Have you seen the Pedigree PSA featuring the David Duchovny voice-over, “Shelter dogs aren’t broken, they just experienced more life”? It’s probably an under-statement to call it a tear-jerker, what with all those dramatic images of some of the saddest faces ever. But it works, doesn’t it? It’s short, simple, and direct. Shelter dogs aren’t bad dogs. They didn’t end up in shelters because they did something wrong –most wound up there through absolutely no fault of their own.
It’s an important message and it’s brought to you by the Pedigree Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Pedigree. Their mission is simple. They’re “dedicated to helping dogs in need find loving homes.” One way they do that is through grants to rescue groups and shelters – operations grants intended to help with basic operating costs such as adoption fees, medical care, spay/neuter, and transportation, and innovation grants that award shelters and rescue groups that think outside-the box when it comes to raising awareness, volunteerism, donations and, ultimately, dog adoptions. Last year Pedigree awarded operations grants to more than 1000 qualifying animal shelters and rescue organizations including A Different Breed, Animal Guardians of America, Collin County Humane Society, DFW Metro Golden Retriever Rescue, Diamond Dachshund Rescue of Texas, Doberman Rescue of North Texas, HART, Humane Society of Lewisville, Lone Star Bulldog Club, Lost Paws Rescue of Texas, Mutley Crew, Poodle Rescue of North Texas, Saving Pyrs In Need, and Westie Rescue of North Texas. The only 2010 innovation grant awarded in Texas went to Houston Humane Society for their Diamonds in the Ruff program which provides four weeks of training for hard-to-adopt dogs making them easier to adopt and less likely to be returned.
Once again, Pedigree is thinking outside the box – this time with the “Write a post, help a dog” promotion. Last year, 391 bloggers wrote about the program and with each post, Pedigree donated 20 pounds of its Healthy Longevity dog food to shelter animals. In all, 7,820 pounds of food was donated to two shelters renowned for their care of senior dogs: Muttville Senior Dog Rescue in San Francisco and Castaway Critters in Harrisburg, Pa. This year they’re doing it again, and for any blog post written about the foundation by midnight Saturday, September 3rd, Pedigree will donate 20 pounds of “new recipe” Pedigree dog food to a shelter. The new recipe foods were developed in conjunction with Waltham, the research center that helped develop Royal Canin, Greenies, Nutro and more.
You can help: Want to help feed homeless dogs in shelters? Pet lovers can donate online or send a free Pedigree e-card from the Pedigree Foundation website. Bloggers can write an article featuring the Pedigree Foundation, then link up to the Blog Hop below, hosted by the Pedigree BlogPaws bloggers and help spread the word.
Know anyone thinking about getting a new dog? Send them to the Pedigree Foundation website where they can find lots of great information about pet adoption, responsible pet ownership, socialization and much more.
