Keeping the Bugs Away

Hey Everyone!

Just a quick blog post today, partly because I feel guilty for not posting over the past few days and partly because I discovered something interesting over the weekend that I thought was worth sharing.

For the past six weeks or so we've been carrying a product called "No Flea" from a Texas company, Ashley's Green Products. When they first contacted me, I have to admit I was a bit skeptical. An all natural alternative to Frontline that was really effective and reasonably priced seemed like a lot to ask for. But, the woman who called me seemed so genuine and really believed in and used the product herself, so I thought I'd take a chance on a small case of it.

The bigger leap was trying it on Sam and Hannah. A big part of me felt like I was being a bad pet mom by not putting Frontline on them. A part of me still doubted how effective something all natural could really be. Another part of me worried that trying to save a little money would land me in a heap of trouble all over again, like when we tried using Seargant's.

But, I didn't feel like I could carry something in my store that I didn't believe in, so we began our test run of Ashley's Green Products "No Flea". And for several weeks nothing remarkable happened. No fleas, but so what? It's still pretty early in the season. Sam and Hannah seemed to scratch less, but I figured I was over analyzing. Then I had a customer come in the store who has used No Flea since last year and said it really did work for her.

But the real turning point for me came this weekend. Cary and I went camping at Lake Ft. Smith this weekend and we took the dogs with us. Saturday, Cary and I both found ticks on ourselves. Two each... which even now gives me they creepy crawlies. So naturally, we checked the dogs thoroughly. And neither one of them had anything on them. Even after crawling through the grass, hanging out under the trees and generally being exposed as much as Cary and I were. Now, I have to admit, I'm still cautious about how this will work in the summer against fleas. But for now, I have to admit I'm pretty excited about the possibilities of this product!

Chinese Crested Night!

In the nearly 2 years I've been at Bigwag, I'm regularly there on Wednesday nights. To my surprise this past Wednesday turned into a meet & greet for the Chinese Crested breed. Turns out that Erin had 2 Chinese Crested in the store earlier & then we got 3 more within the next hour! We were so surprised to have that many in the store in one day & to find that there are that many in Northwest Arkansas. I recognized one of our regular customers & realized I had never seen her dog, Swamp Thing. She had made plans to meet up with Lily's owner for the first time at our store & they had meet on an online breed website. What a way to introduce your dogs to others in their breed! Thats where Erin got the idea for our Yappie Hour on June 1st. So we're starting with the Retrievers & stay tuned, cause your dog's breed just might be next!

Cinco de Mayo Contest

Shaggy's Salsa in mild and hot!

Hey Everyone!

We're proud to announce your chance to win Shaggy's salsa via our blog!  We had a great time at Yappie Hour yesterday with free samples of Shaggy's salsa, margarita punch, and margarita treats for the dogs.  We gave away several jars of Shaggy's salsa, but we still have some left!  So, we're going to give five pints away here in honor of Cinco de Mayo.  All you have to do is leave a comment on our blog before 4:00pm next Wednesday, May 12th.  The winners will be chosen through random drawing.

Elka is shy about eating her treat for the camera

A few rules and notes: Comments can be on any blog post, not just this one.  Your comments will have to be approved, so you won't see them immediately, but they should be approved by about 11:00pm each evening, if you'd like to check back to make sure they posted.  If you'd like to make more than one comment to increase your chances of winning, go ahead, but please limit yourself to one comment per post.  We will announce the five winners here next Thursday, May 13th by 4pm. Good luck and Happy Commenting!

Sophie enjoys her margarita with gusto!

Your Pet Can Clean Up Oil Spills

Hey Everyone!

I caught this link on Twitter today.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwQOD_Ir2vQ  The link is to a video created by an organization called Matter of Trust.  In the video they demonstrate how hair and fur can be used to soak up oils from oils spills like the one in the Gulf of Mexico.  I strongly encourage you to watch it.  It will only take a few minutes of your time and I'm fairly certain you will be impressed with the demo at the end!  Once you've watched it, go to your groomer and encourage them to participate in this program.  Then, go to your hair stylist and encourage them to participate.  There's a link on their page, www.MatterofTrust.org to sign up to donate.  You can also sign up to donate used nylons.  So, take a minute, check it out and then tell someone.  Because think of all the good this program could do if we all participated.

P.S.  What do you guys thing about having a drive to collect dog hair for those of us who don't have our dogs groomed?  We could collect hair from brushing your dog/cat and send it in.  Let me know in the comments if you would be willing to collect your dog hair and bring it in.  If we get enough response, we'll organize a drive!

"Littles" Descend on Bakery

On April 24th, 2010 Bigwag hosted the Big Brothers Big Sisters of NWA for a hands on baking event. Bigs and Littles were treated to mixing up a batch of chicken and stars and then got to cut out treats by hand in their favorite shapes. They learned what went into healthy dog treats and got to help in the dough mixing, as well as the process to make a large batch of dog treats and what each piece of our equipment does.


Big Brothers Big Sisters is the oldest, largest and most effective youth mentoring organization in the United States. They have been the leader in one-to-one youth service for more than a century, developing positive relationships that have a direct and lasting impact on the lives of young people. Big Brothers Big Sisters mentors children, ages 6 through 18, in communities across the country - including ours.

The Big Brothers Big Sisters Mission is to help children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships with mentors that have a measurable impact on youth.

National research has shown that positive relationships between youth and their Big Brothers and Big Sisters mentors have a direct and measurable impact on children's lives. By participating in our youth mentoring programs, Little




Brothers and Sisters are:

• More confident in their schoolwork performance
• Able to get along better with their families
• 46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs
• 27% less likely to begin using alcohol
• 52% less likely to skip school.

While the treats were baking in the oven, all partipated in a store wide scavenger hunt, where they learned which products we carry were made in the USA, manufactured from recycled products or even just had the word "Mom" or "Mommy" on them.

Alex, our "Little", cuts out some treats to take home to his two dogs.

Everyone got to take home the treats they cut out. We had a lot of fun hosting them this year, and hope they do it again next year.

If you would like more information on BBBS of NWA, visit their website at http://www.bbbsnwa.org/ or visit them at:

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Arkansas

610-A East Emma Avenue Suite D, Springdale, AR 72764

(479) 756-5683 or 1-877-756-5683, (479) 756-0147 (fax)

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

Hey Everyone!

Two weeks from today we are hosting a second party for Lucy, the Rescue Pug.  Lucy was originally given only 3-6 months to live (read her story here).  Now she and her family are celebrating two years together!  So in her honor, we are hosting a drop-in on Saturday, May 15th from 4-6pm.  There will be cake and punch for people and cake for dogs as well!  Please join us, if just for a few minute to celebrate the life of this remarkable dog.  Be sure to check out the pics from last year's party as well, it was a blast!

News from the Humane Society

Hey Everyone!

I went out to the Humane Society today to deliver the treats you were so awesome to donate.  While I was there, Clay Morgan shared some exciting news with me.  Tomorrow, Saturday, May 1, 2010, the Humane Society will be having an adoption event at Petco in Rogers from about 10:30am-4:30pm.  During this time, the US Postal Service will also be unveiling and selling their new Animal Rescue: Adopt A Shelter Pet stamps.  The post office is selling these stamps as a way to raise public awareness of the need to adopt animals from shelters.  When you buy the stamps you will also be helping purchase quality meals for a million shelter animals, because Halo Pet Foods is donating food for each stamp purchase.  Read more about the campaign and  the animals featured on the stamps.

Clay also said that he has had several adoptions over the past couple weeks!  That's fantastic news.  The adoptions include a pair of kittens who were very wild and found a home with a family who raises horses and will give the kitties a home in their heated barn.

 These are the wild kitties two weeks ago.  They were NOT happy to have their picture taken!

Plus Swirl, who you met at the Bunny Hop found a home in Joplin!

And, there is another huge adoption pending, but Clay said he didn't want to formally announce it, because he was afraid to jinx it.  So, if it goes through, I will announce it here in a couple weeks!

There are still lots of sweet adorable animals in need of homes though.  There are some puppies who are probably Min Pin mixes and some really cute Schnauzer pups as well.  And there's even a dog who looks like my Hannah!

I wish I could take them all home.  If you happen to have room at your house, I suggest you visit the Humane Society.  They're at  407 E. Nursery Rd in Rogers (just past the corner of 1st and Nursery in Rogers) You can call them at (479) 636-3703.  They're open from 10:30-4:00 on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and 10:30-3:00 on Saturdays.

If you don't have room in your home, but would like to donate, you can send monetary donations to:

Humane Society for Animals

P.O. Box 476 

                                                               Rogers, AR 72757-0476

The shelter relies completely on donations, they are not funded by tax dollars.  They are also in need of cleaning products such as laundry soap and Pine-Sol.  You can take donations to the Humane Society of bring them to Bigwag.  (We will also be holding our annual Puppy Shower at the end of the month, if you'd like to donate then.)