Help this little boy bring home his assistance dog

A few days ago, I wrote to tell you about some plans to shift our autism donations to a group that provides service dogs to autistic children. I also metioned that google had guided me from link to link to link, which is how I arrived at 4 Paws for Ability. First though, I stumbled upon the webpage of Trapper Leeth, a 3 year old boy with Autism.

Trapper's family started updating their website after learning of his autism diagnosis in April, 2007. Guess what? Trapper has been approved for an autism assistance dog. Great news, right? YES! However, before he can bring his dog home he must meet his fundraising goal of $13,000. Not an easy task to begin with, but Trapper's fundraising is several months behind where it should be. Just days after Trapper's family was notified of their approval for a service dog, they were involved in a very serious vehicle roll-over accident. Trapper's mother, Jami, was hospitalized in Oregon and subsequently released to the care of her mother with strict orders not to travel. She returned home to Alaska, 3 MONTHS later - in body braces! Any of us parents out there know what an exhausting task it is chasing after a toddler, but can you imagine having this sort of set back?

Trapper & his family live in a remote area in Alaska. They must travel several hours by Ferry, to get much needed medical service for both Trapper and his mother. Have you ever traveled hours at time by boat with two small children? YIKES!

Please learn more about the Leeth family by visiting their website. You'll also find a wealth of information about autism, service dogs. Meanwhile, we will work hard to get the word out for Trapper. Don't forget, 15% of the proceeds from all Feline Fido Autism Awareness Dog Collars, Leashes & Key fobs will be donated to 4 Paws for Ability in honor of Trapper Leeth.


Please share this story, the more the word gets out, the more support we can rally to bring home Trapper's dog! Hopefully a business or entity with resources larger than ours will have the heart to help this beautiful, strong, inspiring family in Alaska. I hope that soon enough, we'll all be introduced to the dog that changed the world for this family.

P.S.
Here is a slideshow of Trapper & his family.

Fate of rescued pugs in our hands...

The pug doesn't need to be your favorite breed to care about this announcement. You just need to be an animal lover at heart. If you are, you'll keep reading.

One of our favorite customers, Harry the rescued Pug, alerted us of an emergency financial state of Southeast Pug Rescue & Adoption (SEPRA). You see, Harry came from SEPRA, they saved him when he needed help, they provided his medical care, they found him the BEST home in the world and he wants to make sure that SEPRA is able to continue doing this for all the other lost, abandoned, neglected, abused and rescued Pugs out there!

So, for obvious reasons, we have designated SEPRA to be the recipient of our monthly Spay & Neuter donations program (15% of the sales from Spay/Neuter items are donated to a designated rescue each month). However, this month we are stepping it up a notch. Listen up, listen closely, get a pen, use your copy and paste functions, just do whatcha need to do to spread the word...This month we are donating 15% of ALL sales to SEPRA to any customer that uses the code: SEPRA during checkout. Now, what we need you to do, is start barking the news to all your animal obsessed friends...and some fashionably aware duds for Fido.

Come on people, save a pug! Don't forget, you can also donate directly to SEPRA. Their pug medical bills are throught he roof - read this letter from their President!!

Thank you, Google for helping us find 4 Paws for Ability

Wow. The internet is really an amazing source of information. Have you ever found yourself searching for something specific and then finding yourself completely engulfed in something other than what you typed in the google search box? Well, that's how we found an organization called 4 Paws for Ability. Sometime last year we started our line of dog collars to support awareness of autism, as you know we currently donate 15% of the proceeds to the Autism Society of America. For some time, I have wanted Feline Fido to form a relationship with an organization (supporting autism) that would be a little more intimate. By "intimate, I basically mean, that I'd like to have a contact at that organization, I'd like to have more insight as to their specific goals and for us to feel like we are helping support a team effort. So, as stated before, I did my google search...after clicking on a link, that took me to another link, which took me to another..(you get the idea) I found my way to 4 Paws for Ability. I am so glad.

Their mission is to:
"Our mission at 4 Paws for Ability is to enrich the lives of people with disabilities by training and placing service animals to provide them with companionship and promote independent living. We specialize in placements with people who are turned away by many other agencies."

There are other organizations that place service dogs, but here are a few things about 4 Paws for Ability that we really find unique:
--ONE (of many) of the areas that 4 Paws for Ability specializes in, is placing service dogs in homes of autistic children
--They don't focus on any specific region, they offer placement of dogs nationally.
--They do not have any age restrictions.
--You are NOT required to give up your family pet in order to qualify for a service dog. (Many other organizations require the service dog to be in the ONLY pet and/or dog in the household)
--The also adopt and train many RESCUE dogs to become service dogs. (Yippee, did someone say rescue dog?)

Karen Shirk, founder of 4 Paws for Ability, has to be one of the most inspiring people I've personally come across. She started this organization after her own challenge in finding a service dog. She was turned down by every agency she contacted. Still seeking the companionship of a dog, she brought Ben into her life. A very special dog that Karen says, saved her life on more than one occasion. After training Ben herself and realizing the loyalty he had for Karen, she began to train service dogs that were provided to those who may not otherwise qualify for one through other organizations. Watch the videos on Ben's page - it will definitely be the best 15 minutes you've spent this week. I can guarantee you that.

I think you get the idea...this organization is truly spectacular. And, since they work on placing service DOGS - to those with AUTISM - and we craft DOG collars to promote awareness for AUTISM...you can bank on some upcoming announcements about the restructuring of our autism awareness collar proceeds donations...

Skull & Crossbones Dog Collars & Cat Collars

We all know the skull & crossbones is a hot thing in fashion right now and we've started adding to our our collection of skull & crossbones dog & cat collars. Skulls don't have to be just for boys, we have pink skulls, too - and for the girliest pooches, check our our girlie skull dog collar. This one is adorned with hearts and the skull is wearing pink bows! Feline Fido carries a large line of computer engraved pet id tags, including the skull & crossbones tags! Be sure to stop by if you looking for some punked out gear for feline or fido!

The 'cool factor' of barcode recycling...

By recommendation of a close friend who raved about how I must, must have a Nahui Ollin bag, I ordered a "Moonlight Barcodes Candy Wrapper Clutch" from Save the World Designs. I must admit, I was skeptical at first...a bag made out of candy wrappers? I just don't know. And, what did you say the name of these bags were? Nah-wa-what? After a quick google search I learned that Nahau Ollin is pronounced (Now-we-oh-lean). Okay, I was intrigued....

I also learned that every one of these candy wrapper purses is made from factory rejected candy bar wrappers that have never been used and would have otherwise ended up in landfill poluting the earth even more. Each bag uses up to 4,000 candywrappers and some take up to FOUR DAYS to make. What a fab way of recycling!!

After sifting through several photos of the different candy wrapper bags, I settled on the idea of the nifty looking barcode wristlet. I am forever darting out the door with my coach wristlet dangling from my left arm, so it was a sensible choice. Did I mention, I have also had a tiny obsession with barcodes since childhood? Maybe it was due to my infatuation with playing "store".

So just a few hours after my friend shared this interesting tidbit with me about these fascinating candy wrapper purses, I took the plunge and ordered one from Savetheworlddesigns.com. Boy am I glad I did! I'm not sure if I should rave more about the bag by Nahui Ollin, or the personalized service from Karen at Save the World Designs. Both are amazing. Only two days after clicking the 'send my order button' I came home to find a package sitting on my doorstep.


Being a self-proclaimed purse-a-holic, with a closet full of designer bags from floor to ceiling, I was truly amazed at what was inside this package. The craftsmanship is superb...the design is genious and this thing puts my dinky coach wristlet to shame. As excited as I was, I couldn't wait to email the company and tell them how pleased I was. As a small business owner myself, I know first hand how much I appreciate every email compliment from my customers!

Well, to ice the cake, I got a quick, personable reply from Karen. What a nice gal! If any of you are as intrigued as I was about these hot new eco-friendly candy wrapper purses, definitely head over to Save the World Designs, they have a great selection, awesome service and their prices were lower than many of the other sites selling the same exact products!

Now excuse me while I go save the world, one candy wrapper purse at a time!

2008 rings in lots o' new Feline Fido pet products!

Wow, we have been super busy. We've crafted quite the selection of Valentine's Day and St. Patty's Day collars and leashes! Be on the look out for our irish dog collars in the next issue of Dog Fancy Magazine! We've also been having a 'whale of a time' whipping up some new preppy novelty style dog collars. We just added some preppy alligator, whales and martini dog collars to the store!

New Camera...

One of our favorite christmas presents this year was a Nikon D40 Digital SLR. WOAH! I've been eyeing this beauty for a long time. The D40X is out already, but the main difference is just a higher megapixel, and I'm not printing posters, so I think we'll be in good shape!

Keep an eye out for some updated product photos throught the website and some nature shots that we will sporadically post...These days...we aren't going anywhere without our camera!