With the holidays, I’ve experienced a slight kink in getting the numbers out for Iams Home 4 the Holidays. The good news is: WE’VE BUSTED THROUGH THE ONE MILLION MARK!!

The grand total at the end of week 13:

1,094,977 pets adopted!

The bad news is that I don’t have the usual breakdown of how many dogs, cats, and other types of pets.

Be sure to help your favorite Iams Home 4 the Holidays shelter to win free food: FEED PETS IN NEED (Terms & Conditions) and LIFE’S BETTER SWEEPSTAKES (Official Rules)!

My good friend Kris (he’s the Iams heart of Iams Home 4 the Holidays) and his wife have failed Fostering 101. A few weeks ago, our three local shelters had an adoption event out at the local mall. All the pets were adopted out except one dog. Kris did not want that dog to spend Christmas in the shelter, so he offered to foster her until a home was found. Little did he know at the time that the home would be HIS!! After just a couple of days, Kris, his wife, their kids, and their dogs decided that this little black dog belonged in their family.

Meet Houdini--who never met a crate that could hold her back!

They named her Houdini, because she has a knack for escaping from her crate. Houdini is a mixed breed–Kris thinks she has some Portuguese Water Dog in her background–and very sweet. Though she doesn’t like cats (Kris’ house is kitty-free), she is great with kids and other dogs–which makes her a perfect addition to this family!

CONGRATULATIONS KRIS AND FAMILY FOR FLUNKING FOSTERING 101.

AND CONGRATULATIONS HOUDINI ON FINDING A FUREVER HOME!

My good buddy Kris was in New York City this morning, at the New York Stock Exchange, with some of my favorite people–including Laura Nativo and her pooch Preston Casanova

This is the third Christmas Eve that the New York Stock Exchange has honored Iams Home 4 the Holidays with the opening bell. This year, Laura and Preston got to ring it–OMD poor Preston was so startled when it rang! (Video here.)

Ready to Ring the Bell!

Culver, a puppy up for adoption, gets some attention from Peter Elkins.

Culver offers some distraction to Chris Geiger. I'd rather cuddle a puppy than work, too!

And the best thing of all is that all the pets who were there to help ring the bell were signed up to be adopted! (Except for Preston Casanova–he already has a very loving mom). I love happy endings!

SIDEBAR: The holidays are delaying our adoption numbers for the past week. I will post them as soon as I have confirmation.

PEACE ON EARTH, GOOD HOMES FOR PETS!

The grand total at the end of week 11:

808,147 pets adopted!

Here the breakdown:

Help your favorite Iams Home 4 the Holidays shelter to win free food: FEED PETS IN NEED (Terms & Conditions) and LIFE’S BETTER SWEEPSTAKES (Official Rules)!

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!

The grand total at the end of week 10:

713,828 pets adopted!

Here the breakdown:

And don’t forget, help your favorite Iams Home 4 the Holidays shelter to win free food: FEED PETS IN NEED (Terms & Conditions) and LIFE’S BETTER SWEEPSTAKES (Official Rules)!

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!

ARGH! I missed posting totals last week because of Turkey day.

The grand total at the end of week 9:

621,034 pets adopted!

Here the breakdown:

And don’t forget, help your favorite Iams Home 4 the Holidays shelter to win free food: FEED PETS IN NEED (Terms & Conditions) and LIFE’S BETTER SWEEPSTAKES (Official Rules)!

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 feeds hungry puppies!

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.

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

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.

Meet little Mocha!

My friend Terri just adopted a precious new puppy! Her name is Mocha, and she is a Boxer-Weimaraner mixed breed. Both Mocha, and her big sister Scout, are shelter pooches. Mocha came from an Iams Home 4 the Holidays shelter.

Like many puppies, Mocha has a fascination with dirty sox and smelly shoes!

Hello!

Here’s a little photo album of Mocha…

Scout (on the right), and her new little sister Mocha.

Snoozing puppy.

Little Mocha and big sister Scout.

If the shoe fits, sleep in it.

We're just hanging out.

Shoes make great pillows for a nice sleep!

Playing is hard work!

Scout needs to teach Mocha how to be more lady-like when she snoozes!

I love puppies!