My friend Emily over on Eukanuba Unleashed posted today about how to throw a “pawty” on February 6 when Animal Planet broadcasts the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship. Em has got all the bases covered–from invitations to decor to drinks. She even includes a scorecard–the Bone Collector Grid–that you can use in a game to keep track of which dog is moving forward for the win. Actually, I think the Bone Collector Grid might be a fun game to play at any dog show–especially for kids who might become a little antsy during the judging.

We’re waiting.

Bailey has stopped eating. In my heart, I’m certain it’s the food. But remember where I work (Consumer Relation, Iams). My head knows it’s NOT the food.

Our usual routine has been topsy-turvey because of the holidays–I’ve taken some massive vacation time and our usual day of get up/dressed, walk the pooch, feed the pooch, sit at my desk and work with pooch in bed under desk, has been totally disrupted. And Bailey has been annoyed because of this disruption. Nearly every morning of my vacation, as we finish up the dress/walk/feed chores that never change, she stands in the hall outside my office, looks at me and says, “Time for work, aren’t you coming to your desk?” And when I go in a different direction she gets this confused and then annoyed look because I’m deviating from the routine. So when she started to skip a meal here-and-there I put it down to the upheaval in our routine.

Looks like I was probably wrong.

I’ve mentioned before that I feed Bailey 4 times a day. Tuesday night, she refused to eat at her last feeding of the day. Wednesday, she would only eat lunch and supper. Thursday, she refused to eat all 4 meals.

Now the thing that has made me crazy is that she’ll eat her biscuits, or a handful of MiniChunks (which I happened to have on hand) or scraps from the table (yes, I know, bad mom) no problem. So I thought “There’s nothing wrong–she’ll eat other stuff, just not her regular meal. There must be something wrong with the food.”

My head knows it’s not the food.

Remember, Bailey is diabetic. She was due for a check on her blood sugar, so I took her to our favorite clinic on Wednesday and a wonderful vet tech pulled some blood. Her blood sugar was at 213–which is good.

Then Thursday she totally would not eat her regular meals. And each time I offered it she looked at me like I was missing some kind of crucial ceremony that would allow her to eat. Her eyes said if only I would say the magic words or do the magic hand wave she would be able to eat the food I was placing before her. But obviously I was too head-stupid to figure out what the magic charm was that would allow her to eat, so she sadly ducked her head and walked away from the bowl.

I still thought this was part of the routine-disruption. Eventually she would be hungry enough to eat.

I didn’t give her her shot on Thursday evening–I didn’t want her blood sugar to bottom out because that can be life-threatening. For the short-term it would be far less harmful if her blood sugar was slightly elevated.

During the night on Thursday she woke me 4 times so that I could lift her off the bed so she could drink water. And twice insisted that she needed to go out to the patio to pee (she seems to be on strike against the pee pad). I kinda expected this–after all when her blood sugar level is high she gets thirsty. I did not get much sleep.

One of the advantages of working where I do is I have access to a team of veterinarians who are never too busy to discuss Bailey’s health. Friday morning I talked the situation over with two of my best buds–Dr. Dicke and Jen-the-vet-tech. They both agreed it was time to call my vet.

My vet was in emergency surgery, so I left a long voice mail for her. Before noon she called me–she had a family commitment and was about to leave for the day, but she felt I should bring Bailey in today rather than wait till she was next in on Monday so she had made arrangements for us to see her colleague, Dr. C. at 2. I was very comfortable with this because we’ve seen Dr. C. in the past (though it was several years ago), and he’s very nice and very smart.

After I told him our story, he did a full exam on Bailey. And found that she has an infected tooth. (I am a bad mom).

The tooth didn’t seem to be painful (yet). He didn’t want to rule it out, but he also didn’t want to jump to the conclusion that the tooth was the problem. So blood tests were needed. It could be a bladder infection (she has a history), or her liver or her thyroid or her pancreas. Or it could be that the cancer is back. Blood tests will give us better indications.

In the meanwhile he prescribed clavamox (an antibiotic) which will help with the tooth and also the possible bladder infection. And he will phone me before noon tomorrow (today? I think it’s after midnight) to let me know the lab results on her blood.

And so, we wait.

We have an incredible contest going on right now which will last until this time next year. It’s called Feed Pets In Need. This contest allows people to vote for their favorite Iams Home 4 the Holidays shelter/rescue. Each month, the TWO organizations with the most votes win a free month’s worth of pet food from Iams!

And it’s really easy to do.

Go to the www.IH4tH.com website.

Iams Home 4 the Holidays web site header

Click on the little dog and cat icon, at the top right side of the page:

Click "Cast Your Vote"

You will need to register because you are allowed only 1 vote per day. P&G’s Privacy Policy means you totally control ANY personal information you provide in your registration. You also totally control whether or not you receive our newsletter.

Registering is painless.

Once you’re registered, you can vote!

Find your favorite shelter or rescue by choosing the State (or Canada) and the city.

Sort the organizations by the shelter/rescue name or the name of the city.

Click on your favorite shelter/rescue to highlight it, then click “Vote For Shelter!”

When you hit the vote button, a new window will open with the rules of the contest. Make sure you read them at least once. Then at the bottom of the rules is a check box and an OK button. For your vote to register, check the check box and click OK.

Click the check box AND the OK button.

You will then see who’s currently getting the most votes, and who our past winners are!

(I blocked out my vote to keep it private.)

This is sooooooooo easy!! Many shelters/rescues have started up campaigns to get their supporters to vote. Check with your favorite Iams Home 4 the Holidays shelter or rescue–this is something you can do for them that takes only a few moments of your time. GET OUT THE VOTE!!

This is a big weekend for us–and by “us” I mean Eukanuba! This weekend many of our Eukanuba team are in Long Beach, California for the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship.

My buddy, Emily, is there covering the show for our new blog Eukanuba Unleashed. I get to stay home and “cover” some of Em’s work! Which is fine with me because I get to immerse myself in some of the Eukanuba-oriented stuff that Emily gets to do.

So first thing this morning, I took the time to catch up on videos that have been posted to the Eukanuba Channel on YouTube. There’s some really wonderful new ones, but I think my favorite is this one:

The Mason Business Center.

Pulling into the parking lot, I got a good view of our new dog park!

Our new dog park.

On our first day in the new office, the dog park is not quite done yet. But very soon it will be!

I knew I was in the right place when I saw this sign at the door!

The dog elevator.

Because there are so many people working at the MBC (the Mason Business Center), we wanted to be considerate of people with allergies and people who would (I know you’ll find this hard to believe!) rather not be around dogs. So there is a specially designated elevator specifically for people bringing their dogs to work. You can see by how it’s decorated that it’s very dog-friendly! Our dogs also have their own stairwell—for pooches who’d rather have the exercise of walking up stairs instead of the ease and comfort of an elevator ride.

The walls inside of the elevator are also decorated.

This is a huge facility, so it’s helpful to have directions to Pet Care.

This is the entry into the Pet Care section of the facility.

A touch of our old home!

This dog statue used to sit outside of one of our larger meeting rooms in our old home. It’s one of the first things you see when you come into our new office area!

Kersee, our first VP for Canine Communications

Kersee was our official door greeter up until 2002. I had not ever seen this portrait of her, but I recognized her instantly! She was a great dog, and it’s fitting that her portrait be at the gateway to our office.

The plaque beneath Kersee’s portrait.

Claudia, our first VP for Feline Communications is also remembered.

Clawdia's Plaque

When I walked into the Pet Care office area, I was amazed at the order! Boxes were where they were supposed to be, everybody was unpacking (and having a great time), and by 10 AM we were all back to work as if we had lived in this new office for years!

The clutter of unpacking in Consumer Relations.

Getting everything put away

Almost done!

A few boxes left to unpack.

What a beautiful facility, and a great place to work! I am amazed at the attention and care given to make our area look so pet-oriented! There are dog and cat murals painted on all the walls!

All the walls have dogs and cats on them!

The style of this mural is very retro for us

The style of portrait of the dogs and cats which make up our wall murals has a lot of sentimental value for me. When I first joined Iams in the ‘90s this was the style that had been used on many of our marketing materials.

A Terrier tilts her head with interest.

Another touch from our old home—the little statue of the puppies in their bed that sits between these two desks.

A version of our Mission Statement runs through each mural: “P&G Pet Care exists to enhance the health and well being of more dogs and cats.”

Back at our old home, we named our conference rooms after breeds of dog and cat. The Mason Business Center is big enough that room numbers matter. Of course, that doesn’t stop us from giving each of our new meeting rooms over to a specific breed of dog or cat and putting up the art work that “flavored” our meeting spaces in our old home!

The plaque that named the Siberian Husky room came south with us and now marks a new meeting space.

Our new version of the Retriever room.

The ceiling of the meeting room directly outside of Consumer Relations has paw prints on it!

Here’s a quirky whimsical welcome at the entry to a Pet Care area.

One of our new break rooms.

Within a couple of hours, Jen is moved in and focused on work!

At the start of this post I posed a question: Could we really pack up our 2,000 boxes, our artwork, and all the bits and pieces that make an office a home and resume working at a brand new location on the next business day?

Oh yeah! No problem!

Next: An Iams & Eukanuba Celebration!

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

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.