Dog Wash fundraiser for Pet Haven

On Wednesday, 7/28 from 4:30 - 8:00 pm there will be a Dog Wash party taking place at the Galaxy Drive-In in St. Louis Park. This event is being sponsored by Galaxy Drive-In and Pampered Pooch Playground.

For a $5 donation (all of which go to Pet Haven!) not only will you get a bath for your pooch, but you AND your pooch will get some ice cream ... of course, the ice cream for your pooch will be a doggie cone and your's will be for human consumption. Your pooch, i'm sure, would probably be happy to help you eat your ice cream if you are unable or unwilling to consume your ice cream treat!

So if you live in the St. Louis Park area (or even if you don't!) we hope you'll consider rushing home from work, picking up your loyal companion, and heading on out to the Galaxy Drive-In. You can dine with your pooch after his bath ... be sure to check out their menu! They even have doggie burgers  ... it's the same great burger they serve humans, minus the onion and the pickles!

It's a dog wash party and not only does your pup benefit from it, but so will homeless dogs and cats!!

Photo Fundraiser through 5/31!

Photographers Guild in St. Paul is once again having a photo fundraiser for Pet Haven through the end of May.

A minimum $40 donation to Pet Haven will get you the following:

- A free photo sitting session
- A free 8 x 10
- More bonding time with your furry friend
- The chance to make a huge difference for homeless dogs and cats!

For more info, click here.

Cider (cute boy on left!) had the chance to go in for a photo shoot with his mom ... here's what she had to say:

"This was the second year we've taken advantage of this event. Two years ago we were told our dear sweet Molly probably wouldn't live another few months. We realized we didn't have any good pictures of her and then saw the Pet Haven/Photographer's Guild offer and took them up on it. Molly was not a very photogenic dog but the Photographer's Guild took some great pictures and we got one that is most definitely MOLLY.

So this year, my husband is away with the military. I saw the offer and decided to surprise him with pictures of Cider and myself. What more could he want, right?

Cider was a stinker. He didn't like the flash and almost refused to look at the photographer! We used all his favorite words, walk, treat, car, frosty paw! He figured out pretty quickly he wasn't getting any of it!

The photographer took an hour with us and told me that Cider wasn't going to win! We were going to get a good picture of him! We did. In fact we got so many good pictures of him it was very hard to pick!

The folks at Photographer's guild are professional, patient and willing to do what it takes to get the shot!

We'll definitely do it again!"

Thanks Cider and Andrea for supporting Pet Haven and homeless dogs and cats!! And Cider, you are definitely one very photogenic boy!! :)

Photo Fundraiser

Once again, the Photographer's Guild in St. Paul is running a fundraiser for Pet Haven!

For the months of April and May, make a $40 donation to Pet Haven and receive a free pet portrait session and a free 8x10 print. Check out their website for more information and to see examples of their pet portrait work.

Call 651-646-3239 to make your appointment today!

Support Pet Haven when you sell items on eBay/Mission Fish

You can support Pet Haven every time you sell an item on eBay/MissionFish (MissionFish is the non-profit arm of eBay) ... and it’s easy! Since 2003, eBay has offered sellers the chance to turn their listings into a force for good with eBay Giving Works/MissionFish. When you sell an item, you can donate as little as 10%* or as much as 100% (minimum $5) of an item’s final sale price to Pet Haven.

It’s as easy as 1-2-3

1.    Select an item to list.

2.    Select Pet Haven to benefit

3.    Specify the final sale price percentage you want to donate (from 10% to 100%)

eBay will make sure that the nonprofit you select gets the funds raised.**

Coins for Canines!

Pet Haven was the recipient of Coins for Canines, money raised throughout the Golden Gophers Women’s Basketball season. Coins for Canines was a contest where people submitted photos of their very cute pooches dressed in their Gopher best. Each photo was placed on a large water cooler jug and fans voted for their favorite photo by placing coins (and bills!) into the jugs. The money raised as part of this effort was donated to Pet Haven.

I was honored to represent Pet Haven at the Gopher Women’s Basketball game on February 25th to receive a check for Pet Haven for just under $1400! Before I received the check, Deborah Diamond, Associate Director of Marketing for the Gophers, told me the final amount would probably be a lot more since they were still counting the money. I was called onto the floor during halftime, where I was presented the big check. Jim Marshall, the Gophers announcer, introduced me with the same excitement he does for the players, which was very exciting for me and probably as close as I’ll ever come to feeling like a rock star.

The plan was for the winning dog to be announced at the end of the game. Unfortunately (or fortunately for us!) there were so many coins, that folks were still counting the money at the end of the game! Deborah emailed me the next day that the total raised was an impressive $2,266.82! Nachito, the winning dog, received roughly $600 worth of votes!

Although the Gopher Women lost the basketball game on Thursday, Pet Haven was a clear winner! Thank you to Deborah, the Golden Gophers Women’s Basketball Team, and all the fans who voted. We’ll be able to help a lot of cats and dogs!

Posted by Karen Scott, Vice-President, Pet Haven of Minnesota

Santa Photos with your Pet

On Saturday from 11 AM - 4 PM you can have a photo taken of your pet with Santa at the Richfield Petco.

Cost: $8.95 + tax, of which $5 will be donated to Pet Haven!
Location:
Richfield Petco
710 West 66th
Richfield, Minnesota
(66th and Lyndale)

How about taking a trip out to Richfield on Saturday with your furry friend and letting your pup show you just how cute s/he is :) And at the same time, you could support homeless dogs and cats!

Photo borrowed from Flickr :)

Vote for Pet Haven!

What is Chase Community Giving?

Chase Community Giving is a program run by Chase that will allow Facebook users to vote for local charities and non-profits, and help direct Chase corporate philanthropy dollars to eligible organizations in the following focus areas: education, healthcare, housing, the environment, combating hunger, arts and culture, human services, and animal welfare. The grassroots campaign aims to inspire a new way of corporate philanthropy.

The eligible charity receiving the most votes will be awarded $1 million, the top five runners-up will receive $100,000 each and the 100 finalists, including the top winners, will be awarded $25,000 each. Additionally, a special Advisory Board led by prominent national philanthropists will allocate $1 million to the nominated charities of its choice.

In order to vote you do need to have an account on Facebook! If you aren't already on facebook we encourage you to sign up and join the I support Pet Haven Facebook group AND take a second to vote for Pet Haven for the Chase Community Giving program.

Voting for Round 1 ends on December 11, 2009 so vote now and help us spread the word!

Dog blankets

One of our Pet Haven fundraisers is selling fleece dog blankets, made and donated by local Girl Scouts. As you can see, they are a huge hit with the dogs!

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HELP! Lost cat! Panther, a recent PH adoptee, has busted out the screen at his adoptive home in Eagan and has gone missing. If you live in the area, please keep an eye out for him and see the cat blog for more information.

Sushi with your Poochie

MnPAW is holding its first fundraiser at Tiger Sushi 2 on July 16th.
Pet Haven is a founding member of MnPAW.

What: “Sushi with Your Poochie,” an on-leash event presented by Sidewalk Dog and Tiger Sushi 2
When: Thursday, July 16th from 6:00PM to 8:30PM (Rain date: July 22nd)
Where: Tiger Sushi 2’s huge, lovely, breezy and well-shaded patio.
Beneficiary: Minnesota Partnership for Animal Welfare (MnPAW), a new coalition of animal welfare organizations who are committed to working together to reduce euthanasia of adoptable animals in our State. Members include A Rotta Love Plus, Animal Humane Society, Pet Haven and RAGOM - Retrieve a Golden of Minnesota.
Menu: Tiger Sushi 2’s awesome Happy Hour menu* will be available throughout the entire event!
Tickets: $15 online ($4/ticket will go to MnPAW)

See Sidewalk Dog's website for more details.

This Pet Haven blogger is taking Friday off to enjoy the holiday weekend. Keep your pets safe and indoors during the fireworks and have a great 4th of July!

Thank you, Photographer's Guild!

During April and May, The Photographer's Guild hosted a fundraiser for Pet Haven which raised $1,070 for our rescue. Ahnung's mom took her in for her first photo shoot -- the fabulous Guild photographers really helped her tap into her inner supermodel.

We wanted to give them a huge shout out and thank you for helping us again this year by hosting this wonderful fundraiser!

Garage sale success!

Many thanks to all of our hardworking volunteers who helped plan, organize and host Pet Haven's annual garage sale at Becky's home! Many thanks also to those who donated to our garage sale. Doug and Moose worked hard the day of the garage sale (you have to look hard to see Moose who blends in nicely with Doug's black jeans!) .... they did a tremendous job supervising and making sure all was running smoothly :)

We raised $922 as a result of the garage sale --- ALL of which will go directly to helping homeless dogs and cats!

Also, hop over and check out the recap on the Fast and the Furballs race/fundraiser this weekend: Fast and the Furballs.

Cheerleaders

Trixie, a Yorkie Pet Haven alum, and Katie, a pointer mix who is available for adoption, are heading up a cheerleading squad for Pet Haven's Fast and the Furballs team running the 5K Fundraiser this weekend.

They are going to raise money to support the team and put together some cute signs and maybe some cute outfits to show off along the race route on Saturday.

Like Katie and Trixie, even if you are not a runner you can still support our fundraising efforts. Please check out our Fast and the Furballs blog and our First Giving page to help!

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Don't forget to vote for Pet Haven in the Animal Rescue Site $100,000 Shelter Challenge!

Garage Sale - Donations Needed

One of our wonderful volunteers is holding a garage sale and donating all proceeds to Pet Haven. Becky is looking for donated goods to include in the sale. Please email her if you have anything to contribute: rebeccasheldon@yahoo.com

Here are some ideas from Becky:

I am looking for good saleable items: small furniture, yard and garden items, kitchen items, kids clothes and shoes in good condition and a few adult clothes in really good condition. Paper back books and games sell quite well but stuffed toys do not. A good test is to think, would I buy this at a garage sale? and if the answer is yes! donate it! Last year I sold hostas and lilies that I had dug from my yard. If you have any excess plants donate them too as they went very well last year.

Mark your calendars for the sale as well!

May 29th and 30th

9am to 5pm

8641 S 11th Ave., Bloomington, MN

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Don't forget to vote for Pet Haven in the Animal Rescue Site $100,000 Shelter Challenge!

Save the date! Pet Haven Fall Benefit

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Don't forget to vote for Pet Haven in the Animal Rescue Site $100,000 Shelter Challenge!

Vote for Pet Haven!

Here's an easy way for us to raise money for homeless dogs and cats! As of Tuesday in Minnesota, the rankings are #1: RAGOM (Retrieve a Golden of Minnesota), #2: Animal Ark, #3: Minnesota Companion Rabbit Society. Let's see if we can catch up with these guys!!

Vote for Pet Haven of Minnesota at www.theanimalrescuesite.com and we could win $20,000 to help pets in need. I believe a direct link is: http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/shelterchallenge.faces?siteId=3

The Animal Rescue Site is hosting a special challenge for eligible Petfinder.com member shelter and rescue groups. The grand prize is a $20,000 grant, and they will be awarding many other grants to rescue groups with the most votes -- a total of $100,000 in grants for animal welfare organizations.

Help us win! All you have to do is click to help rescued animals, and then vote for Pet Haven in The Animal Rescue Site $100,000 Shelter+ Challenge. Both of these actions are absolutely free! You can vote once a day, every day, from April 13 through July 26,2009. Every time you vote, or tell a friend to vote, you are making a huge difference for us.

Vote today!

Visit: www.theanimalrescuesite.com

Good food for a good cause!

Don't forget that the Highland Grill in St. Paul is running a fundraiser for Pet Haven tomorrow, Wednesday, March 25th. Dine there for any meal and they will donate 10% of your bill to Pet Haven. You must present this flier when you dine to participate in the fundraiser.

Photo Fundraiser

The Photographer's Guild is running a fundraiser for Pet Haven!
For the months of March and April, make a $40 donation to Pet Haven and receive a free pet portrait session and a free 8x10 print.

Check out their website for more information and to see examples of their pet portrait work.

The Fast and the Furballs

On May 31st, Pet Haven will be fielding a team in a 5K-9 (yes, you can bring your dog on the run)! We would love to have you join us and we've started a blog to get everyone organized for the event. Check it out for more information on the event and a link to the registration:
The Fast and the Furballs

Did you drop the ball on that New Year's resolution to exercise more? There are a number of "Couch to 5K" training programs available on the web. Just hit up Google to find one that fits your schedule. There are many out there tailored to fit within the time period between now and the 5K-9 event. Don't forget that our dogs need to build up to running a 5K too, so take your favorite canine along on during your training as well.

Mister (photo above), a Pet Haven alum, can't wait to see you there!

If you have any questions, email furballs@pethavenmn.org.

Midnight: Saved from death, recovering from surgery

Midnight is a 4-5 year old male black lab who tore his ACL and his family was not able to afford the surgery to repair it. Because they were not able to relieve his suffering they were going to help him to the bridge. Midnight's foster, Kathy, and Pet Haven stepped in at the nick of time to save this sweet boy! He had his ACL repaired last week and he is recovering nicely in his foster home.

Midnight has lived with kids in the past and lives with kids in his foster home. He also lives with 3 dogs and 2 cats in his foster home and loves them all. He loves to carry around a stuffed animal "prize" in his mouth and show it off to everyone (you can see his favorite stuffie safely tucked underneath his paw in the photo above).

Midnight has 6-8 weeks of rehab and recovery ahead of him, so he will not be coming to our adoption events for a little while, but he is available for adoption if a family is willing to continue with his rehab and follow doctor's orders on his exercise and recovery. If you are interested in learning more about Midnight, please email pethavendogs@yahoo.com.

Midnight's vet bills top $1,000. It is because of the generosity of Pet Haven donors that we are able to say "yes" to helping dogs like Midnight. If you would like to donate to Pet Haven in honor of Midnight, please visit our website.

Santa photo fundraiser

Get your pet's photo taken with Santa and raise money for Pet Haven at the same time!

This Saturday, at the Richfield Petco, $5 from every Santa session will be donated to Pet Haven. For $8.95 you receive a photo of your pet(s) with Santa in a holiday frame. A wonderful Pet Haven volunteer will be standing in for Santa - so don't forget to say "hi" to Santa Dave while you are there as well.

Photos with Santa for Pet Haven
Richfield Petco
710 West 66th Street
Saturday, December 13th
11am - 4pm