Wednesday, December 21, 2011

The Puppies Happy Birthday Giveaway!!

My baby is going to have a birthday. Felicia's baby, and co-conspirator, from the Geeky Blogger is also having a December b-day! I've done different giveaways in the past, but this time I decided to do something different. With the economy the way it is around the world, puppies all over are having a hard time. In fact many are abandoned to fend for themselves. Several organizations are trying to help, but of course all need support of the public. 

This time Felicia's pup and my pup will have you do something for animals (not just dogs or domestic animals) but any animal you feel connected. It can be a national organization like the National Wildlife Federation, something more specific, but still national like Veterinarians Without Borders who do help animals all over the world... or something local. In fact, they encourage the local since it would have an impact on where you live. For example, my local vet has a drive every year. They collect money, objects and food for the shelters. Usually there is a wish list of items they need. If you don't have money, but perhaps some stuff to give, you can do that. It's as easy as calling your local shelter to see what they need. All have a list.

So, no... as you can see, they're not just talking about giving money. You may not have that to give. No problem. They are also crediting any type of service you can provide. For example, walking a neighbor's dog who is elderly and cannot get out. Pet sitting during an emergency. Volunteering some time at a shelter. All options are open.
Service can and often is more important than money. Remember this is an entry as well!

To make this easy here are the rules:
  1. You must do something for animals. It can be giving money, volunteering, or supporting them in some major way this month (yes, you could have done something at the beginning of the month before the giveaway started... just as long as it is in Dec.).
  2. You must tell me what you did or where you donated (do not tell me the amount if it is money) in the comments. That way people can also find out what to do or where to donate.
  3. Fill out the Rafflecopter form which also has prompts to remind you to do this.
Any and all tweets, FB posts, Google +, etc are greatly appreciated. You should also have plenty of time to do something. The giveaway ends at the end of the month.



<a href="http://melissawatercolor.blogspot.com/search/label/dog"> <img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7034/6474085267_09b3f4a6cd_m.jpg"width="200"></a>


The prizes (donated by myself and Felica of the Geeky Blogger):
2 Winners!!
$20 from either Amazon in the form of a G/C or same amount from the Book Depository
$15 from either Amazon in the form of a G/C or same amount from the Book Depository

Now, I do hear that my dog's partner in crime for this giveaway, Felicia's dog, has said that December dogs rule and their owners drool! I maintain that isn't true... well, unless you count Book Boyfriend Day or Top off Tuesdays or... oh hush! ;)

Make our puppies proud! Make sure you tell the truth OR I'll be forced to find all Sarah McLachlan's ASPCA videos and make you watch them until you ball your eyes out! 
Seriously, don't lie...




34 comments:

  1. Happy Puppy Birthdays!!! And I think this is one of the BEST ideas ever!

    While cats are more my thing [we feed about a trillion adorable strays on a daily basis - I swear I think somebody is shipping them in lol] - my beloved BF and his daughter are heavily involved in the Illinois English Bulldog Rescue program. They take in and foster these sweeties while they are awaiting adoption. For anyone interested, just google IEBR on the web.

    I love animals so much so that I do my best to be a vegan, even though it's hard at times. And I encourage everyone to read labels & purchase *cruelty-free* products whenever possible.

    Anyhoo, kudos for such a heartwarming idea!! If you don't mind I'll link to your post/giveaway. :)

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  2. Fostering? You know that is an entry! ;) And please link... I so appreciate it!

    I would also accept feeding strays especially since it sounds like you feed a lot! :)

    Also a good reason for spaying and neutering... just sayin'. ;)

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  3. Happy birthday to all the puppies, kittens and other animals out there.

    Mad on hedgehogs ..... As well as making a yearly financial Christmas donation, I like to spread the word on hedgehog care, my latest endeavour being the campaign to prevent hedgehogs being accidently roasted on autumnal bonfires. Then of course I like to buy gifts from the HOGologue and encourage others to support the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (I'm a life member) by doing the same.

    Oh and one last thing, whenever possible i like to promote this small but worthwhile charity which can be found at ..... http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/

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  4. We discovered a local horse rescue, Diamonds in the Rough. The woman who owns it is amazing and puts so much of her own money into these horses, many of which will never leave her property because of their age or injuries. Besides adopting our new little Appaloosa this month, I discovered iGive, which donates to the charity of your choice while you do your shopping. The best part of iGive is that ALL my favorite shopping sites participate.
    rlawrence110 at yahoo dot com

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  5. I wasn't sure about adding a link until I reread your post
    for iGive
    http://www.iGive.com/w2ywMws

    For Diamonds in the Rough:
    https://www.facebook.com/AdoptDITR

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  6. Hi,

    happy birthday to your puppies. it's really a great idea to do this so a big big thanks you

    Mine service is simple but i hope it count too. I know homeless people tend to treat their dog even before themselves ( but even that isn't enough) so i've decided ( and started before this giveaway) to help both. I always saw them when going to school and doing my book shopping ( since several month it's more booksellers windows shopping unfortunately) and some just had some puppies so now each time i go i take several pack of dog food so i can give it to them ( that way what they don't spend on food for their dogs can be used for them and the dog receive quality dog food).
    Unfortunately with the crisis the shops aren't giving me ( and nobody else) samples anymore so the food i give is the one my dog doesn't like the more ( he is eating more human food than dogfood)

    it's not a lot, but it's the only thing i can do at the moment

    thanks you

    all the best

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  7. My children started volunteering at a local animal shelter several years ago when I said no to a new pet. Since then, we have branched out into collecting toilet paper and paper towel rolls for the animals to play with. We also serve as a local drop off spot for blanket an towels for the shelter. We have also become a TNR helper. We place the cages, pick them up, drop the cats off for neutering and return them to the wild.
    Any little thing we can do is absolutely needed.

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  8. Our Local animal shelter was getting overcrowded. My roommate and I volunteer there on a regular basis, and when we saw that there were some new puppies that were not dealing well with all the noise we decided to help out. The shelter did not have space to separate then from the other dogs so we took them home to foster. We kept them for 2 1/2 weeks until they were old enough to get spayed and during that time we took them to adoption events to try and find them new homes so they would not have to stay in the shelter longer after their operations.

    They were 2 brindle pit mix sisters and we named them Belle and Jasmine (after disney princesses of course) We helped them become slightly more housebroken and worked with them to start walking on leashes. They both have new homes now, just in time for the holidays :)

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  9. Happy birthdays to your four legged babies! I have 3 and I love and adore them almost more than if I'd had children I think :)

    Thanks for spotlight such a wonderful charity. People tend to forget that pets suffer too when the economy went down and they are the first ones to get abandoned/neglected.

    It's little but I donate every time I buy something at Petsmart (which is usually dog food) at the register when it asked. I also about a week ago donated gently used older towels and blankets to my local Humane Society. I wish I could do more but time/money are tight right now :(

    Thanks again and happy Holidays!

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  10. Just letting people know that service is just as important and sometimes more than money. Even giving a pet a forever home is SO worthy of an entry!

    I really love all these comments! <3!!

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  11. I am loving these comments and the hearts of people who are doing even just a little bit to help the furry kiddos!

    ((((((( huggles))))))))))))

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  12. What a fabulous idea! I contribute every month to POLAR PUG RESCUE OF ANCHORAGE, ALASKA (http://www.polarpug.org/), and to support this contest I'm making an extra donation. It's heartbreaking to see the number of pugs surrendered because their owners cannot afford their medical bills, or the number of pugs who spend their lives in puppy mills. I've adopted two pugs in recent years from Polar Pug -- Fiona (who spent years as a breeder a backyard puppy mill) and Toby (who was hit by a car and his broken leg went untreated by the owner) They are loving, loyal, wonderful little dogs and I feel LUCKY to have them as my friends. Don't worry about entering me in the contest -- I'm just glad for a chance to tell people about the good work that Polar Pug does. Recently they've expanded to help small dogs of every breed receive medical treatment, foster care and adoption.

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  13. I so love the sentiment of this giveaway and love reading people's stories. Amazing, amazing idea, you guys!

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  14. I donate every year to several charities, including the ASPCA. This year, since I have a new job and a little extra money, I've sent a little more than usual for my December donation.

    http://www.aspca.org/

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  15. My family can't turn down an abandoned cat. A few years back we took in a lovely lady we named Gypsy whom we found wandering on the side of the road and a few months later we had four kittens as well. A different time there was a mama cat and her kittens found at the local golf course that we adopted. Recently, my brother found a litter of tiny kittens in a boat that had come from Washington and we have given two of them a home. We would have taken them all if someone else hadn't got to them first. :)We are total suckers for all things cute and fuzzy. :)

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  16. My family discovered a bird sort of limping in our driveway. It was obvious it had gotten hurt and couldn't fly. It kept shying away from us so we coaxed it with food. Some bread crumbs and fish parts (the part we couldn't or didn't want to eat when preparing them) and it sort of became a routine. The bird still has a limp but it can fly now and now there are several birds that make a food visit daily. They come out especially during the winter because the ocean is cold so not much crabs and fishes to eat. I think they recognize us because they don't scatter away when we come close. Rather when we open the door to throw out the food they come flying in. I figure since we can't adopt a dog or cat, helping to feed birds is a nice family. Often they are forgotten or their hunger may not be known to others.

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  17. My friend & I did a whip around the neighbourhood for linen: towels, rugs, blankets etc. The local wildlife shelter is always looking for donations to make the animals in care more comfortable. Once the injured animals are well & strong enough they are released back into the wild. They have possums, kangaroo joeys & a koala there at the moment among others.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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  18. LOVE THIS!!!! Such a great idea:) My husband and I just rescued on Friday night a little 10 week old puppy who was on the kill list at the local shelter because whoever dropped her off said she was a pit bull. She's most definitely not a pit, she looks more like a boxer mix, but luckily an organization just happen to be there that night and snatched her from the euth room. We now have her and are fostering her until a permanent home can be found. I'm including the link to her FB gallery so you can see her ridiculously adorable face:)

    https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.209056039173624.52961.151892588223303&type=3

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  19. I adopted 2 of my three cats from Heartland animal shelter:
    http://www.heartlandanimalshelter.net/

    Each month I bring them my newspaper nicely packed in copypaper boxes and what ever I have on hand from their website wishlist. This month it was a 6 pk. of Bounty paper towels and 2 reams of paper. I have $40 in Staples credit for turning in ink and toner cartridges, so next month I hope to give them a whole case of paper and some office supplies.

    acm05atjuno.com

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  20. Hmmmm, I already have a dog, but need to think of an idea. I'll my vet, see what I can do.

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  21. Hey Dude! Why wasn't Ozzie invited to the party? His b-day was Dec. 8th. Is it because he's too old? I know he did turn 11, but he still acts like a pup, I swear. LOL

    Y'all are awesome for doing this!!! Life without pets wouldn't be a very fulfilling life at all.

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  22. For the masses, I click daily at www.TheAnimalRescueSite.com and encourage others to do so, as well.

    At home, our pets are part of the family. When I get around to finally wrapping all those Christmas presents, there will be gifts under the tree for my daughter’s ferret and son’s dog. (Several pet gifts already have been sent with the out-of-state gifts.) I grew up with family pets—mostly cats and dogs—and have always loved having them around. In October, I lost one of my closest friends when our family dog died. She was a week shy of 18. We had rescued her from a shelter all those years ago; when my heart is ready, I expect we’ll rescue another.

    Thank you for focusing attention on all our furry friends.

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  23. Ruff, ruff, woof, ruff, friendly growl and a woof with a nuzzle!
    That means Happy, happy Birthday darlin' pups! All while rubbin' their sweet chests to make them comfy and safe!

    Every 2 weeks I drop off 2 big bags of Dog Food and Cat Food to our local shelter which is incredibly small and incredibly full. I also donate money monthly.

    I am friends with the main caretaker there and when an animal is coming up for euthanasia-I call around to find homes for the animal, I've been known to take home an animal or 5.

    I live in the woods and a small community-it's no secret that I am an animal lover so people have no problem dropping off their animals in my driveway and then speeding off-some have even tied them to my mailbox which is over 1/4 mile away (our driveway is that long) This has happened SIX times and I've found homes for all the dogs except one which now has a comfy home with us-Many say he's the luckiest dog in the world, of course he hasn't a clue who they're talking to because he doesn't realize he's a dog! None of my dogs do! They are all extremely loved-spoiled yet well-behaved except when the kitties pick on them.
    They're worth vacuuming every day because of the joy they bring us.

    They all have stockings hung on the Mantle and can't wait to see what Santa's brought them!

    My goal is to get everyone in the community to spay/neuter their animals. I'm known to call animal control for those who neglect/abuse their animals usually after I give them a piece of my mind-whether they're dogs, cats, horses or chickens. I won't stand by and watch anyone neglect much less abuse an animal. I'll pick them up and put them in my car, if possible-the horse wouldn't fit but she got taken away from her 'owner'who faced and was charged with animal abuse and the chickens had a coop built for them instead of a wire dog cage with a tarp over it.

    I'm not doing this for the contest but I hope everyone will stand up for those that can't speak for themselves. They are defenseless and those that abuse or neglect them need to be brought to justice and those animals need to be taken away from them as soon as possible! I think we can all find a home for at least one animal. If everyone did that, there'd be so few in the shelters awaiting death.

    And that's how I feel about that :o]

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  24. Recently in my area, there have been many puppy mills busted and the animals rescued by shelters (another was on the news today). I always try to donate as much as I can to my local shelters, including foods, supplies, any pet samples I get. Of my pets right now (2 dogs/1 cat/1 bird), only the cat was NOT a rescue/adopt from unwanted or abusive/neglectful homes.

    *I always have my pets spayed/neutered to control pet population and keep them happy & healthy. I encourage all to do this too!

    June M.
    manning_j2004 at yahoo dot com

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  25. Currently we are fostering two dogs. Heidi is a senior dachshund who is so sweet. Mars is a young pug/dachshund mix. He is very much the puppy. Drives my 10 Y/O min pin nuts. My DIL is very involved in rescuing dogs and finding homes for them. I wish we could have more but we are maxed out. Once our fosters leave, we get new ones.

    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

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  26. I *heart* every single one of you for all you are doing! Every little thing helps and it sounds like book lovers are big animal lovers too. It is no wonder we are all like one big happy family :0)

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  27. As an ethical vegan I can't tell you how THRILLED I am that you're doing a giveaway to benefit animals.

    I gave money to The Rolling Dog Farm, which rescues and cares for disabled animals (www.rollingdogfarm.org); I absolutely love this place.

    There's a group in New York City called Mighty Mutts (www.mightymutts.org) that I only see a few times a year when I'm in Union Square, so I told myself I'd throw the same small amount in anytime I see them. I won't break the bank and I figure every little bit helps (and I just saw them this past weekend, so I gave to them, too).

    Thank you guys so much for doing this and happy birthday to your puppies!

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  28. Stupendous idea!

    I donate yearly to a number of animal organizations.

    I volunteer weekly with my local Humane Society (http://suffolkhumanesociety.com/). My 13 yo son and I visit our local PetSmart every Monday evening and clean the litter boxes of/play with/feed and water the cats available for adoption in the store. Well, I do the cleaning, he does the playing.

    I also maintain the Society's online listing of available animals on 2 adoption sites.

    Every other month or so I volunteer to do a leg for a transport, helping dogs get to a new home.

    I've been a vegetarian for about 12 years.

    I love animals!

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  29. @LSUReader

    I forgot about that site! I also click daily (on all of the tabs, since I'm already there!).

    Another one you can click on daily is Free Kibble (http://www.freekibble.com/).

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  30. Great idea and happy birthday to the pups!

    We took in a stray pit bull that was dumped at one of Gregory's soccer games. It was pretty obvious she had only been used for breeding and just wasn't worth keeping anymore. Anyway she was an absolute love to everyone but unfortunately didn't like one of our older dogs. So after 10 months we finally found her a loving home! We were sad to see her go but happy she is in a great place just for her! She's like a Christmas present for this new family!

    Then literally a couple of days ago I picked up a little Corgi that people almost ran over in the street about a dozen times. I brought him home - my mom's like, "Really? We just found a home for the last one!" but she didn't say no - and we asked around. Fortunately we found his owners yesterday and he's back with his family. Yay!

    Merry Christmas to all and it's great to see so many people helping out animals!

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  31. Yay for the animals! Thanks for this amazing giveaway - I would love to win!

    For the holidays this year, I donated money to the Humane Society. Most of my cats have come from shelters and they've been wonderful & it's always nice to get them out of that environment!

    susanw28 (at) mindspring (dot) com

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  32. I actually foster! I have been for many years :) good luck everyone! And happy holidays,.. Keep up the good Deeds for these beautiful creatures <3

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  33. Well, my grandmother is old and most of the time she can't walk her dog, so I do it for her. Does that count?

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  34. I cannot even express how much I love this! So nice of you to have this giveaway (and I hope your doggies had a terrific birthday!).

    First, I'm a vegan, so not eating animals is the nicest thing I can do for them! I also donated to Rolling Dog Farm (http://www.rollingdogfarm.org) and Last Chance Ranch (http://www.lastchanceranch.org) this month.

    And when I drop a buck or two in any animal charity's box I make sure they're no-kill. And real no-kill, because some ship animals to other places that do the killing for them.

    Again, amazingly nice giveaway!

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Thanks for commenting! I ❤ comments!