Paws for Charity 2007 Donation

On December 31st, we made our 2007 Paws for Charity donation to the Cancer Society - Breast Cancer Research. Thanks to your generous support we raised a total of $1517.50!


From left to right: me, Sharon (Canadian Cancer Society), Suzanne Bird (Urban Dog Photog), and Julie Kelly (Chilly Dogs). Absent: Char Harding (Around the Hounds)

Photos from a Paws for Charity fan

Paws for Charity clothing is not just for people! Introducing Sam wearing her Paws for Charity nightshirt...You can purchase clothing for yourself...or your dog...with our Paws for Charity logo (in pink or in black and white or even just plain black print without the round circle) Full proceeds are donated to breast cancer research.Thanks Sam! You look truly fetching!

Urban Dog Photog's PerPETual calendar

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I met with the Paws for Charity women for coffee. Urban Dog Photog Sue Bird had her new calendars with her....and they are fantastic!

Sue always comes up with such original ideas, and this is definitely original. Her 2 year perPETual calendar is a wire bound calendar featuring her fantastic dog photography.

One year is dedicated to greyhounds. The other year is an "all breed" calendar. Aside from Sue's wonderful photographs, the great thing about this calendar is that it's perpetual...you can start it anytime and go for 2 years. Anytime. Not just in January. Not just for 2008/2009. Anytime.

What a great idea! Even better is that Sue is donating part of the proceeds from each calendar sale to our Paws For Charity cause.

To order a calendar (great for gifts!) go to the "Buy" section at www.photobysuebird.com.

Article: The Power of Blogs

Our Paws for Charity project was featured in a recent article about the power of blogs. A big thank you to Sherri Garrity of Make It Count Communications for including us in her article.

HIGH TECH, HIGH TOUCH - THE POWER OF BLOGS by Sherri Garrity:
If you're looking for a way to engage your audiences, reach thousands of people, promote your vision in an interactive way, and do so quickly and inexpensively, the blog is an incredibly powerful communications tool. Non-profit organizations and individuals are beginning to use them for mission driven and philanthropic pursuits.

Sara Harley of The Barking Biscuit and three entrepreneurial friends in Ontario joined talent and forces to form the PAWS for Charity project to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society. Their blog launched earlier this year complements promotions in their own businesses (check out the Pink Ribbon Chilly Dog Sweater from Chilly Dogs shown here as an example). Like many who blog, Sara had no prior experience and underestimated the reach it would have. The last 100 visitors to the site were from North America, UK, Europe and as far away as the United Arab Emirates. The success of the blog prompted her to start one for her own business.

As more and more people link to their site, news of their efforts has spread. The project was recently highlighted in the grassroots Women Can Do Anything blog, another testament to using technology to unite people of common interests. The WCDA motto of Dream. Believe. Achieve. is a great motto for us all.

To read the full article click here.

Paws for Charity Ezine article

I'm very excited about an article about my PAWS for Charity project that's currently on the ezine Women Can Do Anything website. (womencandoanything.com)

Working Better Together: PAWS for Charity
Written by Lorette C. Luzajic

Here's the link to take you directly to the article and read all about our project.

http://www.womencandoanything.com/content/view/364/71/

Dream. Believe. Achieve. – is the motto of Women Can Do Anything. A great motto for us all!

In Memory of Shamy

This stunning painting of Shamy was created by Kellie Oliphant-Burns of Doodle Dogs Paintings.

Shamy had a birthday party last year and collected funds for my PAWS for Charity cause. He and his mom Marie-Piere raised $200 and donated it to breast cancer research on behalf of Paws for Charity.

Shamy recently passed away. In Marie-Piere's words "great dogs make everyone feel loved". I couldn't have said it better myself.

PAWS postcards & upcoming events

This is our new PAWS for Charity postcard... front and back. These pics don't do the cards justice. They are fab! The colours really pop. Our postcards were designed by URBAN dog photog Sue Bird, who also did the photos. She has done an awesome job for us yet again!
You can find some of our PAWS items at a couple of upcoming shows:
Sue will be at the Pet Lover's Expo in Merrickville on Saturday April 28th. (Merrickville Community Centre) She'll have some of our Crunch for a Cure biscuits (as well as some other flavours) with her.
I'll be at the K9 Spring Fling in Ottawa on Sat April 28th (Unit 6, 17 Grenfell Cres Ottawa from 10 am to 4 pm) with my full range of biscuits & fund raising button pins.

It's Daffodil Month

It's halfway through Daffodil Month at The Canadian Cancer Society. The four of us at PAWS for Charity decided to donate to The Canadian Cancer Society (Breast Cancer Research) since we have customers all over the country, and this charity has a national scope.
Here's a reminder of what the four of us are doing:
Julie Kelly at Chilly Dogs has designed a beautiful fleece Chilly Sweater. "Paws for Charity" is stitched in black across the shoulders. For a closer view of these beautiful sweaters, click here.
Char Harding at Around the Hounds has several gorgeous collars available. You really must go to her website to see them...they're stunning!
URBAN dog photog Sue Bird is working on a perPETtual calendar...it will be available soon! This calendar will be awesome (I've had a sneak preview) and will have 2 years. The great thing about a perpetual calendar is that you don't have to wait until January to start using it...you can use it for 2 full years no matter when you start. Sue did the photography for our Crunch for a Cure biscuit packages, as well as many of our other biscuit tags.
At The Barking Biscuit, we have our Crunch for a Cure dog biscuits. Our biscuits are available in many retail stores, and also on our website.
And, lastly we have our PAWS for Charity button pins. They are available by sending an email, you can order them from The Barking Biscuit, or head down to Posh Paws in Manotick to buy some. (or if you're out in BC...take a drive to Barkside Pets in Fernie).
Please help us raise funds in the fight against breast cancer.

Crunch for a Cure 2007

We are very proud to introduce you to Triona and Riley, who are featured on our newest release of Crunch for a Cure dog biscuits. The beautiful photos (front and back of the tag) were captured by Suzanne Bird. (check out Sue's blog: www.photobysuebird.blogspot.com )
Sue is putting together a collection of portraits showing the bond between dogs and their owners who have survived or are battling cancer. Triona agreed to let us feature a couple of her photos on our package. We think she and Riley are beautiful! Last year's Crunch for a Cure campaign was such a success (we sold out in 3 months) that we doubled our printing order. Please help us sell twice as many bags this year! Twenty five per cent of Barking Biscuit proceeds will be donated to The Canadian Cancer Society - Breast Cancer Research. Crunch for a Cure dog biscuits can be purchased at many retail locations, or you can order them online at http://www.barkingbiscuit.com/
This project is very special for me...my mom died of breast cancer 25 years ago.
I want to thank all our customers for helping me to make a difference in the fight against breast cancer. Keep those canines crunching!

PAWS for Charity 2006

I'm one of the four members of the PAWS for Charity team...created in 2006 to raise funds for various charities. The four of us own dog related businesses and contribute some or all of our proceeds from certain products to charity. For the first year (as well as 2007) we chose breast cancer research as our designated charity. This pic shows us making our first donation to The Canadian Cancer Society in December. Our 3 month project raised over $2200! Pictured here (from left to right) are: Kelly Gaon, Canadian Cancer Society Fundraising Coordinator, me (with my eyes closed!), Char Harding (aroundthehounds.com), Julie Kelly (chillydogs.ca) and Suzanne Bird (photobysuebird.com).
This is such a dynamic group of women...a real powerhouse that I'm so happy to be involved with. We'll be launching our 2007 campaign soon. Details about our Crunch for a Cure biscuits can be found at this link www.barkingbiscuit.com/PawsForCharity.html
We'll be launching our new Crunch for a Cure package soon!
You can also check out our Paws for Charity blog for regular updates on this project: www.pawsforcharity.blogspot.com