Happy Dog Story: Lil' Bit Joins the Family

Meet Lil' Bit, the cute Pit Bull mix pictured above enjoying a snooze on the couch. Lil' Bit's mom Sheri recently shared her story with us and we are pleased to share it with you.

Sheri is an area representative of Dogs Deserve Better, a wonderful non-profit organization that raises awareness about chained and penned dogs and helps rescue and place them in homes.

As a small pup, Lil' Bit and another Pit Bull mix puppy were rescued from being chained outdoors in Nashville, Tennessee. Sheri received an email looking for foster homes for the pups. Sheri, however, already shared her home with two happy senior pooches: Shea, a 10 year old Rottweiler, and Max, her 7 year old son. Being seniors, Shea and Max were set in their ways and were not always pleased to welcome other dogs. Sheri was, therefore, hesitant about offering to foster one of the pups.

After seeing Lil' Bit's photo and visiting her in Nashville, Sheri was hooked. "It was love at first sight!" she reports. Sheri brought Lil' Bit home and introduced her to Shea and Max, slowly and safely. Although Shea and Max "were not overly thrilled at first, now they are best buddies." Lil' Bit has found her forever home!

Max, Shea and Lil' Bit relaxing together

Sheri is overjoyed with Shea and Max's acceptance of their new sister. "Lil' Bit will jump on them and aggravate them, and they snarl and growl, but they have never hurt her." Sheri writes. "They all play so well. Shea and Max are probably not as happy as Lil' Bit, but she is certainly happy to be loved, played with, cared for, and not have to be chained another day in her life!"

Lil' Bit playing with Shea

We are pleased to hear that another homeless pooch has found a wonderful loving home. Sheri thanks for sharing your story with everyone in Happy Dog Land!

We'd love to hear your story too. To share your story, click here.

Most Clever Music Video of All Time!!

This this THE BEST MUSIC VIDEO EVER and the song is good too! We salute the musicians of You Scream I Scream for making the video to promote adoption and help animals in need! Check out the band's website too.



Thanks to our friend Steve Dale for posting this on his blog for us to find!

Ready, Set, Go Adopt: October Is Adopt A Dog Month

We wanted to give everyone in Happy Dog Land time to gear up: The American Humane Association has designated October as "Adopt A Dog Month."

American Humane is asking everyone to be a superhero and find a "faithful companion" to share life's adventures at a local shelter or a breed rescue group. Petfinder.com and Adoptapet.com are good resources too. If you can't adopt a new furry friend, then spread the word about adoption. American Humane has compiled a handy tip list to show you how.

So many dogs need homes right now due to poor economic conditions. In fact, many shelters have a plethora of purebred pooches. Over the weekend, we groomed dogs at Chicago Animal Care and Control. Among the pooches we made over were a Poodle, a beautiful black Lab and a Polish Lowland Sheepdog.

Jill adopted Shadow, a purebred Miniature Poodle from Small Dog Adoption in Plantation, Florida. Billy's dogs Zeke, A Portuguese Water Dog, and Arthur, a Cocker Spaniel, were re-homed from breeders. Our first two Show Us Your Happy Dog Contest winners, Chubee and Samuel were adopted from local shelters. There are so many ways to be a superhero to a homeless pet!

So, grab your cape and tights and go adopt!

Ask Billy: How Do I Choose The Right Dog For Me?

Q: Emily from New York wants to know how to determine what type of dog is best for her lifestyle and family.

A: Emily, I'm so glad you asked this question because bringing a dog into your household is an important decision that cannot be taken lightly --EVER! A dog is a lifelong commitment and should never be an impulsive acquisition -- many dogs live 12-17 years.

First things first, do a lot of research and analysis. Many respectable websites offer sound advice for potential dog owners. Here are a few articles to start you off:

Petfinder

Adopt a Pet

American Humane Association

ASPCA

Humane Society of the United States

American Kennel Club

Realistically assess your capabilities, time commitment, and budget. A Poodle requires much more professional grooming than a Pug. Don’t get a Border Collie or a Portuguese Water Dog unless you are willing and able to provide a safe means to release all the innate energy. Read books and talk to friends, family, and dog care professionals.

Visit shelters and reputable breeders. A good breeder is picky and will want to ensure that you know the pros and cons of a specific breed before you take a dog home. Similarly, if you’re considering a mixed breed, try to get a sense of the dog’s personality and learn about the breeds in the mix. Spend time with the breed or dog you like before making a final decision.

Never get a dog unless everyone in the family or household wants one. Likewise, dogs make lousy gifts. The recipient may not have the time, money or energy to care for the pooch.

Remember to check you local shelter for your new best pal and don't buy a dog from any person or store that supports puppy mills.

Get to Know Adopt a Pet.com

At Happy Dog Land, we are dedicated to helping animals in need. For instance, on our book tour, we will be partnering with companies to help raise money for local and national animal welfare organizations. (Stay tuned for more details!) and our soon to be ready website www.happydogland.com will highlight stories from our readers who have helped animals. Billy and Jill also volunteer at Chicago Animal Care and Control and other Chicago animal welfare organizations.

We are always meeting new people and organizations that help animals. Today we are talking to Jeff Howard of Adopt-A-Pet.com to learn more about the organization.

Q: What is Adopt-a-Pet.com?

A: Adopt-a-Pet.com is the world's largest non-profit adoption website. We are like an ad agency for shelters and shelter pets. Sadly, there are 4 million healthy and adoptable companion animals killed in shelters each year due to overcrowding. We do our best to relieve that problem and put pets from shelters in the homes of pet seekers all over the country.

Q: What can we find on your website?
A. Our website makes it easy for anyone with an internet connection to find profiles and pictures of adoptable animals by location, breed, gender, age, size, and color. Over 8,000 shelters posts pets on our website displaying over 125,000 pets available for adoption at any given time. We also help volunteers connect with shelters, and currently host thousands of people listed in our volunteer database for shelters.

Q: Do you work with any other animals in addition to dogs and cats?

A: Yes we do! In addition to dogs and cats, we now feature all kinds of pets for adoption, including rabbits, farm animals, ferrets, hamsters and other small animals, horses, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and even fish. This was a major initiative that took many months to research and program into the site, and it is being well-received within the shelter community.

Q: What are some of the unique features on your website?
A: On our website, people can use something we call “Search Saver.” This feature will notify users by e-mail when a particular pet fitting their specifications in available for adoption. For example, I can tell “Search Saver” where I live and what type of breed I am looking for. When that animal is available, I am notified the next time a pet matching my search is added on Adopt-a-Pet.com.

As of this summer we have now made it easy for our visitors to find pets and then recommend them to friends and family via Facebook, Twitter and other social applications. We are calling the idea “Social Petworking.” Here is how it works; once you have searched and found a pet in need, on the pet details page simply hover over the button labeled “SHARE,” there you can send the pet details page to any of your friends.

Q: You've teamed up with a well-known artisit to help raise awareness and money for animals in need. Please share this exciting news!

A: We have teamed up with renowned street-artist Shepard Fairey, who designed the iconic Obama "Hope" image. As a result, we have available a number of stylish ways to promote pet adoption. Shepard was able to translate his work with Obama to an image that can be used to represent pet adoption support. You can download the image to share, embed it on your website or print it. T-shirts and clothing and stickers are available too and these purchases help raise money to help homeless pets.

Q: What other kind of information can we find on the website?

A: Adopt-a-Pet.com has recently begun blogging, and every week we publish posts from two separate columns. On Tuesday, we blog about pet care tips, and on Fridays we do our best to find heartwarming stories about adopted pets all over the country. Here are a few highlights from our blog:

10 Ways To Help Homeless Pet, Even If You Can’t Adopt
What To Ask Your Veterinarian
Good News In Pet Adoption – A Weekly Post
10 Things To Consider Before Adopting

Adopt-a-pet is also on Facebook and you can follow it on Twitter at AdoptaPetcom.

Shelter Dog Makeovers

Here are a few examples of the dogs Billy and his helpers groomed over the weekend at Chicago Animal Care and Control, which is the city pound. This shelter cares for Chicago's neediest animals.

At least 3 of dogs were adopted after their transformation. Some of the dogs needed only a bath, brushing and a nail trim and without smell-o-vision, it is hard to see the change, which was significant--many of the dogs clearly were enjoying their first bath ever and loved the pampering! (Click here to see more dogs available for adoption from CACC).

Sam is a Bishon mix. His coat was matted to the skin and we filled a garbage bag with the fur that came off of him. He must have lost 20 pounds! Sam was a trooper and sweet as can be even though his makeover took well over over 5 hours. Everyone in the room felt Sam relax as soon as the mats were shaved off and he was so proud to wear his beautiful new hairdo! What a difference grooming makes--not only physically, but emotionally.

This little guy (above) was so scruffy that everyone thought he was a girl. Once Billy started working on the pooch, he corrected the mistake and changed his name from Honey Bun to Harry B. Harry loved the personal attention and pranced out of the grooming area. He is in his new home today.

More photos to come soon!

Rescue Story: Stray Makes His Mark on a Mountain

Todd Stuart's life changed when he heard about a stray dog hanging around his mom's neighborhood. Todd writes:

"I first met Buddy on a sun baked frontage road next to I-10 near Palm Springs, California. My mother Velora, lived in an old folks trailer park in a little town called Yucaipa. It was filled with old folks who couldn't afford Palm Springs or San Diego or Beverly Hills, but loved the weather none the less.

My mother's neighbor had parked her Suzuki Samurai out on the frontage road for sale, and when she noticed a beautiful dog hiding in the shade underneath it, she began to feed it.

The other old folks, who were in the habit of walking their little poodles past this little jeep for sale, were afraid that this 'big' dog would eat their little friends. They asked the managers of the trailer park to call the pound. The managers of the park were dog lovers themselves, and didn't want to call, but were increasingly pressured to do so.

One day, as I was leaving the park, I saw Woody the manager trying to coax this beautiful dog over to him with a beef stick. The dog was tempted, but resisted. I parked my little truck, and asked Woody what was up.

-Todd, can you take this dog? You've got a nice place up in the mountains, don't you? Could you give him a home?

-I do Woody. But I can't just be bringing home stray dogs to the Christian Camp for kids. There's a hundred and twenty new kids every week, and it takes a special dog to deal with that kind of attention. He's obviously a good dog, though...look at that face....

-I know, I hate to have the pound come, but the poodle owners are hassling me to do something.

-Well, I'm headed up to the Kern River right now, for a few days of kayaking, but maybe when I get back.

-Think about it would you? See, he's got a swollen right leg. I bet somebody dumped him on the freeway, not wanting to pay a vet to fix his leg. Happens here all the time.

-Well, I'm a nomad, and can't be hauling a dog around with me because half the time I'm on a bicycle anyway, and well, I do love dogs, and this looks like a good one, but what if it isn't good with little kids? My boss would kill me if I brought a stray dog home, and it bit a camper.

After a long weekend kayaking the wild whitewater of the Kern, I stopped by to say hi to my mom. Woody saw me and came over to talk.

-Hey Todd, I've had to call the pound, because I can't find a home for that dog, and they're on their way. Do you think you can take it?

-No, I haven't talked to my boss.

-My mom chimed in, slugging my arm, 'Yes he can take it!! You better take it!! You can't let that beautiful animal be killed just because you haven't talked to your boss yet. You've got a fenced yard. Just take him home and let his leg heal up while we try to find a real home for him. He's such a beautiful dog.'"

So, Todd's mom convinced him to give Buddy a chance. Todd recounts that he,"went out to where the dog was hiding, and opened the back of my little pickup. I sat on the pavement and called him. 'Hey Buddy...c'mere Buddy...I won't hurt ya...c'mon up in the mountains with me and heal up.'

The dog inched close and sniffed me. I think he could tell that I was a chef who lived in the mountains, and that he may never get an offer this good again. He hopped in the back of my truck, and we've been the best of friends ever since."

Everyone at the camp loved Buddy, especially all the kids, so Buddy found his forever home.

After Buddy's leg healed, Buddy and Todd moved to ski country in Utah. They live at 9800 feet elevation and Buddy can't get enough of the snow. A few years back, Todd was featured in the ski mobie PWO5 - Powderwhore 2005 and guess who co-stars? That's right Buddy! Buddy loves to ski with Todd, especially in the deep snow. Buddy follows along in Todd's ski tracks. Both Todd and Buddy live life to the fullest, together in the wilderness. Clearly, this pair was a match made in heaven.

Todd recently published his first book, Nobody Owes You Tomorrow, which tell the story of how truth, beauty and wilderness can heal the human soul. We're sure that Buddy is happy to be a part of the tale.

Please send us your rescue stories and we'll share them with everyone in Happy Dog Land. Your story may encourage others to save a life and in the process bring meaning into their own.

Charley: Rags to Riches to Robes

Like millions of Americans, at Happy Dog Land we are inspired by President Obama's inauguration speech. We hope that you are too! President Omaba asked us all to do our share by helping our communities in order to make America great again. Assisting animals in need is a wonderful place to start. You can volunteer at a shelter or even use your social network to help place a stray, neglected or unwanted animal on your own. Here's an example to get you started.



RAGS: A few years ago, Jill and a few friends joined together to find a new home for a pooch in need. A Chicago family adopted a cute little Maltese from a shelter. Although the family probably meant well, they could not properly care for the dog or devote adequate time to him. In fact, when the pooch's leg was injured, the family never even took him to the vet. One friend, Jillisa, heard about the dog and convinced the family to give him up. She called Jill, who called another friend, Stacey. Working together, the friends found the scruffy little guy a forever home with another friend who lived out of state.

RICHES: Charley's new life is full of love, pampering, good grooming and proper veterinary care. Charley's new mom Jill recently wrote us with an update: "I consider Charley a true gift of love from Stacey [one of the rescuers], because she had lost her boy Sunny at about the same time we lost our cat. Stacey could have easily kept Charley as the newest member of her family, but she gave him to us. Charley has truly enhanced my life, as I have always been afraid of dogs! Now, I can't get enough of them. I'm truly a reformed cat person."


ROBES: Charley also inspired his mom to start a new business Doggie Robes. After she whipped up a terry cloth robe for Charley, her friends encouraged her to sell them. Charley is the company model and we hear that he "is quite a ham!"

We think President Obama would be pleased to hear about Charley! Rather than doing nothing, this group of friends took action. Their willingness to help others enabled a neglected pooch find a perfect home and they enriched the lives of Charley's parents too.

Who will be the First Dog? A variety of rescue options.

President-elect Obama announced this weekend that the choice for First Dog is now between a Labradoodle and a Portuguese Water Dog. Here at Happy Dog Land, we're rooting for the Portie in honor of Billy's dog Zeke and his previous Portie pooch Gabriel.

Regardless of the Obama family's choice, we hope that they rescue their new pooch and set an example for the rest of the world. After all, the eyes of the world are upon our new President, and his doggy decisions will mean a lot to millions of dogs across the country and around the world.

If you want to rescue a dog, you're not limited to traditional animal shelters and rescues, although they're a good place to start. Nowadays, many shelters (even city pounds) have purebred and designer dogs waiting for a new home as a result of the economic crisis.

If, like the Obamas, you want a specific breed, start with Petfinder which is a clearinghouse for over 12,000 shelters, rescues, veterinarians and private people helping dogs in need. Jill adopted Shadow, her purebred Miniature Poodle, from Small Dog Adoption in Plantation, FL after finding him through a breed specific search on Petfinder.

In addition, there are loads of breed specific rescues, that can help direct you to reputable breeders who have retired show dogs and other dogs that are not up to show dog snuff. Although not in a shelter, these breeder rejects are in need of good homes too and, of course, make wonderful pets. Billy rescued Arthur from a breeder who had retired him from the show ring. Before Billy, Arthur spent the first 15 months of his life in a cage with his hair wrapped in plastic and slathered with gobs of coat conditioner. Once he earned his championship, Arthur was retired. He's much happier now that he sleeps in Billy's bed and is a full-fledged member of the family. Billy also rescued Zeke from a breeder. Zeke is a carrier for a congenital disease that breeders are trying to remove from the Portie gene pool, so he was of no use as as stud or show dog. Lucky for Zeke, Billy didn't care about Zeke's genes and it was love at first sight.

Many good Samaritans, animal hospitals and doggy businesses take in strays and help them find homes too. The possibilities for rescue and adoption are endless.

If you are buying your dog, it's buyer beware. Never buy a dog from a puppy mill or pet store. Last year the Oprah Winfrey Show publicized the horrors of puppy mills. Just because a pet store is "fancy," the owners are "nice," or the little tiny puppies are cute, doesn't mean that they're not supporting the deplorable puppy mill industry. Some breeders are merely puppy mills in disguise. Learn how to avoid supporting puppy mills and recognize responsible breeders.

Photos by Michael Vistia, Vistia Designs