Guest Blogger : Toni Carter - Motormouth dog defender

Toni is a volunteer with the Humane Society for Animals in Rogers and the Murphy Memorial Dog Park in Rogers, among many other important causes. I had asked Toni to guest blog on the Candlelight Vigil that was held in August. A little late, which is all my fault, as I do not check the email address that she sent it to me very often - or in this case, for over a month.

My reasoning for this is to try and incorporate as many folks in the real-world pet community that I can into our little community blog here to help foster communication, to help "break-in" some people who are afraid of blogs into blogging, since I believe blogging is a wonderful medium to share thoughts, ideas, news stories, articles, funny pictures, - in short, our pet community in general, here locally and nationwide.

Toni is our second guest blogger this year, and hopefully not the last. If you have ever met Toni in person, her writing style will make complete sense! Perhaps this gives some insight into her tireless efforts to help homeless animals.

Ok I am (gulp) ready!!!

Hi everyone, Cary asked me to write a few lines for his blog. I think Cary and Erin and the Tobys are the best. They have kept me hopeful and like Martin Luther King says"My eye is on the prize".

The prize in the 2008 world of Toni Carter, Motormouth dog defender, is a moratorium on breeding by all dogs and cats..just for a few days let no more be born!!!

Thursday of last week was a rough day...I did day care at

the kennel where I work then I went to Petco to clean cat cages. For some reason ( the crappy and ever existent heat) I was overwhelmed by the work at hand that folks do everyday ,then when I got home I fell apart laughing and then crying over a PETA ad that a friend sent.

PETA is very serious and very well funded. I don't know any actual members but I do think I would like to. They

have their finger on my pulse because I have been thinking about how our culture dehumanizes all of us by promoting this idea that we should not be so serious

about animal rights. It dehumanizes people and gives the worst of human weaknesses to animals.

If you have not see the ad please go the PETA website and look up "My little girl is gonna get some."

Our trivialization of animal breeding is a huge reason why this spay and neuter philosophy needs work.

Remember feminism? Ever heard of civil rights? The man in England who was a member of the House of Commons and got slavery abolished in the British Empire? The Moratorium? Earth Day? The kids who tore the Berlin Wall down piece by piece? The lone dissident in Tianman Square who stood in front of a tank FEARLESSLY?

Please realize that I love to laugh..in fact it struck me as funny when I saw a Tshirt in Eureka that said

: Life is a Bitch and then she has PUPPIES"

I giggled and said AMEN. I was in a good mood that day.

It was a beautiful day and I was happy. I walked and looked at art and I was with my friends from Kansas.

What happened a week later to make me feel like I was that guy in the square? Kittens are so sweet and some of them have gotten homes. The faces of the adult cats haunt me. The little shepherd at the shelter cried for me to take her out last Monday.How can we change this pervasive sadness at the untimely deaths of animals?

I think that it had to do with attitudes on this day and the lack of rescuers ability to get together and vent. To cry and be supported and to stop being beaten down and cynical.We are all always running, rescuing , working, emailing,calling, thinking and hoping.

We have a chance on August 16th to begin a new cycle where each one of us is stronger and better for having worked with animals.

More on this later...I hope I have made people say " this is depressing" but that they will come back.

I am hopeful once again.

Be hope filled too!

The bible says" His Eye is on the sparrow" and Martin mentioned his eye was on the realization of his dream.

Thanks for reading

Toni Carter

Debate on dogs souls - Funny!

I was sent this via email today! Enjoy!

This is hilarious. Fight between a Catholic Church and a Presbyterian Church about dogs.

Strut for a Mutt 2008

Thursday, Sept 18th at 7:30 PM was the second annual Strut for a Mutt, sponsored by Lola Boutique, Lux Beauty, and yours truly! I personally witnessed three applications being filled out for adoptions from the Fayetteville Animal Shelter last night. The 50 VIP tables were sold out in 2 hours when the tickets went on sale. The line outside of the Dickson Street Theatre was wrapped around outside the patio well into the beginning of the event, as it was practically standing room only.

I hope I can post some real numbers on how sucessful the event was last night, but it seemed to be too big for the theatre venue. Jade and her mom even spoke about possibly needing a bigger venue next year. Congrats to her and her team for what seemed like a very well planned night, that seemed to go without a hitch.






The events pre-party began at 6:30, at which point all of the models dissappeared into the loft area to prepare for the event

.
Shortly after 7:30 the models began their trek down the catwalk, and the event has kicked off. I actually couldn't get close enough to get any good pictures of the fashion show. Maybe next year we can pony up and get a VIP table. That looked fun.

New Pet Food Recall from Mars Petcare

There is apparently a new pet food recall involving salmonella contamination with Mars Pet Food:

FRANKLIN, Tenn., Sept 12, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ — Mars Petcare US Announces Nationwide Voluntary Recall Today, Mars Petcare US announced a voluntary recall of products manufactured at its Everson, Pennsylvania facility. The pet food is being voluntarily recalled because of potential contamination with Salmonella serotype Schwarzengrund. This voluntary recall only affects the United States. [...] The company stopped production at the Everson facility on July 29, 2008 when it was alerted of a possible link between dry pet food produced at the plant and two isolated cases of people infected with Salmonella Schwarzengrund. Even though no direct link between product produced at Everson and human or pet illness has been made, Mars Petcare US is taking precautionary action to protect pets and their owners by announcing a voluntary recall of all products produced at the Everson facility beginning February 18, 2008 until July 29, 2008 when we stopped production.

Read the rest here.

Paws-n-Spas donates over $700 to the Humane Society

On Friday, Bigwag Dog Bakery, on behalf of the volunteer group Paws-n-Spas, donated it's proceeds from the June 2008 dog wash fund raiser that was held at Dog Days Doggie Day Care, which amounted to over $737. I've been working with Jennifer Cole and Dian Sosaya in coordinating these events. These funds are going directly to the new building fund, which will hopefully break ground in the Spring of 2009, which if that happens according to plan, could be completed by September 2009.
This is an artist rendering of what the hopeful building could look like. Current architecture plans are being reviewed and might be finalized soon, combining elements of several design considerations that meet the property requirements as well as features that are badly needed for the new building.

Here is a short video with Clay Morgan, the Director of the Humane Society talking about Paws-n-Spas:

The next Paws-n-Spas is going to be held this Saturday, September 20th, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Fayetteville. It will be benefiting Animal Havel Rescue. Details can be found at their website.

Paws-n-Spas is a volunteer effort to raise money for local rescues and shelters. Items for the wash are donated by local businesses in exchange for advertising on fliers, our website, and any other marketing that is donated by media, while volunteers provide the elbow grease. I've been building this up as an out-of-the-box dog wash fund raiser that can easily go in and raise money for organizations that might not have the know-how or wherewithal to put on and promote an event that can make a quick difference, while providing advertising for local businesses, and thus unifying the pet community around these heroic groups and individuals.

We are hoping to make the Rogers and Fayetteville dog washes a staple event year after year, and are looking for new organizations that may need help that are willing to throw in their hat to help us help them out. If you run a rescue or shelter, and would be interested in being the next host for a Paws-n-Spas, email me and let me know!

Community Updates

Hey Everyone!

I have received a few phone calls and visits this afternoon, so I wanted to post this here for those of you who are still wondering: Yes, responsible Dog Ownership day has been cancelled. The following is a statement from Mary LouPohlman of NWA Kennel Club:

We have decided to cancel Responsible Dog Ownership Day due to the threat of heavy rain and thunderstorms this weekend. I want to thank all of you for your willingness to participate in this event which serves to educate the public on the importance of responsible dog ownership and celebrates the joy our canine companions bring to our lives.

The Northwest Arkansas Kennel Club wishes to express a special thank you to Rick Carthel of Invisible Fence for the generous donation made in honor of Responsible Dog Ownership to The Humane Society for Animals, Thank you Rick!

Thank you everyone, please keep safe this weekend.

Sincerely,

Mary Lou Pohlmann

Northwest Arkansas Kennel Club

Also, I wanted to alert everyone to a need in our community: The Bella Vista Animal Shelter is in desperate need of dog food. Apparently all the donated food they usually receive from Wal-Mart is now being earmarked to go to animal vicitms of the recent hurricanes, which leaves the Bella Vista shelter with only enough dog food for approximately 3 days. If you can help, please donate dry food or money to the Bella Vista Animal Shelter. You can donate in person by visiting the shelter at 32 Bella Vista Way or you can call (479) 855-6020. Read the full article in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.

Lots of Love,
Erin

Bigwag Bright Bites Trial - Days 4, 5 & 6

Hey Everyone!

Well, Hannah has completed her 6 day trial of Bright Bites. There really wasn't much different to report over the past few days, so I thought I'd spare you the repetitive reports and just give you the final verdict. I'm going to rate every point on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being low and 10 being high.

1) Does It Taste Good? Score - 10
As far as palatability is concerned, Hannah seems to love these treats. When she hears the package crinkle, she perks up and waits eagerly for her Bright Bite. So in that respect, these are a success.

2) Does It Freshen Breath? Score - 5
I was underwhelmed by the results in this category. Hannah's breath usually just ended up smelling bland, which is not what I expected, but is better than stinky fish dog food breath. I would have liked more cinnamon in the end though, so I'm giving this point a score in the middle.

3) Did It Help With Tartar/Gingivitis? No Score
Because this was only a 6 day trial, I don't feel like I could accurately score the product. I can tell you I did NOT see any removal of tartar and Hannah still has some slight gingivitis. In this respect, you would probably be better off brushing your dog's teeth or taking them to the vet for a cleaning.

4) Was It Easy To Use? Score - 9
Because this is a daily treat, all you have to do is give it to your dog every day, and they do the work. That makes this really easy, except for people like me that can't seem to remember to do things reliably day after day. Maybe if I'd done this longer, I would have gotten in a better habit. It's also likely that if Hannah ate at a certain time that I would be more likely to remember her daily Bright Bite, but since she's free fed, that was a difficulty for me.

5) Other Factors?
I really like that Bright Bites are 100% digestible. That is a huge factor for me, because I have a large dog that likes to eat things as fast as possible. Digestibility is why I WON'T feed rawhide or greenies. I don't want anything that could obstruct her digestive tract and cost me a bundle at the vet or worse so for that, I give them a 10.

Something I don't like - every time Hannah ate one of these, she made a big slobbery mess on the floor. Now, a plus, it was just slobbery, no color, so no staining, but for her this is just abnormal and it makes me wonder exactly what is going on here. Score 1.

Something else I'm on the fence about - the ingredients. Now, as you know, the reason we own Bigwag is because we believe in giving our dogs high quality food and treats. Things that have simple, healthy ingredients that can easily be understood. I'm not sure what all the stuff in Bright Bites is... I get the potato flour and rice flour, but I'm not sure about the titanium dioxide, magnesium stearate and tetrasodium pyrophosphate. Now, the literature says tetrasodium pyrophosphate is an ingredient in tartar control toothpaste, but I also know you aren't supposed to SWALLOW toothpaste. When I wiki tetrasodium pyrophosphate it tells me it's "slightly toxic and mildly irritating colorless transparent crystalline chemical compound" which isn't something I'm sure I want to feed to my dog once or twice a day... I think they made a good attempt, but I'd like something more natural. I give the ingredients a 3.

Overall Score: 38 out of 60, which is an average of 6.33 out of 10 points. My overall assessment, I don't think I'm likely to carry this product in my store, unless I can't find a better alternative for natural dental care.

Hope this was helpful to all of you out there looking for ways to treat doggie breath! If you have any suggestions of other products you'd like to see in our store, let us know, and we will do our best t o try those out as well.

Sincerely,
Erin

Bigwag Bright Bites Trial - Day 3

Hey Everyone!

So, I know, today should actually be day five in our Bright Bites Trial, but being human, and being busy, I admit I forgot to give Hannah her Bright Bites over the weekend. That is one down side I could see to this method of treating your dog's tartar and gum disease. You're supposed to do it every day. And while that isn't a huge commitment, it's not exactly something that crosses your mind regularly either. Today, Cary said Hannah's breath smelled like dog food before her Bright Bite. (I've designated Cary the official dog breath smeller.) Afterward he said it smelled like minty potatoes. That just goes to show you the power of suggestion, because she ate another cinnamon Bright Bite, not a mint one... I do have to agree on the potato part though, it seems that is what her breath smells like after a Bright Bite. I guess that makes sense given the first ingredient is potato flour. And while potato isn't a bad smell, it isn't minty fresh either. But it is kind of neutral. So, if you just want to neutralize bad breath, I guess there might be something to that. I guess we'll see if I can remember to do the next three days :D

Until Then,
Erin

Bigwag Bright Bites Trial - Day 2

Hey Everyone!

Hannah ate her second Bright Bite today. I had Cary smell her breath before she ate it. He said it smelled like wet grass. It took her a little longer to eat it today, she walked around for a minute before she even began chewing on it, then she finally chewed on it and it took about three minutes for her to get through the whole thing. She still left a soggy spot where she chewed it, which is not something I'm thrilled about. Afterward Cary said her breath smelled like cinnamony wet grass... :p So far, I don't really see any difference in her teeth, she still has light tartar and a little bit of what I'm guessing is light gingivitis. But as Cary pointed out, it's only day 2.

See You With More Tomorrow,
Erin

P.S. For those of you who are wondering, the ingredients of the cinnamon Bright Bites are: potato flour, rice flour, glycerine, potato starch, natural flavor, gelatin, water, canola oil, lecithin, titanium dioxide, monoglycerides of edible fatty acids, flaxseed oil, citric acid, magnesium stearate, tetrasodium pyrophosphate (I'm told this is an ingredient in human tartar control toothpaste), red #40 lake, and natural cinnamon.

Bigwag Bright Bites Trial - Day One

Hannah waits to eat her Bright Bite

Hey Everyone!

Okay, so I started the Bright Bites Trial today. I decided to do the trial just with Hannah, because we only have six samples and I didn't think three days would be enough to really do a trial with. Also, Hannah is my big chewer, so I thought she'd be a good test subject. She's also older, so she has more plaque, which is what these treats are supposed to reduce. I thought in the interest of being scientific, I would document what Hannah's teeth and gums look like with pictures. It turns out that's harder to do than you'd think. If you've ever tried to look at a dog's teeth, you know they don't like it much (they don't like to have their teeth brushed, either, so I guess that's the point of these treats) So, mostly I got blurry pictures of my fingers and Hannah's nose. Even the ones that I did have turn out are kinda gross. It is a dog's mouth, after all... so I'll spare you those pics. But I did get a few pics of Hannah eating her Bright Bite.

My observations for today were this - it did take her longer to eat this one, but still only about 2 minutes. She chewed off the points of the star first, then ate the middle and she made a big slobbery mess as she did this. That's unusual for her, even when she chews bully sticks, she really doesn't slobber. I'm not sure if that's a product of the treat or what. I did smell her breath afterwards and it didn't smelly like cinnamon. It really just smelled plain, like bread dough before it cooks or maybe plain mashed potatoes without butter. Not bad, just not fresh like I would have thought. They do recommend that you give these after meals, but we free feed Hannah and Sam and so I just gave it to her in the middle of the afternoon. Maybe you'd notice a bigger difference if you gave it right after they ate fishy food... Anyway, those are my thoughts for today.

More Tomorrow,
Erin

Finally! I get to eat it.

Wow, a whole mouthful...

Four Paws Toy Recall Update

For those of you who haven't heard yet, Four Paws makes a dog toy that caused a dog, Chai, to loose his tongue. The ball had a manufacturing defect which caused a vacuum effect that pulled Chai’s tongue into the ball. Chai was hospitalized and his tongue had to be amputated. The whole story is here - the photos are very graphic.

Four Paws has since recalled the dog toy, and has begun restitution for Chai and his owners. If you own this toy, it might be wise to throw it away. This explains why dog toys with holes in them have "two holes on opposite ends". Makes sense now.

The Bigwag Bright Bites Dental Treats Trial

Hey Everyone!

Back in July I was contacted by a representative from Taste of the Wild who read our blog and saw that we had recommended Taste of the Wild because Sam and Hannah loved it and because it reduced Sam's gas. He offered to send us samples of Taste of the Wild to give away at our birthday. He also included samples of Bright Bites Dental Treats. Now, we don't sell these treats in our store currently, but we were still grateful for the giveaways. Well, shortly after that, Andre (the rep) asked if Sam and Hannah had gotten to sample any Bright Bites. Of course, they hadn't because we gave them all away. So, he sent us some more to try out.

Well, for those of you who know Sam and Hannah, you know that they are both large dogs (about 50lbs) and that Hannah can chew through anything (including Cary's electric razor and all of our remotes, but that's another story!) The samples that we received were for small dogs (up to 15lbs) They came in three flavors, Cinnamon, Spearmint and Peppermint. After using these samples for about a week, I discovered two things: 1) Sam and Hannah prefer cinnamon. For what reason, I don't know, but hey, those were the ones they always chose first. 2) If you give a 50lb dog a treat designed for a 15lb dog, they really just swallow it whole. Which, since they tell me that Bright Bites are 100% soluble and digest in 18 hours even if swallowed whole, isn't a big concern - but it doesn't do much for their breath. Maybe their stomachs smelled good, but I can't study that...

So, when Andre checked back in, I told him what I'd found out so far. And he sent me some new samples for large dogs, which I received today. Well, I decided that in order to provide an unbiased report on this product, it would be best to just give you a daily report (for the next 6 days) on how they respond and what we think. So, check back tomorrow for our first update on the Bigwag Bright Bite Trial.

Scientifically Speaking,
Erin :)

P.S. I did take some pictures of Hannah and Sam scarfing up the small Bright Bites, so I thought I'd post them here, for those of you haven't/can't visit them in the store, and therefor don't know what they look like.

Hannah with a few bits of a Bright Bite moments after being given the small size

Sam about to eat his Bright Bite (can't you just hear the vacuum sound?)