We Wish You A Happy #NationalPetProfessionalsWeek !!!

FROM AMERICAN PET PROFESSIONALS: "American Pet Professionals, (APP), launches the 2nd Annual ‘National Pet Professionals Week’ the week of July 5 – July 11, 2016. During this annual week APP is encouraging pet professionals to celebrate, promote and highlight their chosen profession within the industry by showing off, what else but their professionalism!

Well, I think we show our professionalism EVERY DAY, but today, we would like to acknowledge EVERYONE in the pet industry for all of their hard work and dedication in a variety of areas!! 
From bloggers, to brands, to groomers, to rescues, to those dedicated to a multitude of causes that protect and improve the lives of pets, to those who make us laugh, ponder, who touch our hearts, even the dreaded "V-E-T", raise your hands and PAWS IN PRIDE!!!

TO ALL WHO WORK WITH PETS

YOU MATTER!!

LET'S ALL TAKE A BOW!!!!

To see how YOU can celebrate, click here!

Thank you and Happy Birthday to the Cat Daddy of the Cat Blogosphere!!!!

Thanks for keeping those  "daily linkies" up and running for us!

THANK YOU for keeping us up to date on

our special events, and giveaways, and contests

and for telling us sometimes sad news

that we should know about

We couldn't do it without you!!!!!

WE LOVE YOU!!!

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS FOR MO:

Purrchance To Dream

(P.S.:we are still waiting for you to add "follow by email" to your blog)

THE CAT BLOGOSPHERE

MORGAN on FACEBOOK

Cat Book Winner! Tortitude:The BIG Book of Cats with a BIG Attitude by Ingrid King

Thanks to all who entered our give-away for:

HUGE CONCATULATIONS

TO OUR LUCKY WINNER!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

THEY HAVE A BLOG TOO!!!

CLICK HERE TO VISIT!!

$25,000 Up for Grabs in Tractor Supply Animal Rescue Contest

Top Shelter Will Win $10,000 Grand Prize

 Raise your hand—or paw—if your favorite animal rescue needs some help!  What rescue doesn't need at least SOME help? Rural lifestyle retailer Tractor Supply Co. is looking to “rescue” 10 deserving animal shelters, including a $10,000 grand prize.

As part of Tractor Supply’s annual Pet Appreciation Week, held Sept. 16-20 this year, Tractor Supply is awarding a total of $25,000 in grants to qualifying animal non-profits through its “Rescue Your Rescue” social media contest.

To get started, Tractor Supply is asking customers to nominate their favorite shelter by submitting a photo and brief statement of why the shelter is deserving. Nominations are open from Friday, Aug. 21 through Sunday, Aug. 30, and all details on how to enter will be found at Facebook.com/TractorSupplyCo.

Tractor Supply will narrow down the nominations to 10 finalists, and the public will vote from Saturday, Sept. 5 through Sunday, Sept. 13 at Facebook.com/TractorSupplyCo to determine the final standings. The Rescue Your Rescue grand prize is a $10,000 grant. Second place is $5,000; third place: $3,500; fourth place: $2,000; fifth place: $1,500; sixth place: $1,000; seventh place: $800; eight place: $650; ninth place: $350; and tenth place: $200.

“This is the third year Tractor Supply has hosted the Rescue Your Rescue contest for Pet Appreciation Week, and the stories of hard work and compassion never cease to amaze us,” said Kevin Bryant, director of national marketing at Tractor Supply. “This contest is a great way for us to give back to the animal rescues that give their time, energy and often, own money, day in and day out, to save animals in need and find them forever homes.”

Tractor Supply’s Pet Appreciation Week, or PAW, is an event to celebrate pets and introduce families to the joy of owning animals. As part of the main event on Saturday, Sept. 19, every Tractor Supply store will feature pet adoptions, demonstrations on pet nutrition, discounts on pet food and supplies, free giveaways, and valuable in-store prize drawings.

All Pet Appreciation Week events are open to the public—and leashed, friendly pets—and will take place at local Tractor Supply stores. Find a local store and more information on Pet Appreciation Week and caring for pets at TractorSupply.com.

About Tractor Supply Company: 
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) is the largest operator of rural lifestyle retail stores in the United States, with 1,400 stores in 49 states. The company was founded in 1938 as a mail-order catalog business selling tractor parts to farmers, and continues to support its customers' rural lifestyle, offering workwear and clothing, livestock and pet supplies, tractor/trailer parts and accessories, lawn and garden supplies, sprinkler/irrigation parts, power tools, fencing, welding and pump supplies, riding mowers, and more. Learn more at www.TractorSupply.com.

#BlogPaws Conference Updates!

I don't know about you, but my head is spinning trying to prepare for the BlogPaws 2014 Conference! There is packing to be done, last minute items to purchase, and some MUST ATTEND EVENTS at the conference and A CONTEST that are not to be missed!

Sit back, take a deep breath, grab your planner,
 and check out the latest!

Register by May 2 and be entered in a drawing for an AMAZING prize!

if you have friends that are still on the fence, let them know about this exciting drawing. Anyone who is registered by the end of the day on Friday, May 2 is eligible for an AMAZING prize!

They can register here. and don't forget to use my discount

 BlogPaws2014-Caren-10

Last minute conference prep tips: Click here to download our conference program.

SHUTTLE INFO
Free shuttle service from the airport Wednesday and Thursday & departure from the hotel Sunday. Look for a BlogPaws 2014 poster & shuttle staff person in the baggage claim area of Terminals 1 & 3.
Arriving shuttle times:
*Wednesday 3-10:30 pm (last shuttle leaves airport about 9:30 pm)
*Thursday 9 am to 7 pm (last shuttle leaves airport about 6 pm)
Departing shuttle time:
*Sunday 6 am to noon (last shuttle leaving hotel around 11 am)

There will be a sign-up for the departing shuttle at the registration table. 

AFRAID YOU WILL HAVE NO ONE TO SIT WITH

AT BREAKFAST FRIDAY MORNING?

FRET NO MORE!

JOIN US AT THE NEWBIES TABLES!! (VETERANS WELCOME!)

I WILL BE THERE TO GREET YOU AND SCHMOOZE WITH YOU!

 

RSVP EVENTS 

We kick off the Conference with Dessert on the Terrace event, sponsored by Bissell®. If you're arriving Wednesday, join us from 7-9 pm.

 Click here to RSVP. 

BlogPaws will staff a registration table on the terrace so you can register early!  

Following Dessert on the Terrace we will meet for the Blog Spring Cleaning wrap up session

 Read the series here. 

Join us even if you didn't participate in the series.  
 
PetSafe® Yappy Hour, Thursday from 5-6 pm to promote its latest nationwide event. PetSafe's Bark for Your Park contest kicks off May 7. They will give away $200,000 to different communities across the country to build dog parks!

 RSVP here

Both events are open to all registered attendees! 

Pet Portrait Extravaganza Artist BZTAT is coming to the Conference and 40 lucky, randomly drawn, winners will be treated to a portrait of his or her pet! To be eligible, Conference attendees must: Register for the drawing through an email sign-up request; be present at the conference.; provide a phone number that receives and provide an email address; either have a pet at the conference to be photographed, or a suitable photo available in electronic form. The random drawings will be held at the BlogPaws/Pet360 booth.  __________

#BLOGPAWTY PLANNED FOR SATURDAY This will be a great way to join in the fun and excitement that is a BlogPaws Conference. Whether at the Conference or home, join us on Twitter for the #BlogPawty. Read the details and register here for your chance to win pawty prizes! 

WE'VE ALSO PLANNED A Meet-Up for the Conference. Click here to get details and to join in.

THERE IS SOOO MUCH MORE!!

Also remember your

BlogPaws 2014 Conference Ambassadors

Are Here To Help You!

Just look for these SMILING FACES!

ANGIE BAILEY

LISA TARON

ME!!!

We Cannot Wait To See All Of You!

Be a Pet Blogger in the Know! The BlogPaws Community and the BlogPaws Conferences are the places to go!

Hi all! As many of you know, I am proud to say that I am one of the BlogPaws Ambassadors for this years' BlogPaws Conference! When I say that, it seems so surreal!

As I mentioned the other day, when I began this blog in 2009, I didn't have a clue about how to blog. I was frantic. One day I googled pets and stumbled into the BlogPaws website and my prayers were answered!

From BlogPaws:

"BlogPaws is a Social Media Company focused on teaching pet enthusiasts, pet bloggers and all pet parents how to use social media effectively and responsibly. Our dedicated team of professionals works year round to connect our bloggers and micro-bloggers to the brands they buy every day. Following our first amazing conference in 2010, we launched an online community site for pet bloggers, pet enthusiasts, pet people on Twitter and Facebook and brands eager to tap into a vibrant, vocal community of serious writers, bloggers, tweeters. It has since grown to over 3000 registered (approved) members, and continues to attract pet people from all over the world."

Back:L to R: Tom Collins, Robbi Hess, Yvonne DiVita
Felissa Elfenbein, and Chloe DiVita
 Front:L to R
Carol Bryant, Kristin Dewey

" We continue to focus our attention on providing education, being a trusted resource to pet parents everywhere, and sharing the reality of life with pets. In that reality is the expectation that the brands we buy every day are a big part of our lives, and connecting to the people who are part of those brands, to facilitate conversation and connection, has become a growing part of the BlogPaws purpose.

In 2012, we became a proud member of the Pet360 family of sites, dedicated to Pet Parenting. Simplified."

There is so much more that I need to learn, and I hope to never stop learning! Being a member of the BlogPaws Community ensures that I will have a plethora of information, just a mouse-click away. You will find posts like these:

Pet Blogging 101: 5 Steps To Get You Started And Keep You Going

Pet Blogging For Fun And Profit

Seven Tips To Running A Legal Giveaway or Blog Contest

Six Tips to Increase Blog Traffic

Eight Great Social Media Tips for Pet Bloggers

Pet Blogging ‘Rules’ For Success

Professional Blogging for Dummies

Top 10 Tips: How to Get a Sponsor

How To Improve Your Pet Blog

The cool part? It's just a paw print away, available to me and YOU,  24/7, 365 days a year!

Not sure how to navigate the Community?
 Check out the video below!

YOU CAN FIND THE OTHER PARTS OF THIS VIDEO SERIES ON THE BLOGPAWS YOUTUBE CHANNEL!

OH YES!! THE CONFERENCE!!!

The "social" part of the BlogPaws Conference is a blast but there is a TON of learning that goes on as well! Feast your eyes and ears on these videos from some of last years' BlogPaws Conference educational sessions!

BLOGPAWS 2013 WRITE AND PRINT YOUR OWN BOOK

BLOGPAWS 2013 BUILDING FACEBOOK FANS

BLOWPAWS 2013 MAKE YOUR BLOG PICTURE PERFECT

BLOGPAWS 2013 ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT COPY RIGHT

And...for a sneak peak of some of the educational sessions that will take place this year, this is a MUST READ by Carol Bryant, BURNING BLOGPAWS QUESTIONS ANSWERED

I cannot tell you what a thrill it is for me to be one of the Ambassadors for BlogPaws 2014 and I can't WAIT to see everyone there!

HAVEN'T REGISTERED YET? BE SURE TO DO SO FAST! YOU CAN REGISTER RIGHT HERE! SAVE 10% ON YOUR REGISTRATION BY USING CODE BlogPaws2014-Caren-10

Are you a Conference Newbie or a Veteran BlogPaws Conference attendee? Join the BlogPaws 2014 Conference Newbies Group! 

The Community Twitter #BlogPawty is being rescheduled due to a family emergency with the BlogPaws Executive Team. Please bear with us as the Executive Team deals with a family emergency. Will provide a date when available.

Happy #Thanksgivukkah!!!!

It is a once in a lifetime event that the American Thanksgiving and the Jewish holiday of Chanukah are falling on the same day, hence the name Thanksgivukkah!!!

Cody and I want each and every one of you to know just HOW SPECIAL you are  to us, and we are THANKFUL for your friendship and support not just ONE day of the year, but EVERY DAY!!

It is our pleasure to share with you a most beautiful video that was lovingly made by the marvelous "Shell", over at her blog,  My Three Moggies, commemorating both Thanksgiving and Chanukah, aka Thanksgivukkah!!!!,    She painstakingly put in all of the photos that each of us submitted to her and we are grateful for that and the zillion other things that she helps with throughout the blogging community. "Shell" and each and every one of YOU are shining examples of why we LOVE PET BLOGGERS!!!





May your holiday season be full of abundant blessings!!!

Much love and gratitude,
Cody and Caren

Bloggers Meet Purina-Video

Finally! It's here!!! From Purina!!

Bloggers Meet Purina from CHECKMARK on Vimeo.

"The Highlight Of My Year" Part III "Meet Purina! "

If you have been reading Part I and Part II of "The Highlight Of My Year", you are aware that my trip to Purina for their "Meet Purina Blogger Summit" was indeed, the highlight of my year!  If you missed Part I you can read it here and to read Part II click here.

The people at Purina couldn't have been more welcoming, informative, open, and accommodating, there wasn't a need that went unmet. They also never stopped feeding us!

We were treated to a most interesting lunch in the Purina Culinary Center where Chef Amanda Hassner creates dishes that are "pet-inspired" and later become the flavors in much of the Purina pet food that you see in the stores today!

Chef Amanda Hassner was a complete joy!
Photo Courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

I must be part dog because my favorite dish was the inspiration for Chef Michael's Carvery Creations, Beef Short Ribs Flavor.

Check out the waffles
 and the maple glazed BACON!!Photo Courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

I never stopped laughing and smiling
on that trip!
Dan Koehler and I laugh at
something Diane Silver of
To Dog With Love said
Photo Courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

My least favorite was believe it or not the inspiration for Friskie's Tasty Treasures and it was made with chicken, tuna and cheese in gravy. Great for cats, for me? Not so much.

Was Tamar texting her kitties about the food?
Photo Courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

The "cat food" I didn't love that much
Photo Courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

That wasn't the end of the food! That evening Purina treated us all to a delicious and fun dinner at Sqwires. I greatly enjoyed not only the meal, but dining with my friends and having a wonderful conversation with Adrian Palensky who is Vice President of Quality Assurance for Nestle Purina.

Left to right:Dorian, Tamar, Angie, me
and in the middle, Jaime

Friday morning greeted us with a torrential downpour that lasted the entire day. That didn't dampen our spirits though. We were headed to Purina Farms!

I'm the one that looks like a bag lady
Photo Courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

At Purina Farms we were treated to presentations informing us about the purpose of the Farm, how Purina is involved with working with breeders and shelters and a discussion about "why pets make us better." As if we didn't already know :)

We toured Purina Farms and the Event Center, enjoyed a fabulous Cat Training Demonstration and a Dog Frisbee Competition!

You think that only CATS
love Brian's Home (Terry?)
Think again.
He was the "Poodle Whisperer!"
while Candy Caciolo,
the Portfolio Director for
Specialty, Breeder & Pet Acquisition
at Nestle Purina PetCare
was giving her presentation.
Photo Courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

See what I mean?
Don't let the kitties of
Brian's Home
see this!
Photo Courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

Photo Courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

Have no clue what I was babbling about
Photo Courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

Love this photo!
Left to right: Paris, me, Anastasia, Jaime, Felissa
and Terry in the middle!
Wish I could remember what we
were reacting to
Photo Courtesty of Nestle Purina PetCare

This dog performing is a rescue dog!
Photo Courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

Photo Courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

It was pouring rain
and nothing stopped these dogs!
Photo Courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

Who says cats can't learn tricks?
Photo Courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

More kitty tricks!
Photo Courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

Even more kitty tricks!
Photo Courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

After lunch in the Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge VIP tent, Tamar (I Have Cat) Angie, (Catladyland) and I were given an impromptu tour of the incredible Cat Tower at Purina Farms!

Hey! What's a dog doing there?
Left to right: Tamar, me, Angie
and unnamed woofie

Cat Tower at Purina Farms
I had blogged about it in October
read about it here

Most of the cat bloggers, including this cat blogger, left on Friday, but a number of people stayed for events that took place on Saturday that were primarily dog related. Much of Saturday was involved in giving back to the community and helping pets. You can read about how Purina is deeply entrenched in animal welfare here.

I had the joy of sharing a ride back to the airport with Angie and Tamar,  just reading those names you know it was a good time!  Sadly, Tamar had a plane that left from a different part of the airport, so she missed me getting stopped by security and having my entire suitcase emptied (probably all of that Purina swag we received, but the security agent at Delta,  was kind enough to repack for me after I fussed about how hard it had been for me to get everything in there!). Tamar also missed a delicious hummus snack that Angie and I shared along with a double Bloody Mary for me (the nervous flyer! Angie had wine which thankfully unlike BlogPaws 2011 I didn't spill it on her. But I DID spill coffee on her at breakfast the day before!) 

Now do you see why it took me so long to blog about this trip? There was so much to write about, and there is so much more I could write about, but this was already longer than I had intended. THANK YOU to all of you for reading, and a HUGE THANK YOU to Nestle Purina for a trip that will always be appreciated and will never be forgotten!


Disclosure: Nestle Purina PetCare completely paid for my trip, accommodations, travel, etc. All opinions are my own.

Part II of: "The Highlight Of My Year"

Thanks to everyone who read Part I of The Highlight Of My Year, in case you missed it, you can read it right here!  For those waiting for Part II, wait no more!

Thursday morning October 4th found approx 15 sleepy bloggers boarding a bus to head off to the Nestle Purina PetCare Company (NPPC) headquarters.

Purina Headquarters
Photo courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

When we entered the headquarters we were greeted by the Board Of Directors:

"The Board Of Directors"
Hey! What's Dakota doing there?
Photo courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

There were also a number of TV screens that had images of all of our blog headers/logos going across the screen! It was beyond cool!

Photo courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

Then we made our way to the conference room area where we enjoyed a delicious breakfast.

Resident Cat "Rocki"
Lounging on the Purina "Coffee Table"
Photo courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

We then entered the conference room where we listened to presentations from various people at Purina who were brought in by Gordon Wade who is the Director of Marketing for Purina. The various speakers  spoke to us about:

Manufacturing overview did you know that safety and quality are a few of their top concerns? Purina will not  buy from a supplier without inspecting first. Every load of ingredients that comes to the factory is inspected. 98% of what Purina sells is made at the Purina factory.
Nutrition
History of Nestle Purina
Pet Welfare a speaker that warmed my heart was Brenda Bax who is a Director in Purina's Marketing Team and is responsible for Purina's work to build a better community with and for pets. Her responsibilities include Purina's Pets For People initiative, where Purina works to provide support to the pet welfare industry.

Being from Michigan I was proud to learn that The Michigan Humane Society is partnered with Purina. One example of the fine work that Purina is doing and how they have helped Michigan Humane was written about on Dakota's blog: PURINA DOG CHOW GIVES THE GIFT OF HOPE FOR MICHIGAN ANIMALS IN NEED where Purina donated HUNDREDS of pounds of food to help the Michigan Humane Free Pet Food Bank (which helps provide food for needy families who can't afford it for their pets.)

Photo courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

I was in sheer bliss!
Photo courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

I was blown away by so many things about Purina that it would take me TONS of blog posts to cover everything. One of many things that I adore about Purina are the values that the company adheres to, they call them:

The Five Tails

The "Five Tails" are used to reference Nestle Purina's values as an organization. From Purina:

"the term "tails" has a rich history in the Purina culture. The company's founder, William H. Danforth believed each person has not one, but four lives to live. A man's ingredients for life, he said, are a body, a mind, a personality and character, and all four must grow in balance with each other. These values--Integrity, Passion, Expertise and Performance--were known as the "Four Tails" the fifth "tail", "Innovation" was added in 2009 to demonstrate Nestle Purinas commitment to value, expect and promote curiosity and innovative thinking in their associates." Here are "The Five Tails"

We Stand Tall With Integrity
We Smile Tall With Passion
We Think Tall With Expertise
We Live Tall With Performance
We Create Tall With Innovation

The presentations were wonderful and we learned so much, but the "presenter" who stole the show was "Rocki", as well as their other resident kitty "Ava!"

Me kissing "Rocki"
who looks less than thrilled
Photo courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

"Ava" asleep in the conference room
Photo courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

Then...we were off on a tour of the campus!

Dog Topiary on the Purina Campus
Photo courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

Feeding Fish at the Koi Pond on campus!
Photo courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

Koi Pond on the Purina campus
Photo courtesy of Nestle Purina PetCare

Now do you see why it took me so long to post about this amazing trip? And...I am STILL not done! It appears that I will be adding "Part III" Stay tuned......

Disclosure: Nestle Purina PetCare completely paid for my trip, accommodations, travel, etc. All opinions are my own.