BlogPaws - The Pet Social Media Resource

Keeping Your Pets Safe In An Emergency Situation

Guest post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

The tragedies that recently hit Oklahoma rocked the lives of not only the families, but their beloved pets as well. If you do'nt have an emergency plan in place, and it doesn't matter what are of the country you live in -- you need to have one in place in the event of an emergency. When I read about the pets lost and the organizations that are involved in raising funds to help the misplaced pets, it makes me wonder how I'd take care of Henrietta in the event of an emergency. She is small enough to grab up and run but what happens after that? What about food, water, her  medical records. If my area of the country was struck by a tornado or a flood, how would I do the simple things like hold onto her in the face of a torrent from Mother Nature? And regardless of her size, how would she react in an emergency? It could make it impossible to hold on to her or even to have our usual routine of her slipping happily into a purse when we're traveling. 

There are countless tragic and heartbreaking as well as uplifting stories being told about pets being reunited with their families and that made me wonder -- Henrietta is an indoor dog (to the point of being a house cat!) how would she survive if we were separated? She is skittish around strangers, too bold around animals bigger than herself and has never had to fend for herself. 

No Kill 2020: Exclusive BlogPaws Interview with Allen Kimble

A challlenge was issued at the first BlogPaws Conference in Ohio in 2010. Be the Change for Pets: BlogPaws: Where will it lead us? What can we accomplish together? What will you do to make it happen?

Well, here we are about to embark on our 5th BlogPaws Conference happening in Tysons Corner, VA May 16 through May 18, 2013. One of our "tracks" this year includes Be the Change for Pets: BlogPaws.

Attendees are invited to attend the session being conducted by Allen Kimble and in spirt, his dog, Vinny the Pug, who passed Over the Rainbow Bridge March 15, 2013. Allen will be sharing "No Kill 2020: Train and Equip Pet Rescues." In this session, learn from 21st century innovators who have created new fundraisers impervious to economic downturns. BlogPaws interviewed Allen and here's the scoop:

Better Relationship Marketing for Rescues and Shelters

So many of us, as pet bloggers, have a passion for pets at the true core of who we are. I often say "my heart beats dog" because it is dog that motivates and ignites me. Perhaps your passion is in rescue and/or shelter pets. To get your message "out there" and market your rescue or shelter efforts can be very difficult.

As a part of our Be the Change for Pets, BlogPaws presents a very special session for our attendees of the 2013 Conference. On Thursday, May 16, join Sybil F. Stershic and Kristin Elliott for "Strengthening Your Brand: Better Relationship Marketing for Rescues and Shelters." In true BlogPaws fashion, we're interviewing all of our speakers so attendees can get the insider info and scoop to prep for BlogPaws. Here's the down low on this session:

Shelter Appreciation Week Shelter Drive-by Winner!

In case you missed it, over on the BlogPaws Be the Change for Pets blog we hosted a blog hop for Shelter Appreciation Week. The goal was to encourage everyone to do one small thing for a local shelter in what Dr. V (Pawcurious) calls a Shelter Drive-by program. The program was her idea and we enjoyed supporting her with it. We had some wonderful entries and next year we hope to have more - especially since there are a few prizes involved.

First, BlogPaws pledged to donate $1000 to Rescue Ink whose shelter was hit hard by hurricane Sandy - "bruised, but not broken" is what they say about it. BlogPaws also agreed to use random.org to choose one of the blog hop entrants to receive a $1000 donation to the shelter that they blogged about. AND, since this program was part of supporting Iams Home 4 the Holidays, Iams agreed to feature one of the blog posts on their Facebook page. All of these prizes were supposed to be awarded if we got 100 people to join in on the blog hop. We did not achieve that goal, but both Iams and BlogPaws are honoring their prizes, and we've made some notes on how to make Shelter Appreciation Week bigger and better next year.

Combating Pet Cancer: BlogPaws Members Make News

by: Carol Bryant

Wendy Diamond, whom many BlogPaws Conference attendees will recall was our emcee for the Nose-to-Nose Awards 2012, made headlines with her “DOGGUPY Union Square” campaign which took place in the heart of New York City on October 2nd.

Along with Olympic fencer, Tim Morehouse, and over 50 dogs with their pet parents, the group came together to call attention to the end of “inferior kibble that they've been fed for too long.”