Treat-a-Thon 2009

Hey Everyone!

Today is the last day of the very first Treat-a-Thon! So far we've collected 237 treats, which is awesome, but is far short of our goal of 500 treats for the dogs in shelters of NWA. If we don't get any more treats donated before 7pm tonight, we're going to have to decide which dogs don't get treats and I don't want to have to do that job. So, PLEASE stop by and donate a treat to the homeless animals of NWA! (The kitties would love some treats too, if there are any kitty people out there reading this.)

It's super simple, you donate a treat to a homeless animal and you get one FREE to take home and there's no limit. Want to donate one? Get one free. Want to donate ten? Get ten free. Want to donate a pound? You get a pound free! You can't beat FREE! So come help us treat the homeless dogs (and cats) of NWA to a little something special.

Upcoming Yappie Hours - September 2009

Hey Everyone!

I finally finished the Upcoming Yappie Hours for September. I think that these specials are some of the best we have done yet. You will have to stop by for 50% OFF Halloween costumes next Tuesday and you'll want to check out the great deals during our treat-a-thon too! Plus we have give aways from Angel Pet Sitters this month and to wrap it all up, Sam's birthday. You'll want to be at Bigwag every Tuesday this month!

Back-to-School Thank You!

Hey Everyone!

On Tuesday we held our Back-to-school Yappie Hour and collected school supplies for local children in need. As a former elementary school teacher, this Yappie Hour was near and dear to my heart, because I've seen first hand how many children come to school unprepared because their parents can't afford supplies and I know how hard that is on the children and their teachers. Once again, you came out and reminded me how awesome and generous our customers are. We collected everything from backpacks to colored pencils and I know these supplies will help make someone's school year a little easier! THANK YOU

Patriotic Pup Parade Pictures and Winners

The $45 Gift Basket Prize

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone is having a fantastic holiday weekend and enjoying all the festivities and a little well deserved time off. On Tuesday we held our Patriotic Pup Parade, so I wanted to share the pictures of the contestants.

Pandy wears a Winnie the Pooh shirt in patriotic blue and red

Sasha and Addie wear matching patriotic bandannas

Missie Bee styles a patriotic bandanna and an "I love Mailmen" tee, too cute!

The Runner-Up

Miss Mollie sports a darling Uncle Sam hat and Patriotic tee

The Winners

Frannie and Winnie model their beautiful hand-made tutus

Thanks to all the contestant who made our Patriotic Pup Parade so much fun and Congratulations to Winnie and Frannie and their mom Courtney who made their lovely, sparkly tutus! They win the gift basket packed with red, white and blue toys, treats and more!

Upcoming Yappie Hours - July 2009

Hey Everyone!

Tonight's Patriotic Pup Parade is the last of our June Yappie Hours, so I thought I'd go ahead and post the July Yappie Hours today. We have lots of fun nights coming up, so be sure to stop by on Tuesdays from 5pm to 7pm. I'm especially excited about the Brown Box Special - it'll be great fun for those of you with a sense of adventure!

Ice Cream Social Pics

Lucky eats his ice cream so fast he'll get brain freeze!

Miss Mollie licks out her cup

Big Momma finds spoils underneath the table

Happiness is an ice cream sundae

Just a few pics from last night's Ice Cream Social. We had a great time, thanks to all who came out! Don't forget next week is our Kitty Pity Party for all you cat lovers who are so often overlooked. Come out for 25% off all cat items including new treats and toys!

Pictures from Lucy's Party

Lucy enjoys her party


Lucy mingles with her guests

Bozley enjoys apiece of Lucy's cake

The refreshments at the party included cake for dogs and cupcakes for people


The cake for dogs


There was even a human cake with Lucy's picture on it!

Hey Everyone!

I should have had these pictures up earlier, but we've been pretty busy, so I haven't had much chance to blog. These are all pictures from the I love Lucy party we had Saturday. If you missed it, Lucy is a rescue pug who was diagnosed with cancer and only given months to live. That was over a year ago and so Jolene, Lucy's Mom, held a party for her and we were honored to be the location for the party!

I Love Lucy

Hey Everyone!

As many of you know, we're hosting an I love Lucy party tonight at the store. It's a drop in affair from 4pm-6pm, just come in for cake and punch for people and cake for dogs. I will definitely take pictures tonight and share them on the blog, but before that, I wanted to share Lucy's story here, so everyone would know exactly why we're celebrating Lucy.

Lucy's Story

from the NWA Pug Rescue website

It was a Saturday morning - I hadn't been out of bed too long - the first call came in - YOU'VE GOTTA HELP THIS PUG! After a few questions I found there was a hungry, dirty, blind, older female pug at the Roger's Animal Shelter. I found out it would be available the next week- after the waiting period - I made arrangements for someone to go look at her.

6 other calls came in that morning - one from one of the workers at the animal shelter - calling without authorization - she needs help - she is cold, scared and I don't think she will make it here much longer - you've gotta help.

I called the shelter and told them we would have someone there Monday to check on her wellbeing and they told us we could take her - no one will want her. So Amy went to get her - cried as she took her to Faithful Friends - she was shaking, cold, dirty, and confused.

Jolene Turner said she would watch her - she has had experience with older dogs who were blind - but the news wasn't good - Lucy has cancer. The prognosis was she would live just a short time - we could put her on some new meds if we wanted to try - YES, we wanted to try - Jolene and her husband fell in love with Lucy and decided to give her a loving home for the remainder of her life - She is celebrating a year since she came to Jolene and Rescue - Lucy loves to play CRAZY DOG with Jolene's husband and enjoys her new adopted sister Shi-Anne. She is pudgy - and doing quite well for a dog who was given weeks- maybe months- who has survived a year.

Don't feel sorry for Lucy - She is a celebration dog - not a sorrow dog - the title of the party is just how it is - - - "I Love Lucy!!!"

Upcoming Yappie Hours - June 2009

Hello Everyone!

May isn't quite over, but I wanted to go ahead and publish our upcoming Yappie Hours for June. I think we'll have a lot of fun, I'm especially looking forward to our Ice Cream Social and the Patriotic Pup Parade ought to be exciting too! And for all of you cat lovers out there, check out the Kitty Pity Party on June 16th!

And, don't forget, this coming Tuesday, May 26th is our Puppy Shower for the Humane Society - you donate supplies for the Humane Society and we give you 50% OFF your entire treat purchase!

Congratulations to Jason Russell

The jar full of treats that Jason won

Hey Everyone!

Just wanted to let you know that Jason Russell was the winner of last weekend's "How Many Treats" contest. We took entries at both the Dogwood Walk and New Hope Animal Clinic's Open House. Jason guessed 143 at the Dogwood Walk, which was exactly the amount in the jar! Congratulations to Jason and look for our contest at other upcoming events.

Humane Society of the Ozarks 17th Annual Dogwood Walk

After one postponement and one rescheduling, we finally had the 17th annual Dogwood Walk at Gulley Park in Fayetteville. I think it always cuts down the turnout when you postpone or reschedule, but despite that I think this was still a good event. Northwest Arkansas has some great pet events every year, and this one is not an exception. It was a little soupy, but what's a pet event without a few muddy paw prints on your pants?

I think I would give the "Best Booth" award to the "Love and Peace" booth from Weddington Animal Hospital this year. Their booth was so creative.

We should have the winner for our "Guess the cookie jar" contest ealy this week, so stay tuned to see if you are the winner!!!

Gotta Love Spring in Arkansas

Hey Guys!

Due to the predicted storms, they are going to reschedule the Bark Park Grand Opening again. When I hear the new date I will send out an update to our newsletter subscribers, along with any information I get about the Dogwood Walk. In the meantime, enjoy the sun while it's out!

"How Many Treats" Contest Winner

Alma and her sister with the jar Alma's guess won

Alma won this jar and the treats inside!

Congratulations to Alma Soto! Alma was our winner from Saturday's Dog Days Downtown event. She was our closest guess, with 135. There were really 132 treats in the jar. Thanks to everyone who participated. We got lots of great guesses. If you didn't get a chance to play Saturday, we will have jars at both the Dogwood Walk at Gulley Park and at the Bark Park Grand Opening, both this Saturday, May 16th (see our calendar for more specifics) and at New Hope's Open House on Sunday, May 17th. But be forewarned, no two jars have the same number of treats, so guessing 132 is out!

Dog Days Downtown

Hey Everyone!

Here's a press release from Main Street Rogers about this weekend's Dog Days Downtown. This is at least the third year for this event, which brings out vendors and speakers at Frisco Park in downtown Rogers. We'll have a booth there with a "Guess How Many Treats" game, so stop by and say hello!

Dogs Day Downtown

ROGERS—Bring your dog to Frisco Park, May 9th, 9am-1pm, for Dogs Day Downtown. Main Street Rogers invites you and the furry one in your family to the Historic District for a Saturday morning special event.

Local businesses will have a variety of booths and activity stations set up throughout the Park for your pet’s sheer pooch pleasure. Find fun games and discover new resources for raising your family canine. Activity stations may include such things as a Cake-Walk, Hop-a-Hoop, Dunkin’ for Bones, and more! Even if you don’t have a dog to bring, children and dog-lovers of all ages will enjoy the demonstrations and helpful speaker sessions on Frisco Stage. If your family is looking for a new addition, Rogers Animal Services, the Humane Society and NWA Animal Rescue will also have pets available for adoption. Also, rabies and/or yearly shots and microchipping will be offered for your convenience.

Frisco Stage speaker schedule (subject to change):

10:00am - Don't miss these 3 healthy grooming tips by Groom Room

10:30am - Dog Scouts - A fun activity for you and your dog. Demo of dogs painting by Dog Scouts of America Troop 150

11:00am - Read Dogs Raise Kids Reading Scores. Could Your Dog Help? By Helping Paws Therapy group

11:30am - How to tell what is in your dog's food and if it is healthy by Bigwag Dog Bakery

12:00noon – Benefits of Good Dog Food by Nature’s Select of NWA

12:30pm - Why should I spay/ neuter my dog?

Please remember every dog must remain on a leash inside city limits, and bring a bag to scoop up afterwards. For more information call Main Street Rogers at 936-5487.

Happy Cinco de Mayo

It may be icky outside, but we're ready to party here at Bigwag! The chips, queso and margarita treats are available for hungry party dogs to sample. And the margarita treats are half off tonight (that's just 25¢ a piece or $6.00 a pound)

Upcoming Yappie Hours - May 2009

Hey Everyone!

I'm looking forward to tonight's Yappie Hour, with Melvin and Viviana from Aussie Mobile Pet Grooming. They're going to have their van out here for you to look around. They'll also be giving away $10 off coupons. Melvin will be giving demonstrations and word has it they may even do a mini make-over! Since this is the last of April's Yappie Hours I also thought I'd post the upcoming Yappie Hour specials. I'm looking forward to all of them, but I'm especially excited about the Puppy Shower for the Humane Society. I hope we fill my truck with items to be donated!

Bigwag Easter Eggstravanganza

Hello Again!

Okay, here's part two of my catching up series. These are pictures of last week's Yappie Hour, which was our Easter Eggstravaganza. We had a great turnout, but sadly no one found the $100 gift certificate. We did give away a $5 gift certificate, some 20% off coupons and lots of 10 free treat and free Easter treat coupons. It turns out the $100 gift certificate was in an egg hidden in the ceramic items in our store. We really enjoyed opening all the eggs though, and we're already brainstorming another event where we can open prizes. Maybe fortune cookies for Chinese New Year? Anyone have any ideas for something sooner?