that is broken down—or fermented–in the intestine by the good bacteria that live there.

2. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PREBIOTIC AND A PROBIOTIC?
Probiotics are live, beneficial or good bacteria supplied in some form (treat or supplement) to the animal that provide a health benefit. Prebiotics feed (or support) the good bacteria, helping the good bacteria to grow.

Certain combinations of prebiotics and probiotics can actually compliment each other in promoting gastrointestinal health. For example, the Fructooligosaccharides (a prebiotic) in a dog diet can feed the “good” bacteria found in Prostora Max

3. HOW DOES FOS WORK?
Because it’s a fiber, FOS is not digested by the enzymes in the dog’s or cat’s digestive tract. Instead, the bacteria in the intestinal track break it down and use it for food. Here’s what’s really cool: Fructooligosaccharides does NOT feed the bad bacteria. So the net result is that FOS feeds the good bacteria and starves the bad bacteria, helping to create the right balance between good and bad bacteria.

A dog or cat’s immune system is influenced by the right balance of good and bad bacteria in the intestinal tract. If the good bacteria (like Bifidobacterium, and Lactobacillus) are outnumbered by the bad bacteria (like Salmonella and Clostridium), the pet may end up sick—probably with diarrhea.

4. WHAT IAMS/EUKANUBA DIETS CONTAIN FOS?
Right now, only a few of our Iams and Eukanuba diets contain Fructooligosaccharides. But here’s the great news! Over the next few months this prebiotic will be added in to nearly all Iams and Eukanuba dog and cat diets! You will see “Fructooligosaccharides” listed on the ingredients panel along with a sticker on the front of the bag that talks about prebiotics.

DISCLAIMER:
I’ve put this information in my own words after training and study. I reserve the right to add to and/or edit this post if it becomes outdated or additional/better information becomes available. Information posted on my blog (or on the Internet for that matter) should NEVER be substituted for the guidance and advice of your veterinarian or your animal behavior professional.