Adopted Dog Monday: Skipper!

Skipper had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

This little Pomeranian came to Pet Haven from our friends at People for Pets in Spencer, Iowa but wasn't with us for long because a nice couple had actually tracked his journey all the way from Iowa to the Twin Cities!! Beth and her new husband called Pet Haven as soon as Skipper was transported from Iowa and happily waited for our standard 10 day hold on new intakes to expire. After 10 days, Skipper finally made his last trip to home.

What a beautiful family they are!! Happy holidays to you Skipper!

And an extra big thank you to Pet Haven foster and volunteer extraordinaire Agnes!

Happy Thanksgiving

Fran, a Pet Haven alum wishes you
a very Happy Thanksgiving!

We couldn't let today pass without thanking all of our volunteers, supporters, partners for all of your continued support of Pet Haven over the past year. As an all-volunteer organization we rely entirely on volunteers and supporters to help us continue in key components of our mission: rescuing and re-homing dogs and cats, and spaying and neutering to reduce pet overpopulation.

Pet Haven is extremely fortunate to have such incredible volunteers who give tirelessly.  Over Thanksgiving weekend one of our partners, Rescue Buddy Boarding, had two Pet Haven alums visiting: Fran and Geordie. Geordie arrived into Pet Haven's foster program in April of 2008. He was one of 5 "dumpster dog" puppies ... a litter of 5 black puppies was left in a cardboard box and left by a dumpster for the garbage man to pick up in rural Iowa. Pet Haven received a plea in April of 2008 from a partner rescue in Spencer, Iowa (People for Pets) to help with these puppies. Pet Haven did not have any open fosters or anyone able to take puppies ... and in an effort to help get the word out and to put a call out for fosters, the Pet Haven dog blog was born!!! On April 15, 2008 as a result of a litter of 5 black lab mix puppies needing rescue and foster homes, we wrote our very first blog entry:

http://pethavendogs.blogspot.com/2008/04/black-lab-pups-found-in-ditch-arriving.html

Our very first inquiry came in shortly after our initial blog posting .... and as soon as the puppies were old enough to be adopted out (and had all their shots and had been spayed/neutered) one of them, Geordie, was adopted!! His adoptive mom later on adopted another Pet Haven dog, Jack and is now volunteering as foster home for Pet Haven!!

Geordie as a puppy when he
arrived in April 2008 ...
he was one of the 5 dumpster
dog puppies!

Geordie has grown into quite the handsome boy! He, along with Fran, want to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving and to thank you for supporting Pet Haven in the many ways that you do. If it weren't for you they would not be living the wonderful life they are living now and receiving all the love and pampering that they believe (and so do we!) they deserve!!

Geordie taking a sprint around
the yard at Rescue Buddy Boarding

Geordie ... time to snooze now ... 

Looking for a cat?

OK - it's a dog blog! But - some of you 'dog' people also love cats and some dogs do too.

We've got a couple of charmers who enjoy them very much.

Ty - a handsome, shorthaired black fellow enjoys stealing toys from the small dog in his foster home. He'd love to play with her but she is a little too much of a princess to want to do that. Ty is also more than willing to snuggle up and take a nap - again, the 'princess' says - "Next to me is ok! Just don't touch me!"

Another fellow who enjoys the two medium/large dogs who come to his foster home for daycare. He likes to play with a wagging tail and lay down next to them on the floor - that's Smokey! Black and medium haired.

Do you think it has something to do with the color? NO - just a coincidence.

Adoption Events Nov 20th Richfield/Calhoun

They strutted their stuff on the runway of our fall benefit. Now our dogs will be greeting their fans at two adoption events this Saturday Nov 20th from 10-12.

Medium and Large Dog Adoption
PetCo Richfield
66th & Lyndale Ave. S.
10am-12pm

Small Dog Adoption
Chuck & Don’s Calhoun
3246 West Lake Street
10am-12pm

Gobble Gobble Gobble!

Some Thanksgiving treats can cause your doggie lots of trouble.

Everyone looks forward to feasting on Thanksgiving day, including Fido. Who can resist those declicous aromas of turkey, gravy and pumpkin pie wafting through the house all day long?! It's OK to indulge Buddy the Lab with a few turkey day treats, but read this list first to make sure you don't feed him something that could land you at the emergency vet clinic this holiday.

Here's a list of some of the biggest hazards to pets on Thanksgiving:

• Rich, fatty foods (turkey skins, gravy, etc,) can contribute to pancreatitis. This inflammation of the digestive gland is painful and can be serious--requiring emergency veterinary assistance.
  


• Cooked bones can splinter and cause tears or obstruction in a pet's digestive tract.


• Never feed your dog raw or undercooked meat, poultry or eggs. Just like humans, they are susceptible to bacteria-causing food poisoning.


• Baking strings, if ingested, can create trouble if ingested by your pet.
  


• Onions in holiday stuffing can lead to canine anemia if consumed by your dog.
  


• Grapes and raisin toxins can cause kidney failure in pets.
  


• Ingesting chocolate can kill your pet.
  


• Caffeine and alcohol are also toxic for pets.
  


• Keep all goodies out of reach!

To keep your pets busy and entertained during dinner time, treat them to a frozen kong filled with some of their favorite treats, peanut butter, yogurt or pumpkin. A frozen kong will keep them busy while you and your guests enjoy a nice, puppy-dog eye free meal!

Pet Haven wishes you a very happy Thanksgiving!

Tues. Nov. 16 - Give to the Max

Give to the Max day is upon us!

Please join Pet Haven and help support the dogs and cats we rescue and re-home.

Help us fund more spays and neuters of owned animals - help us keep them in their homes with the family who loves them but is stretched thin by the economy and wishes to keep their pet and cannot afford spay and neuter surgery.

Spay and neuter surgery is the only way we will resolve the overpopulation of cats and dogs.

Tilly had 8 kittens and found a home before any of them did! All were spayed and neutered before being adopted.

Every cute puppy and kitten that is born moves another adult cat out of the line-up for adoption.

There are not enough homes. Help us to stem the tide. Many groups are working on this problem and we all need to continue to work together but can only do it with your help.

Pet Haven is taking in more cats and dogs who originally placed through Pet Haven 8 or more years ago. They are middle aged to seniors and they need more vet care; dental work, sometimes special diets, surgery for tumors, etc. We want to stand by our animals, whether they came from Pet Haven originally or we have taken them from an owner or shelter where they were surrendered due to foreclosure or death.

Cocoa's home was foreclosed.

Mario was adopted from Pet Haven at 7 months of age and returned recently at 12 1/2 yrs.

Jackson was returned and is looking for a new home.

We need your support to do this! Big problems can be resolved when many come together to work on them. No gift is too small.

Click here and you will be directed to Pet Haven at Give to the Max.

Thank you - we can't do it without you!

Fall Benefit 2010 - Thank you to all for making it a huge success!!

A huge, huge thank you to everyone for making Pet Haven's Fourth Annual Fall Benefit another huge success!!! We woke up yesterday morning to snow, and more snow ... a winter storm and power outages ... even that couldn't stop Pet Haven's dedicated and determined volunteers from making their way to the hotel early Saturday morning to get set up for the big event after spending an entire day on Friday also getting ready!! Even their spirit wasn't dampened with the snow ... one volunteer even said, "Heck!! If no one shows up we'll just have a big karaoke party for Pet Haven volunteers!!!"

Well .. no karaoke party for us :) As 6 pm approached last night  Pet Haven supporters came walking into the hotel with big smiles on their faces, ready for a great night of fun and festivities and the highlight of a dog and cat fashion show presented by Lulu & Luigi!  We had a full house!!!

Thanks so much to all the Pet Haven volunteers who have worked tirelessly over the past months preparing for the Fall Benefit. And Thank you to Pet Haven supporters who braved the winter storm to come out and support homeless dogs and cats. And thank you to our sponsors (Chuck & Dons, Pampered Pooch Playground, Downtown Dogs, Photographers Guild, Canine Coach, Lake Harriet Veterinary and Neiman Marcus), our celebrities, the girl scouts (who came to help us out last night), Tim Simplot (for DJing), Sarah Beth Photography for taking photos in the back of our celebrities and the animals as they prepared for the fashion show (we'll share those photos once we have those available!) and for everyone who donated to our silent auction.

We will have a lot more photos and info to share on the Fall Benefit ... but we simply couldn't let a day pass without extending our heartfelt gratitude for all of your support.

Snow?!

Drive carefully - come and join us this evening at the Fall Benefit.

Ty is just one of the style show participants and hopes you will all arrive to see him strut his stuff!

Tug the Runway Model

Tug wants you all to come see him strut his stuff on the runway this Saturday at the Pet Haven benefit. Can you picture him now? You know you want to be a Tug fan right? Here is the info about buying tickets. Tug will be signing autographs after the show. So be patient ladies. See you there.

Fall Benefit, Nov.13, 2010

This is Pet Haven's main fundraiser for the year. We have every type of committee and volunteers working on this for much of the year.

It is an evening with folks who love companion animals and their welfare as much as you do - a time for fun and laughter, a few heart wrenching stories and maybe a tear.

Comedy - who couldn't enjoy a style show with dogs and cats in it?

A chance to connect with old friends and make new ones.

Respect as you learn about the lengths our volunteers and their supporters - YOU - go to to see that we can make life different for one animal at a time.

A chance to hear about the success of our Spay Neuter Initiative Grant programs. You'll be amazed!

You'll learn about our outreach efforts to educate on companion animal care, inform about puppy/kitten mill legislation, supply drives that are held by others excited about Pet Haven.

Silent Auction - bring your checkbook and bid on some wonderful items!

Fund the Need is a special part of the program and you will learn what efforts we go to to help one of our pets become and stay healthy. This year you will meet Wendy, now called Saga, and Jackson and hear about a few others.

For the first time this year we have a Pet Haven calendar. This is debut night for it and you'll have a chance to purchase one for a friend or yourself.

We're excited and we hope you are too!

Do you have your ticket? Now is the time!

Click here to order on line. We're looking forward to seeing all of you there this Saturday evening.

Adopted Dog Monday

Here is Darvin's first photo when he came into Red Lake Rosie's Rescue. He was starving and had mange. He also had a fixation with shadows and would pace around staring at them as long as you would let him. This is probably a result of being on a short chain with nothing else to occupy his day. In spite of his past he was such a loving dog.

After a few days at the vet and a couple weeks at his foster home, Rescue Buddy Boarding, the mange cleared up, Darvin's hair grew back and his ribs did not stick out any more. He was still doing his shadow dance but could be distracted easily with toys.

On Halloween Sunday Darvin got the best treat ever without having to do any tricks. He got his forever home. He has a mom that works part time so she is helping Darvin through the shadow chasing. His new dad delivers dog food to Chuck & Don's so Darvin will be eating high quality food. And Darvin can ride along in the truck to keep dad company. Diego is his new canine brother who was very excited to have a live in playmate.

Best part of the story is that Darvin will be going back up north every weekend but this time it will be to a wonderful cabin in the woods. His days will be filled with running, swimming, boating, and some lounging too. It is kind of a full circle for Darvin to end up enjoying life back where his life was so tough. The endless days on a chain are gone. Have a good life buddy boy.

Adoption Events Nov 6th

November 6th, 2010
Small Dog Adoption
Chuck & Don’s Wayzata
1147 Wayzata Blvd. E
10am-12pm


November 6th, 2010
Medium and Large Dog Adoption
PetCo Minnetonka
13691 Ridgedale Dr.
10am-12pm

Adopted Dog Update: Tia

We recently received an update on a Pet Haven pooch that was adopted over a decade over!! We absolutely LOVE receiving these updates and emails ... thank you Leah for contacting us and letting us know how Tia is doing ... we love to hear that she is being spoiled rotten and that she has had the life we wish for every one of our adoptable pup or kitty ... thank you!!

"After adopting our dog almost 11 years ago from your organization, I figured it was long overdue that I send you an update on our dog!


We adopted Tia (formerly known as Sassy from a pet adoption event at the Richfield Petco. We have had her for over 10 years now and we couldn't be happier with her.


She is such a fun dog, and she is such a special part of our family. At 12 1/2 years old she hasn't slowed down much at all, and we still enjoy and appreciate her energy. One of her favorite things to do is to come along in the car to pick up our son at preschool. We don't even have to ask her to come with, she always knows where we are going and just expects that she is invited to join us!


I wanted to thank you for the work that you do to keep pets out of shelters, and just wanted to send a brief update on her and how happy we still are with her.


Thanks again,


Leah"

Adopted Dog Monday: Bailey the Beagle!

Bailey is a 4-year old beagle that came to Pet Haven from our friends at Peope 4 Pets in Spencer, Iowa. A well-mannered dog full of spirit, we knew Bailey wouldn't be around for long.

Randy, a seasoned beagle lover from Ramsey, first met Bailey at an adoption event at the Wayzata Chuck & Don's a few weeks ago and just couldn't stop thinking about her. Bailey went to live with Randy this weekend. We know that Bailey is going to love her new home surrounded by nature and lots and lots of things to sniff!

Thanks Randy for giving Bailey a second shot at the good life she deserves and for your extra generosity to Pet Haven! Happy Tails to you!