We’ve got a new quest artist this week! Norm offered to do a sketch of Marshmallow, one of the pups on the rescue transport I helped with last Saturday. Marshmallow didn’t ride in my car, but I did meet him briefly. He seemed pretty confused and intimidated by the whole situation. Read on to find out more about him…

Meet Marshmallow

Marshmallow is a 15-week old male Great Pyrenees Mix. He’s had a rough time of it. He was hit by a car on August 19 in Kentucky and was placed in foster care for two weeks so he could heal prior to transport. He arrived in Wisconsin on 9/12, but the people at Fluffy Dog Rescue could tell that his leg wasn’t looking good. Marshmallow was taken to the vet where it was determined that his leg had healed incorrectly and will have to be rebroken and plated. The growth plate is also involved, so this is very serious. He’s currently on pain meds and scheduled for a visit on 9/20 at the University of Wisconsin Vet Hospital, where there are surgeons who are very familiar with the procedure. His surgery is expected to cost $2,000, and a follow up surgery will most likely be required. Because this sort of procedure isn’t a 100% guarantee, removal of the leg would normally be the best option now, but in Marshmallow’s case, his estimated weight is too great to loose the leg. If you can help in any way, there is a PayPal donation button on the Fluffy Dog Rescue site.

Contact Info:
Fluffy Dog Rescue
W295 N8437 Camp Whitcomb Rd.
Hartland, WI 53029
(This is not a shelter facility. All dogs are placed in foster homes until they are adopted.)

Meet Marshmallow

To find out more about Marshmallow, check out his Petfinder page.

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Norman Haldeman is a freelance artist who enjoys volunteering for a good cause, and helping raise awareness for animals in need definitely fits with that. He also hopes you have an excellent day. You can find him at The Echo Inside, on deviantArt and twitter.

Filed under: Animals in Need, Art, Shelter Sketches on September 18th, 2010 | 3 Comments »

SweetSpots Coupons Giveaway!

Hey all! Remember when we reviewed Nature’s Variety SweetSpots, the doggy “ice cream” treats? Well we were lucky enough to receive some coupons for $1.50 off that we’d love to share with our readers! Time is short, however, because we got all caught up in the amazingness that is BlogPaws and just noticed that these coupons expire September 30th! Yikes! If you’re interested in receiving a coupon, please comment below telling us why. Also make sure you input your email correctly since that’s where we’ll contact you to get your mailing address. We only have 5 of these coupons so hurry and comment if you’re interested!

First come, first serve! Don’t forget to check out our review of this product here.

Filed under: Giveaways on September 16th, 2010 | 3 Comments »

Hey everyone! As I’m sure you all know, we met TONS of amazing people at BlogPaws West 2010. Over the next weeks (or maybe even months!) we’ll be introducing you to them as well as their awesome ideas for helping animals, especially rescued animals! Today I’d like to let you know about a project by an amazing woman named Kyla Duffy.

Happy Tails Books

Kyla is the founder and co-editor of Happy Tails Books which includes 3 different series. Lost Souls: Found! is a series about adopted dogs, Partners With Paws is a book about service dogs, and Confessions of Irresponsible Pet Parents are stories about “pet-related oopsies”. Not only does Kyla use these books to bring attention to important animal issues such as adoption and show just how much animals touch our lives, but she gives back to animals in need on top of it all! A whopping 20 – 25% of all profits from the books sold get split amongst different rescues that helped with the book. TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT! How awesome is that? I can’t wait to let you know more about Kyla and her other project, Up for Pups, when we interview her later on but for now we have some information on getting your rescued kids submitted for possible inclusion in one of her upcoming books.

Here’s what Kyla has to say about submitting stories for her books, as well as the deadlines which are FAST approaching:

Get Your Dog and Cat Tales Featured in a Book!

Happy Tails Books is collecting stories about adopted cats and dogs for the next books in the Lost Souls: FOUND! series, and they want to hear from you!

Each book in this wonderful series highlights the love and joy adopted pets bring to their new homes. The books contain several sections to entertain and educate readers: short stories (600-1200 words), paragraph-long anecdotes (funny, silly, or heartwarming), behavioral and medical challenges (and how they were solved), recipes, and poems. Detailed submission guidelines and a story submission form are located at http://happytailsbooks.com/submit.htm.

Happy Tails Books welcomes stories from writers of all ability levels and from foster and forever homes alike. Stories should be emotional (funny, happy, sad, thought-provoking) and have a clear point. They are also seeking professional-quality photographs for the book covers.

A significant portion of profits is donated back to rescue organizations. Please submit your stories and help Happy Tails Books reach their goal of donating at least $10,000 back to rescue organizations this year.

Please submit your cat stories before September 30th and your dog stories before October 15th. The sooner the better!

If  this sounds like something you’d be interested in, please get to writing and submit those stories ASAP! I know we are!

Filed under: BlogPaws, Projects on September 15th, 2010 | 1 Comment »

Hey all! As promised, the very first in a new series here at ILRA: Rescue of the Week! Want to know something funny? This was pretty much supposed to be the whole point of ILRA. It all began as a simple idea to celebrate rescued animals to show that they are just as good as any other animals. In fact, we believe they know how lucky they are and return the love you give them tenfold! We wanted rescue parents to be able to come together and celebrate the wonderful animals that have changed their lives. We hope that you will all join in and share your rescue kids with the rest of the world! Now on to the first ever Rescue of the Week; who better but our very own mascot, Spunky?

Rescue of the Week: SPUNKY!

Rescue’s Name: Spunky (Spunkadoo, Spunkaruffugus)
Species/Breed: Husky/Shepherd/Chow mixed breed dog
Age: 6.5 years

How did your rescue come to be in your life?:
Spunky came into my life my sophomore year of college. I was working an adoption fair trying to get local pound dogs adopted. Spunky was my charge and I fell in love with him right away. An application was filled out before the event was even over! Since then, Spunky and I have been practically inseparable.

Tell us more about your rescue kid:
Spunky has amazing resilience. He has been through three different households, moved all around the country and been an amazing big brother to over thirty siblings. Nikki calls him the rock of our family and I’m inclined to believe her. No matter what, Spunky is always there. Whether it’s tolerating a little kitten thinking he’s mommy, playing gently with the ferrets or being a model for the younger dogs to follow, he is always a patient, loving presence. This wonderful personality makes him pretty irresistible to everyone he meets. Seriously, ask anyone! Because of this, he has his Canine Good Citizen (CGC) certificication and he is in the works of becoming a therapy dog! Hopefully someday soon, he will be able to bring joy and happiness to even more people who are in need of his soft soul. Spunky’s favorite thing to do in the whole world, besides getting love of course, is to run. He is one of the fastest, most agile dogs I’ve ever come across and he loves that he’s always the leader in a game of chase. On the other hand, he can also lounge around like nobody’s business and makes a great partner for sleeping in late. He is also an incredibly photogenic boy (as you can see). Spunky makes an amazing mascot for ILRA because he was the one that really inspired the creation of our site.

Your Name(s): Ashley & Nikki
Where can you and your pet be found on the internet?: Right here! Spunky, as many of you already know, is the mascot of ILRA. He’s so glad he found his forever home that he wants to pay it forward and help other animals in need. You can learn tidbits about him on our twitter account, @RescueAnimals, too. He also has a Dogster profile. But if you really want to get to know him, you’ve got to check out The Family Menagerie, a webcomic based on our crazy, animal filled lives. You’re sure to love it!

Check back next week for another Rescue of the Week!

Filed under: Personal Stories, Rescue of the Week on September 13th, 2010 | 8 Comments »

Shiba Inu are such funny little dogs. I saw a lot of them during my years living in Japan, but never really got to know any. There was one who lived close to my apartment, though. I walked by his house fairly often, and he would always scurry out onto his little balcony, carefully watching me to make sure I didn’t pee in his yard, I’m sure!

Meet Rosalie

Rosalie is a 6-year old, 15 lbs. female Shiba Inu. She loves long walks and cuddling fuzzy toys.
This girl has been through a lot. In December 2008 She was rescued from a puppy mill, where she had been used for breeding, and (of course) not properly cared for. She had a heartworm infestation that required six months of treatment, and was recently cleared of a severe UTI that vets believe was caused by years of untreated incontinence.
Rosalie’s foster family give her half of a Prion pill each day to control her incontinence. She will probably have to be on the meds the rest of her life, but the prescription is only $10 for a 30 day supply.

Contact Info:
Shiba Inu Rescue Association
Chicago, IL (IL, IN, MI, WI, IA, MO, MN Placement Preferred)
Rosalie is being fostered by Aimee & Beth in Glen Ellyn, IL. For more information please email shibarescue@aol.com

Meet Rosalie

To find out more about Rosalie, check out her Petfinder page.

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Chelsea Conlin is a freelance fantasy illustrator, but if she can help spread the word about animals in need with her skills, she’s more than happy to do so! She currently lives in Kentucky with her husband where they do what they can by driving dog rescue transports on weekends. They have two dogs of their own: a rescue greyhound named Storm and a mixed breed named Azu. You can find her at Paper Nautilus, her sketchblog, twitter, and deviantart.

Filed under: Animals in Need, Art, Shelter Sketches on September 12th, 2010 | 1 Comment »