I’m sure a lot of you have heard of this movement already. It’s been HUGE on twitter and across the blogosphere since the BlogPaws conference last weekend. This video has practically been going viral and it’s easy to see why. It’s a simple concept and yet the potential impact for animals everywhere is unimaginable! The video is also incredibly touching and no one seems to be able to watch it with a dry eye. Already people have raised close to $1000 for a no-kill rescue in Columbus, Ohio: Pets Without Parents. Challenges are being laid down all over the place for more people to get involved and do their part to help animals. It’s already a well-organized, well-oiled machine, getting out an incredibly important message that people seem to be responding amazingly well to. To think this all started with a session at the first-ever pet bloggers conference…

I had the pleasure of attending the “Be The Change You Want to See” session. No lie, and I told this to all of the panel speakers I met, this was my absolute favorite session! Seriously, I was quite mad at myself afterward for not having taped it. I hope they come together next year for another session! It was so inspiring and motivating that I was all gung-ho and ready to make a difference even before they threw down the #BeTheChange challenge! The panel consisted of Dr. V from Pawcurious, Dorian Wagner from Your Daily Cute and Lynn Haigh from Pawpawty.com and was moderated by Jane Harrell from Petfinder.com.

Jane started the session by talking a little about Petfinder.com. She talked about how Petfinder began and that in and of itself was one of the most awe-inspiring stories about helping animals I’ve ever heard! Did you know that Petfinder was created back in 1995 by Betsy and Jared Saul, a husband and wife who dared each other to make a real difference with their New Year’s Resolutions. They decided that the internet needed to be utilized to help shelter animals get more exposure and they began by personally entering the information and photos of homeless animals around New Jersey. As they grew, they decided to expand nationwide and they have never looked back! 15 years later and Petfinder has helped to unite over 15 MILLION pets with loving owners! I can’t even begin to imagine how incredible the Sauls’ must feel. Their one, relatively small decision has changed the lives of 15 million animals for the better. 15 MILLION! Wow. Just wow.

First up from the panel was Dr. V who was very charming as she told of her “harebrained” idea to raise money by eating dog food. She thought it would be something small but quickly found out that people really enjoy watching other people eat gross things. She raised more than she ever expected: $2250, which with a matching donation from the incredible people at k9uisine.com, meant a total of $4500 for the shelters she was supporting! Not bad for crazy scheme, huh? Now crazy is something I can do. In fact, it’s what I do best. I come up with silly ideas and Nikki helps bring them to fruition. We can make a difference too! (By the way, to raise money for today’s #BeTheChange challenge, Dr. V also ate some Pupperoni! Yum!)

Next to speak was Dorian Wagner who related the stories of how she has raised not just money but also toys for animals in need! I love her idea for the Santa Paws Drive and can’t wait to help her raise awareness this year! Can you imagine the happiness that would come from giving homeless pets their very own Christmas presents? I know they’re animals but you will never for one second convince me that that they did not feel that they were loved when they received those toys! They knew that someone in the world cared for them and that’s the best Christmas gift you could ever ask for!

Last, but most certainly not least, on the panel was Lynn, who is probably best known for being the typist for @frugaldougal on twitter. He’s the hairy mastermind behind what has become one of the biggest pet sensations on twitter – the PawPawty. A PawPawty is an all-twitter, 24-hour “pawty” held to raise donations for different animal rescues & organizations that are randomly chosen from suggestions of participants. The first PawPawty was held back in March of 2009 and in that very short amount of time, the PawPawties have raised a total of $26,060 for 17 different animal groups! Isn’t that just incredible? I am in awe! Lynn, who is always entertaining, told great stories about the blunders she found herself in as she learned the ins and outs of raising money online. The tale that probably got the most laughs was the one where PayPal contacted her & suspended her account because they thought she was a money launderer! Haha! All I can say is that I’m glad these bumps in the road didn’t deter her because the animal world wouldn’t be the same without her and Mr. FD!

At the end of the session, they gave away some cute prizes and one lucky winner got to choose the shelter that would receive the donations raised by the first #BeTheChange pawty. As it turns out, the woman who won worked with Pets for Parents, one of the groups who were lucky enough to receive $2800 from BlogPaws, as well as presents from a few of the sponsors! They must have some major karma built up to be so lucky! The majority of #BeTheChange participants are raising money for this group and they have already doubled the set goal of $500. That’s awesome for them! However, since they have so many people backing them already, I’m going to help raise awareness for another group in need of donations.

Romeo Golon aka Romeothecat and his staff Caroline also pick animal groups each month that they raise donations for. This month’s rescue is Forever Home Feline Ranch which is a newer no-kill cat rescue based in Springfield, Illinois. They are currently without a physical ranch but are instead a dedicated network of fosters. Who knows, the donations raised could go towards getting them a real ranch! For more information, check out the FirstGiving page set up by Romeo here. This looks like a great group and I know they can use all the help they can get. Being a foster is not easy but these wonderful volunteers do it because they know they are changing the lives of the cats they save. Can you help them out?

Now don’t think you’re alone in taking up this challenge. Nikki & I have something up our sleeves for the #BeTheChange pawty as well but that won’t be announced until this Sunday. For now, let’s get out there and help an animal today! That being said, time to go feed the ferals that live around our house. ^_^

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