We want to wish all the Cat Daddies we know a very Happy Father’s Day.
Thank you for all that you do and for showing the world that real men are kind to animals.
Have a wonderful day covered in cat hair and surrounded by all the furry faces who love you.
It is time to nominate favorite pet blogs for the 2013 Petties Awards. These awards are sponsored by Dogtime Media and are a prestigious award for pet bloggers. Petties are awarded to the top pet blogs in ten categories and each of the winners receive a $1,000 donation to the animal-related charity of their choice.
This year, each time you nominate a blog, you can also enter your favorite shelter or rescue for a chance to win $10,000.
Please nominate Black and Orange’s blog for Best Cat Blog and Best Rescue/Cause Blog
To nominate B and O, go HERE.
Our URL: www.bandocats.org/blog
Shelter Nomination for $10K Petties Grant: Black and Orange Cat Foundation
You can enter a nomination once a day every day between now and Friday, June 28. The shelter or rescue with the most nominations will win a $10,000 Petties grant donation and the blogs with the most nominations will go to the final round of voting. The winners will be announced in July!
Thank you so much for your nominations!
As many of you may remember, last year, the blog for Black and Orange was nominated and was a finalist in the Best Rescue/Cause Blog category in The Petties 2012. Nominations are just about to open for The Petties 2013, DogTime Media’s awards for the best in pet blogging. In addition to their previous ten categories, this year, there are two new categories including Best Active Living Blog and Best Pet Mobile App.
The nomination period for the 2013 Petties opens on June 3 and closes on June 28. During that time, you can also submit nominations for a shelter or rescue to receive the Petties Grant of $10,000. We hope you will consider nominating Black and Orange Cat Foundation for the grant and our blog to win a Pettie. The Petties are a very big deal for pet bloggers.
We’ll have more information on June 3 when nominations open. We hope you will consider nominating Black and Orange’s blog in one of the following categories 1) Best Overall Pet Blog, 2) Best Cat Blog, 3) Best Cause Related Blog.
And thank you in advance. We only made it in to the finals last year, because of all of you!
Once again, PetPromise will be hosting their “5K Walk and Run for Homeless Pets.” The Rescue Run will take place over Memorial Day weekend on Saturday, May 25, with the race beginning at 10:30 am, rain or shine. Walkers, runners, and friendly dogs are welcome to come out and support PetPromise’s efforts to change the future for homeless pets.
The event kick-off and registration begins at 8 am at McFerson Commons Park (in the Arena District) located on Nationwide Blvd. at 218 West Street in Columbus.
The registration fee is $30. You can also collect pledges and if you raise $30 or more, the registration fee will be waived.
You can print off a pledge tracking form and see how much money has been raised so far by going HERE.
Our friend, Tony Wilson, ran in the Rescue Run when he was around 14-years-old and came in first for his age group. The photos below are ones that I took the day of the race several years ago.
The FiXiT Foundation recently received a grant from Best Friends Animal Society to spay and neuter pit bulls for FREE in selected states: California, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, New York, Texas and Utah.
To get the FREE fix, pit bull owners in the qualifying states must register through the GetYourFix.org web site. Pit bull terrier dogs of all types, including mixes and American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, and Staffordshire Bull Terriers, all qualify for the FREE fix. To find out if you qualify to have your pit bull fixed for FREE, go HERE.
Even if you don’t have a pit bull that needs fixed, you can still help—you can also sponsor a fix on the web site. You can sponsor a fix for a dog or a cat and you can even choose which state the animal lives in. Since I am in Ohio, I try to help locally and sponsor fixes in my state. But you could choose to help anywhere. To sponsor a fix (or to register to get your companion animal fixed), go HERE.
For more information on the Best Friends grant, go HERE and HERE.
Besides the Best Friends grant, the FiXiT Foundation also recently received a $5,000 grant from the Petco Foundation to spay and neuter pit bulls on the GetYourFix.org site. This grant funds a program called, “Half the Pits–Half the Price.” For every pit bull that is sponsored to be fixed on the site (no matter what state the pit bull resides in), the FiXiT Foundation will refund $50 or pay half the cost! Normally, you would donate $100 toward the surgery. With the Petco grant, the cost is only $50.
For more information on the Petco grant, go HERE and HERE.
The FiXiT Foundation is concentrating on pit bulls, because these lovely dogs have been so vilified in recent years that when they end up in shelters, most are euthanized. According to the FiXiT Foundation web site, one out of every four animals euthanized in shelters is a pit bull. Nearly a million pit bulls each year are killed because of their breed.
If we can stop unwanted pit bulls from being born, we can also stop them from being discarded and euthanized. Most pit bull owners are not breeding their dogs to use for fighting. Most would like to prevent unwanted litters, but do not have the means. The FiXiT Foundation gives these owners and their beloved dogs a chance at a better life.
Alley Cat Rescue in Maryland started Free Feral Cat Spay Day (FFCSD) in 2010. This is their fourth year of asking vets to provide two FREE spays or neuters of feral cats to the public. In 2012, FFCSD went international. Not only did vets in the United States participate, but also those in South Africa and Canada, as well.
In 2012, over 600 vet clinics in the United States provided free or reduced cost sterilization services to 4,300 feral cats on April 27. Free Feral Cat Spay Day is meant to build and strengthen relationships between the public and the veterinary community. Sadly, many vets still do not provide low cost options for feral cats, a population that desperately needs all of us working on their behalf.
To find out more about Free Feral Cat Spay Day, visit Alley Cat Rescue’s web site HERE.
To find vets in your area who will provide free or discounted services on April 27, go HERE. If you scroll down until you find Ohio (or just click the OH link at the top of the page), you will see that, so far, there are eleven vet clinics that are willing to provide surgeries on Free Feral Cat Spay Day. The clinic closest to us here in Columbus is Grove City Vet Hospital. There are also participating clinics in Pataskala, Heath, Newark, Chillicothe, Warren, Georgetown, Cleveland, and Gallipolis. Check out the site and call the vet offices to find out more.
If you know of a vet’s office that would like to participate in Free Feral Cat Spay Day, have them go HERE and fill out the online form.
To read Alley Cat Rescue’s press release, Click: FFCSD 2012 Press Release
On Saturday, April 20, the Union County Humane Society will celebrate “Top Hat and Tails,” their annual fancy dinner and auction. This year, they will also be celebrating their 100th birthday! Tickets are $60 and you can reserve your seat by paying online HERE. The gala, which is in it’s 9th year, will run from 6-9 pm at the Catholic Community Center in Marysville, 1033 West 5th Avenue.
Mark and Angie in the Morning will serve as emcees. The Phillips and Kerns Band has just returned from the Grand Ole Opry and will play during the social hour, which begins at 6 pm. Dinner and awards are at 7 pm.
Der Dutchman is catering the dinner. There will also be appetizers by The Smiling Daisy in Milford Center. There will be a silent auction, as well as a raffle.
Additionally, you can also donate to the humane society’s online auction, which runs from April 3-17, become a gala sponsor, or view all of the current auction items by clicking HERE.
Honda of Marysville recently donated a 2001 Honda Civic EX 5-speed with 96,921 miles for the auction. The car is valued at over $7,600. If you need a car and would like to support the animals, you can’t lose with this!
To find out more about Top Hat & Tails, visit the UCHS web site HERE.
Get your tickets soon. They are going fast!!
You can also get up-to-date info on the Gala by keeping an eye on the Humane Society’s Facebook page HERE. Please Like them when you stop by.
On Saturday, April 6, author Cathy Unruh will be participating in a book signing and fundraising dinner for Colony Cats. Cathy Unruh is the author of the book, Taming Me: Memoir of a Clever Island Cat. The book recounts the story of Lucy Miracle, a formerly feral kitty who narrates the adventure. Besides offering the perspective of a feral cat who must learn to trust people, the book also educates on the importance of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) in reducing the feline overpopulation problem.
Cathy Unruh will be at a book signing at Colony Cat’s Kit & Kaboodle Boutique from 11 am to 2 pm on Saturday, April 6. The Boutique is located at 2736 Festival Lane in Dublin (in front of Joanne’s Fabrics). You can pre-purchase a copy of the book for $15 on Colony Cat’s web site HERE. The Boutique will also have a special sale the day of the book signing with most items discounted 25%. Cat toys and cat-themed items will be featured. There will also be a bake sale.
Following the book signing, Colony Cats will host a fundraising dinner from 6-8 pm at Camelot Cellars Winery, 958 North High Street in Columbus. You can meet Cathy and Lucy at the dinner and hear Cathy speak about TNR in the United States and the Bahamas (where Lucy Miracle was tamed). The event is $65 per person and includes wine from Camelot Cellars, dinner and dessert from A Catered Event, and an autographed copy of Taming Me: Memoir of a Clever Island Cat. Currently, there are only 14 seats still remaining for this event. So if you want to attend, get moving. You can purchase tickets online HERE.
For more information on Cathy Unruh and Lucy Miracle, visit Cathy’s web page HERE.
You can also follow Cathy’s Facebook page HERE.
