All Things Dog Blog

Let's Help Petfinder withAdopt the Internet Day

Posted: 08 Mar 2011 01:23 PM PST

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

Petfinder needs our help. We need to get the word out to more people who are interested in adopting a new family member. And with little effort, you can be part of this solution. Here's how:

Tell your friends and family about Petfinder's wonderful adoption search functions: They can select breed, city or zip code area, and type of animal (choose from a wide variety of pets--even horses!) I just tested the search to see how many Golden Retrievers there might be available in my area, as possible packmates for Tanner. I found 30 within 100 miles. That's how great the need is and why we're asking for your help.
If you're a blogger or have a website, grab the badge from the top of my post, or from Petfinder's site, and add it to your site; you'll be helping them get exposure with each new site visitor.
Help me to continue sharing the joys of adoption by hitting the "Like" button on my Facebook page, following me at Twitter, subscribing to my blog in the upper right corner of the sidebar, and joining in the conversation with a comment here. Tell us about YOUR adopted pet or adoption experience.
There's more. If you're a blogger, we'll be having a big 'Adopt the Internet Day' on March 15. Petfinder is asking all bloggers (no; you don't have to be a pet blogger--any blog will do!) to share an adoptable pet on their blog on March 15. They'll be running a blog hop and we can all link up to show off the many pets that need homes. Be sure to visit All Things Dog Blog to see our adoption suggestions on Tuesday, March 15.
You can also replace your photo on Facebook with one from their gallery, and then add one of the following status statements:

More than 320,000 pets are waiting for homes on Petfinder.com. Help Petfinder Adopt the Internet today and find forever homes for as many as possible!
I adopted my pet from Petfinder and now I want to help get this pet adopted! If you want to help pets in need of forever homes, please repost this!

Visit Petfinder's Adopt the Internet Day site for many more options like how to Take the Pledge to tell 1 person about this event. Your pledge will enter you into a drawing for 10 winners of a Pet Hair Eraser Vacuum by Bissell.
On March 15th, share an adoptable pet on Twitter with the Hashtag #AdopttheInternet. Need help; visit the Petfinder site that day for instructions.
Finally, be sure to use your social networking arsenal to add links to all your communications: FB, blog, Twitter, you name it.
Want to have a little fun too? Visit ICanHasCheezburger to caption the photos of adoptable pets. Some of the best ones will then be featured on March 15, so be sure to check back and see if you were a creative genious.

Did I give you enough to do? I hope so. I'll see you Tuesday when you come to visit my adoptable dog selections. Patches already has her nose in a twist, but this is a 'dog blog', right? Happy tails!

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Dog-Safe Travel, Around Town and on the Highway--Part II of III

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 09:01 PM PST

by Carrie Boyko, CEB Did you miss Part I? Click here

Let's just jump right to present day with this dog-safe travel series. Currently I have a 9 1/2 lb. Papillon, Oliver, along with Tanner, a 70 lb. Golden Retriever--a wee bit of a change from the combination we talked about in Part I of this three-part series. Transportation issues change when you risk a large dog stepping on a small dog in the back seat, so we've taken precautions to protect little Oliver.

Since Oliver's inclination has always been to stay by my side (he is a 'companion' breed, after all), he's much happier when in the front seat. There are only a few safe options for this scenario; we picked a raised car seat, pictured above. While there are different types, mine is a model that has 3 straps attaching it to the seat, so there's a pretty fair backup system in place. An adjustable strap inside the seat area attaches to your dog's harness with a clip. This gives you the ability to decide how much he can move around inside the seat.

I liked the mesh sides of this model, as Oliver can lie down to rest, while still keeping me in sight. The front pocket provides a place to keep a few small toys, treats or waste bags for quick access.

In addition to the harness strap, the seat has sides (about 6-8" high) and strapping that blocks the car seat sides for dismounting, as these attach diagonally to the headrest. His only exit is up and out, or up and over the front of the car seat. If he were to make this jump, he'd likely end up on the floor of the car, so I highly recommend using the strap and clip at all times. Without it, it's a pretty long fall for a little guy, not to mention the windshield is not far away if a collision occurs.

If I have a human traveling companion, moving the car seat to the back is quick and easy. It truly takes just a minute or so to remove and reinstall it on the back seat. When traveling by highway, I continue to use a crate for Oliver, placing him in the back with Tanner. The crate gives Oliver protection from Tanner's brawn, as well as from being thrown, if an accident were to happen. Although his extremely light bodyweight may not break the car seat clip, I'm not willing to take that chance at highway speeds.

That about cover's Oliver's safe travel arrangements and how we manage passengers with him in a carseat. No problems whatsoever. I'll be back next week with the final edition of this 3-part series. Part III will tell you all about Tanner's crash-tested safety harness and belt. He's as safe in my car as you and I are in our seatbelts. Join me next time for an introduction to auto seat belts for dogs.

Related Reading:
Dog-Safe Travel, Part I
Be Smart. Ride Safe.

Want a car seat like Oliver's? Click his photo above or this link to take you to Pet Auto Safety. You can shop for your own styles and colors, and read up on the features of each type of restraint.If you'd prefer to come back later, you'll find Oliver's photo above as an advertisement in my sidebar for easy access to our supplier.

Visit Adopt a Dog Park

Help protect our precious dog parks

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