My Fire Hydrant

In September, 2011, the employees of P&G Pet Care (where I work) took a day away from the office to do a shelter makeover for the Humane Society of Greater Dayton.

It's a Kitten Shower!

We had a kitten shower at the office on Friday. But wait! There’s more…

Little Boy Kitty

Every September, we (the employees of Iams) take a day away from the office and do rehab work on a shelter in our area–as part of our celebration of Iams Home 4 the Holidays. This year, we worked on the Humane Society of Greater Dayton.

New Mom Robin and Lazer Tag for Kitties!

A couple of weeks before our scheduled day of work, somebody dumped a trio of kittens at the shelter. Yes, I said dumped–and the kittens were only a couple of days old.

Little Girl Kitty

As it happened, some of our folks were there doing prep work for the rehab. My buddy Robin was outlining some of the murals that would be painted later by the larger group. Robin was outraged that kittens so young would be separated from their mom.

Little Gray Boy During the Shelter Rehab

Over the following weeks, Robin stopped by ever few days to visit and care for the three little kittens. She was charmed and moved by their resilience and their will to survive.

Last week, at six weeks old, the shelter director decided they were old enough for Robin to foster. So Robin took them home. And started her journey down the short path of failing “Foster 101.”

Newly named Jezabelle, Jaxon, and Jasper.

So on Friday we had a kitten shower. Someone sent her a meeting notice for a bogus meeting and we yelled “Surprise!” when she joined us. And there were balloons and presents. And much laughter. And lots of phone photos of really cute little fuzz balls.

Robin told us that the family was having a hard time naming the kittens–and that her husband was OK with adopting two, but not sure about adopting three. I figured, if we could name all three then hubby would have a harder time saying no. So we asked the Iams community on Facebook. Robin took their suggestions, and the kittens are now Jezabelle, Jaxon, and Jasper.

C’mon hubby! Three kitties are just as easy to take care of as two kitties. And an extra excuse for warm snuggles!

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Tyler, at his work station.

This year was Tyler’s first opportunity to participate in Take Your Dog to Work Day, and he had a great time! So many folks brought their dogs into the office at P&G Pet Care’s headquarters in Mason that I wonder [[whisper]] just how much work got done that day? Doesn’t matter though–bonding with our dogs at the office just emphasizes who we really work for.

We had some fund doggie contests in our dog park, located just outside the building. And luckily the weather smiled on us.

The Potato and Spoon Race
This game is run in heats.  Chairs are placed a little way away from the wall at one end of the hall while the handlers and their dogs line up at the other end.  Each handler is given a spoon in which they have to carry a potato.  The spoon can only be carried in the hand that is holding the dog’s lead.  Handlers have to race from to the far end of the hall, go round the chair and back to the start.  If they drop the potato they have to stop while they put it back in the spoon.

Doggie Musical Paws (Musical Chairs)
Dog handlers and dogs walk around in a big circle of white paw prints while music is playing.  When the music stops the dog must sit on one of the white paw prints. The dog without a paw print drops out and a paw print is taken away.  The game continues until you are left with a winner.  This game is just like musical chairs.

We also had a contest for the Best Sit Stay and the Longest Commute to Work. These contest were topped off with a Canine Yappy Hour and Bark-n-Play where Frosty Paws and Iams and Eukanuba biscuits were served (the humans had to find their own treats!), and the pooches spent pack time running and playing in the dog park.

For photos, click Read more…

A recently delivered letter of resignation:

Dear Friends,

Today, I am announcing that I intend to retire from my position as V.P. of Canine Communications for P&G Pet Care effective April 15, 2012.   I am happy to report that I am 9 years young.  My eyes are still bright and shiny, my energy level is like any 2 year old pup and my body weight is superb!  But let’s be real ladies and gentlemen, I’m ready to take advantage of all the P&G has to offer in retirement.  I am currently finishing negotiations for a lifetime supply of Iams Dog Biscuits and Eukanuba Dog Food.

The company hired me back in 2003.  I was a naïve young pup studying to become an assistance dog at the MIRA organization located in Quebec, CANADA.  At that time, I had just completed all of the training required to become an assistance dog but I failed my final exam.   I was devastated!  MIRA felt that I had “bonding issues.” They labeled me as being “TOO” friendly to become an assistance dog.   What can I say?  I love people!  Looking back I must agree with my assessor’s at MIRA.  I would much rather greet many new people every day rather than being the eyes or ears for one person.  MIRA felt I had a talent and shared my resume with The Iams Company.  The rest is history.  I was hired by P&G Pet Care.

I have met with Pet Care Leadership to discuss the job requirements of the next V.P. of Canine Communications.  My successor will be required to: like children and adults, love being an official greeter and have a mastery level knowledge of basic obedience.  He will need to be photogenic and love being videotaped.   He will need to be smaller than I am because he will be making appearances around the globe and will need to travel on an airplane.  Like all of our Vice Presidents, he must carry sufficient credentials.  He must earn his champion title at dog shows, be certified as a Canine Good Citizen and become a certified Therapy Dog.

For the next 10 months, I will be sharing my brand knowledge, social expertise and trademark “tricks” that will be critical to the success of the young lad who will be replacing me.  I am very excited about my new training assignment.  It will be challenging and very satisfying to know that I will be influential to the success of my successor.  I am keenly aware that the V.P. of Canine Communications is the face and the iconic ambassador for the best pet food brands in the world!

Now is not the time to say “good-bye.”  I look forward to spending the next 10 months coming to work , mingling with coworkers (both two and four-legged) and most importantly, showing the new pup the ropes of P&G Pet Care.

I feel very fortunate to be representing the best Dog and Cat Food Company in the world and working with the most pet passionate employees in our industry.

Sincerely,

Euka

V.P. of Canine Communications

I wrote about Euka a couple of years ago when she reached her 8th year. She’s a sweet pooch, and I’m going to miss seeing her at the office.

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Some of you may know that I am one of the moderators for the Iams Facebook wall. I’m also training my teammate, Janet, to help with the work. She posted a photo of her dog Elmo today, and I just had to share! He’s adorable!!

Elmo

Tina, from our marketing team, welcomed Lily into her family recently. What a cute puggie puppy!

Sleeping Lily.

Some very exciting news! Our second annual “Behind the Paw” summit is scheduled for next week! We’ve invited a furbulous group of pet community advocates and anipals to come for a visit to learn more about P&G Pet Care. We’ll be tweeting about it–if you’re on Twitter be sure to watch for #BehindThePaw to get updates. Here’s a preview of what’s happening!

A new adoption in my work family! One of my teammates recently adopted Boone from her local shelter!

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In the email that brought me the photos, my buddy Sandy says:

We are now the proud parents to Boone.  He is a four year old Aussie rescue from the shelter, with some wild bed head.  He is very laid back and very tolerant of being brushed.  He has visited our home and seems to like the yard and doesn’t seem very concerned with the cats (and vice versa).  We’ll get him tomorrow as he is getting a “procedure” done today to keep the Boone population down,…I should have a stork in the front yard screaming “It’s a BOY!!”  What a silly Mommy I am, but I know you understand.

He is such a handsome boy!  Congratulations, Sandy!