Very soon I will be announcing a new wine that is going to feature rescue kitties that Black and Orange Cat Foundation helped. The wine, produced by Eldchrist Winery here in Plain City, showcases B and Mittens, feline brothers who went through one of our clinics. The owners of the Winery wanted to give back to us, so a portion of the proceeds from the sale of their “Kitten’s Kiss” wine will go to Black and Orange to help support our sterilization efforts. We’ll let you know more about that as soon as the wine is released. We have tasted the wine and it is SUPER!

But for now, we want to tell you about these wines by Carivintas Winery which honor the Vicktory Dogs, the dogs used in Michael Vick’s dog fighting horrors. The wine labels showcase portraits of the various Vicktory dogs, as well as an inspiring story about the featured dog. Because Best Friends Animal Sanctuary helped save the Vicktory dogs and found homes for them, the Winery is offering a Vicktory Dog Wine of the Day at a discounted rate with 25 percent of the proceeds going to Best Friends.

To see all of the Vicktory Dogs Wines and order yours, go to: http://www.dogloverswineclub.com/vicktorydogs?orderby=PXPC.DisplayOrder%20Asc,%20P.ProductName%20ASC&startrow=1

You can also become a part of the Wine Club and have wines shipped to you monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly. The Carivintas Winery not only has a Vicktory Dogs Wine Club, but one for Dog, Cat, and Horse Lovers. I entered our neighbor in the Dog Lovers Wine Club last year (and again this year) and it was probably the best gift she has ever received. She is always so excited now when the mail comes (even if it isn’t time for her wine shipment)! The Winery supports animal shelters and rescue groups across the country and proudly touts this on their site.

You can also order art prints of the animals that were featured on wine labels or create your own label featuring your companion animal. How cool would that be? To have a bottle of wine with your fluffball’s face peering out at you!

And check out their other merchandise, including a weiner dog wine holder:  http://www.dogloverswineclub.com/index.cfm?method=storeproducts.showList&productcategoryid=adca6e43-f484-6de8-3a4f-b8cb3c0aada6

For all of us here in Ohio who are fighting the Puppy Mill fight, I love these t-shirts. And not only are they cool and express all our thoughts on puppy mills, $5 from the sale of each t-shirt also goes toward the Best Friends’ Puppies Aren’t Products campaign.

To purchase your own t-shirt and others, with slogans such as “Fairy Dogmother” and “Mom-of-A-Bitch” visit the Fleas Please web site: http://fleasplease.com/

And to read more about Best Friends’ Puppies Aren’t Products, visit: http://network.bestfriends.org/campaigns/puppymills/default.aspx

I thought that since we are coming up on the holiday gift giving season, I would try to alert everyone to unique gift items that I come across that not only would be very appreciated by any animal lovers in your life, but would also give back to various charitable rescue organizations. Not only do you give a great gift, but you also support rescue work. It is a winning situation for everyone.

The first place I’d like to direct everyone to is the Dogs Deserve Better web site. They have a ton of cool and very uplifting items for sale that help them promote their work of getting dogs off of chains and into homes. I had a very nice email from Dawn Ashby who is the Illinois rep for the group. She had read the story I posted about Squanto, the chained deaf dog who was killed when he was run over by a grain semi. She thought many of us might be interested in Dogs Deserve Better’s new book, Unchain My Heart, Dogs Deserve Better Rescue Stories of Courage, Compassion, and Caring. The book is edited by DDB Founder Tamara Ci Thayne and Dawn. It is made up of happy endings–all the joyous rescue stories DDB has been able to help with. I have already ordered my copy, which I will pass along to our area library when I have finished reading it. And I also bought one for my friend who helped me try to save Squanto’s life.

To order your copy go to: http://www.dogsdeservebetter.org/unchainmyheart.html

Besides this wonderful book, the site also offers other lovely stuff for those involved in rescue work, such as the “Release Your Joy This Holiday Season” greeting cards (I used this image in the story about Squanto) and Rescue Angel Temporary Tattoos.

To order the tattoos: http://www.dogsdeservebetter.org/rescuetemptattoos.html

Or the greeting cards: http://www.dogsdeservebetter.org/rescuetemptattoos.html

There are lots of other great gift items in the Dogs Deserve Better store, including shirts, hats, and children’s books that we know the dog lovers (and cat lovers) in your life will enjoy. And your purchases will help this group continue their important work.

To see everything in the store, including one of my very favorite children’s books, Buddy Unchained, the story of a chained dog who finally gets to experience life in a home, go to: http://www.dogsdeservebetter.org/store.html