Eat Chocolate and Save Rescues! What a Deal!





Here is a real win-win opportunity to help Rescue Dogs and other animals in distress while satisfying that urge most of us have for chocloate. Sarah Gross, proprietor of Rescue Chocolate was kind enough to post on my blog recently and she introduced me to her wonderful organization. I urge you to go to her site and give her treats a try. I know I will.

Rescue Chocolate’s motto is “the sweetest way to save a life.” That’s because we donate all of our profits to various animal rescue organizations. So far, our beneficiaries have included United Animal Nations, the No-Kill Advocacy Center, In Defense of Animals, Farm Sanctuary, a couple of local SPCAs, and many others.

Sarah with her dog Mocha, the
inspiration for Rescue Chocolate 

So the animals benefit, but people do too because Rescue Chocolate is vegan, kosher, handcrafted in Brooklyn using the traditional techniques of Belgian chocolatiers, and packaged in eco-friendly materials. And, of course, it is delicious!

At the moment we offer 5 flavors of chocolate bars. Each one is named after an issue important in the rescue world:

• Peanut Butter Pit Bull (lobbying against breed-specific legislation)
• Pick Me! Pepper (urging people to patronize shelters rather than pet stores or breeders)
• Foster-iffic Peppermint (touting the benefits of becoming a foster parent for a homeless animal)
• Mission Feral Fig (highlighting the humane management of feral cat colonies)
• The Fix (pushing spay/neuter as the surest way to combat pet overpopulation)

We also have a couple of truffle collections, called Bow Wow Bon Bons (4 different flavors of gorgeously decorated chocolate squares) and Wild At Heart (heart-shaped chocolate nuggets filled with raspberry ganache). These products have been very popular as birthday gifts and wedding favors.

And, since it’s hot out there, we also have non-melting products such as leashes, tee shirts, and gift certificates. 

Rescue Chocolate was founded in January 2010. It is carried in a number of retail outlets around the country, and can also be ordered online RescueChocolate.com.

Best,

Sarah

Nanook gets a buddy

I knew it was going to happen. My wife came home and said we were fostering a husky that was going to be put to sleep. I told her we had 3 dogs and the dog would move in if she brought it home. We went to pick up the husky named Nanook and he cowered in the back of the truck. He had been given to some people who were going to have him put to sleep. They said he was too mean to be trusted because they had left him alone with their cat and the cat didn't fare well. When we saw how he interacted with the other dogs, we knew he had a home for life!

A year or so later, we lost Nanook's buddy, and he was miserable. He moped, A LOT! My wife talked to the people at Chouteau Pound Pals in Chouteau, OK, into letting us bring Nanook to pick out a new friend. Nanook liked a pit bull mix.  Piper was far from the stereotypical pit bull. In fact, our jack russell bullies her around (when they are not playing). Admittedly, it's hard to sleep with a 50lb dog on the pillow!

Two months ago, we rescued 2 puppies that were thrown from a moving car. Fortunately, they found new homes quickly; but for the 2 days before they went to new homes, Piper doted over them, again proving the pit bull stereotype is incorrect. 3 morals to this story: #1 I was right, Nanook is in his forever home. #2 Don't believe everything you read. #3 Everyone needs a second chance for a new beginning.

Nathan Free
Inola, OK

She Saved A Kid's Life!

A “throwaway” puppy, dumped in a field, she was adopted from Lane County Animal Services in Eugene, OR . She was loving, and very smart. We have amazing tales of the wonders of that dog.

Sharing many years of joyful companionship, Cheyenne grew very old. Almost deaf. Heavy, arthritic, and nearly blind. Because my friend's daughter feared all big black dogs, we took Cheyenne to a park with her... to create familiarity with a dog profoundly kindhearted and gentle.

As soon as we exited the car, Cheyenne made a beeline for the very-faraway opposite corner of the apparently deserted park. Unfailingly obedient all her life, she totally ignored my angry demands that she come back immediately.

She stopped at the playground’s child-sized fort. Two stories high, the walls were made of pointed logs. She woofed impatiently at us as we ran to catch up. Even when we arrived, we were on the wrong side of the fort, and could not see the problem.

More very urgent woofing made us follow her around the corner. A nine-year- old had jumped off the top of the fort, catching the back of his T-shirt on a pointed log. The shirt had ridden up, and he was strangling, unable to save himself because his arms were pulled up and backward. His face and neck were purple. He had serious “rope burns” on his neck.

I grabbed his legs and lifted him to loosen the “noose”; my friend climbed up to unhook the shirt.

He did recover, after treatment.  No question he’d have died without our rescue. But I still wonder: how did Cheyenne know he was there? And in such trouble?

Rita Castillo
Springfield, OR

Help Us Bring HOPE!

The following is an email I received from Kyla Duffy, founder of the web site Happy Tails!.  She is doing such a wonderful service by raising awareness of the awful pain and suffering that puppy mills create.  Please join the fight. 

After editing Dog Blessed: Puppy Mill Survivior Stories a compelling book published by Happy Tails Books last year, I started thinking about how I could do more to raise awareness about puppy mills and to help animal rescue organizations. What I came up with was the Don't Kill Bill Show, a 90-minute, emotional experience of aerial fabric performances, music about rescued dogs, and 11 unforgettable stories about adopted dogs of various breeds from the Lost Souls Found book series.

I performed the first show in my hometown of Boulder, Colorado, on February 12th to 250 people. Each person left entertained, educated, and inspired. Thirty local rescue organizations were in attendance, and I know for a fact that some show attendees signed up to volunteer with some of them as a direct result of the show.

"Thanks for a heartwarming, wonderful, show. We laughed, cried, and listened with interest to the message. I think that this should definitely be a traveling show; people need to see it!" -Hilary Lane, Fang Shui Canines and American Treibball Association

Now we NEED YOUR HELP to bring this important information about puppy mills, adoption, and volunteering to people all over the country.

By making a tax-deductible donation to Up for Pups!, you'll be helping to save lives in several ways:

The show itself encourages adoption. Adoption saves the lives of both animals and people in many ways, as many who have adopted feel that their adopted pets have blessed their lives in ways they couldn't have imagined.

The show also encourages rescue volunteerism. Rescues need volunteers to continue their important, life-saving work, and volunteering often helps people discover a special purpose in their lives.

The show raises money for rescue organizations. Each show we have a raffle for a donation prize to one of the rescues that are present. By making a donation, you'll help us to achieve our goal of donating $500 back to rescues from every show.

Please donate online today at http://upforpups.org by using the "Donate" button on the homepage or by sending a check along with the following form.

DONATION FORM
Your donations will be used to help the Don't Kill Bill show raise awareness and funding for animal rescue organizations. Please print out this form and mail it along with a check to Up For Pups, 3110 Gatling Lane, Boulder, 80301. Checks can be made payable to Up For Pups. Any amount helps. Your help is GREATLY APPRECIATED.

*Alternatively, you can donate online by clicking here Up for Pups!,  or at http://upforpups.org.

We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Your donation is tax deductible.

Donation Amount:
□ $10 □ $25 □ $50 □ $100 □ $_________ (Other amount)

Name:__________________________________________________

Billing Address:___________________________________________

City: _______________________State:________Zip:____________

Phone:____________Email:_________________________________


This is the fine print text where you might tell your customers how the item will be shipped and, for example, if they are overseas that there will be additional shipping charges and must contact you.

Thank you for your support!
Kyla Duffy, Founder