Paw Power

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I orchestrated a very successful fundraiser, including all graphics, for Tails of the City rescue:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.323269297690280.99226.100000216379968&&l=5a0b382d2b
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Operation Blankets of Love – always giving, always generous
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In January 2008 Best Friends rescued 22 dogs from Michael Vick's Bad Newz Kennels fighting ring. They were dubbed Vicktory dogs. I created this comp book cover and submitted in hopes there would be a book published telling their story. And what a story it was. 
http://www.championsdocumentary.com/the-dogs/
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Best Friends Super Adoption table signs and comp postcard
CampCocker.com
In December 2009 when I was networking an alert for Stanley, he was at a high-high-high kill shelter in Lancaster CA. A few days into it, a video comes around. I was riveted, I  cried, I played it over and over and over and.... it's what i believe in: the power of one, the power of a single person saying 'Yes, I want to help.' 

it's strong and moving with a message that's strong and moving because it's true: http://blip.tv/camp-cocker/just-one-dog-3033717 the story continues: http://blip.tv/camp-cocker/stanley-the-story-continues-of-just-one-dog-3982784 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pENdCcvr8uQ 
i never get tired of sharing this video because it's message is as moving today as the very first time i saw it.
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CHARLIE is the perfect example of the power of networking. He was in a little shelter dependent on rescue in Delano, CA; a small town near Bakersfield. He caught my eye in an email alert that wasn't even about him. After a few weeks of pushing and connecting him to a way out of his cage and into a home, here's what I wrote almost a year ago today, just as true now as the day i wrote this:
AUGUST 16, 2012
CHARLIE 
grade 3 heart murmur
8 -10 years old, 17 lbs
a small brown no-reason-to-be-noticed dog
what were his chances………

little Charlie, then nameless, peeking out from behind a corner while a kennelmate had his picture taken - that's why 4 small Delano dogs were saved this week. it started with one of those lists we all comb through and cry over.

the freedom photo you see was taken in LA-LA-land, Angelica's beautiful backyard. no more row of cages, no more dust, only green grass and space. his personality is as direct as his gaze - steady and disarming. i could feel soft tufts of fur near his ears, watch his drunken sailor happy-go-lucky trot - - there he was, amidst the lawn furniture as if he'd always been.

we have power. we make a difference. if you look at how much there is to do, you won't start. if you wade too deep in the sea of endless alerts, sorrow's undertow will pull you below. instead, look at what we can do. look at how much we've done. count the lives you've saved one way or another. if they could, with messy, muddy, clumsy paws they would fumble to hold your head up. 

so swim. stroke, stroke, breathe, stroke, stroke, breathe. keep dog paddling. Charlie's heart is still beating, thanks to compassion and stubborn women. the Olympics are over. but long distance swimmers swim. the distance.
The OCCUPuppy Project was a by product of OCCUPY LA. They shared the same spirit, raising consciousness about the little guy. With OCCUPuppy the even littler guy, the animals of the homeless, got attention. It began with Analee Brodie, a Los Angeles attorney, wife and mother of three. On her way to work she noticed a kitten with an infected eye, and likely a tummy full of worms, playing in garbage. “If there was one kitten that needed help there, I knew there had to be more” and so her animal activist days began. At the encampment she found a slew of animals needing care. Animal activists supported Annalee to hunt down food, leashes, flea meds, money for basic vet care, spay/neuter and transport to get them there. A random email was all it took to recruit me and all I could do to help shine a spotlight on this effort. To this day I am in touch with Analee, she's on two of my lists, networking and inspirational individuals. 
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mystorytails