Hi everyone!  This weekend was a spectacular weather weekend for us but, we are getting older and the heat affects us more.  Please remember how important it is to keep us pups cool in the summer months.  Even though we pant and that is our coping mechanism, pooches can get heat stroke, sunburned and skin cancer.  So, please keep the following in mind:

1)  ALWAYS make sure  fresh water is available for us to drink.  Cool/cold is preferable.

2)  Provide a shady area for us.  If you want us to enjoy the great outdoors with you, make sure there is a shady spot for us to hang out in.

3)  Some us us LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to swim and lie in the water.  If there is a swimming hole nearby, let us in to enjoy.  However, if it’s a chlorinated area, please dry us off as the chlorine is bad for our coats and skin.  Think about buying us a kiddie pool to sit in if there’s no place for us to refresh.  That will work and make us happy, too.

4) Sounds obvious but  DON’T leave us in cars for prolonged periods of times and if you can, put the car in the shade.  DEFINITELY leave windows open for air to circulate.  If you think it’s too hot, don’t take us…..even if we look at you with those begging eyes!

5)  We really like our COOLING BANDANAS.  There are several brands out there but when it’s hot and we go for walks, mom or dad puts one around our necks.  They really help.

6)  Keep the A/C on and think about keeping us indoors.  If we want to go in, let us.  Keep the air on to keep us comfy.  We’ll love you even more for it (if that’s possible)

7)  Sounds corny, but, we could use some sunscreen, too!  Our noses can burn and if your pup has exposed ears, they can get sunburned.  Yes, we also can get skin cancers.  In fact, we think Val’s nose was badly burned while wandering the streets after Hurricane Katrina, so take care.

 This doesn’t apply to us, but perhaps consider shaving/trimming some hair off those pooches with long locks.  They’ll look kind of funny but they’ll stay a bit cooler.  Don’t completely shave them as their skin will be exposed and subject to burning.

WHAT TIPS CAN YOU SHARE WITH US FOR KEEPING PUPS COOL WHEN IT’S HOT?

We at Brandy and Val, LLC want to “do good where good is needed.”  Our mission is to  help animals and people and support causes we believe in through our pet therapy work and sales of our books, Brandy and Val Real Dogs with Real Tales and toys.

BRANDY AND VAL

May Update

May has been a busy month for Brandy, Val and Ilene!

Word around town is that you’re begging to hear more about Brandy and Val, Real Dogs with Real Tales! We were just interviewed by NBC5 and we’re pretty thrilled that within the first year of our launch, we have been featured on both ABC and NBC in Chicago.  The Hudson Valley Press in NY also recently featured us.

Visit our newly re-designed home page, follow us on Twitter and introduce your toddler (or a friend’s) to the world of Brandy and Val, two rescue dogs who have stories to tell. Real pictures of the pups are engaging and brightly colored pages with durable tabs that little fingers can grab hold of are just 3 of the many reasons our books are starting to stand out from the crowd.  The little mini-Brandy and mini-Val toys add to the fun.  With our mission of “doing good where good is needed” know that every sale benefits animals waiting for adoption or needing care at shelters throughout the U.S.

Upcoming appearances include:

Read to Rover, read to the dog program at the Barrington, IL, Library.  Every Wednesday in June, 7 -8 p.m.  Contact the library and sign up your child to read to Brandy or Val!

Glen Ellyn Bookfest 2010, downtown Glen Ellyn, IL.  June 19, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Summer Time Story Time at the Conductive Ed Summer Camp, Lake Zurich, IL.  June 25, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.  Call 708-588-0833 for details.

You may also follow us on Facebook and we’d love you to comment on our blog posts at What We’re Barking About!

As always, thank you for your continued support.  Without you, we can’t help others.

Ilene Fine, Author

Brandy and Val, Real Dogs with Real Tales

Brandy and Val’s Favorite Things

Brandy and Val’s Special Story

Do you know what to do if a scary dog approaches?  We teach this during our pet therapy sessions.  Of course, with vicious attack dogs like Brandy and Val, the kids tend to be skeptical, but, nevertheless the procedure goes like this:

STOP what you’re doing

GO SILENT

STAND LIKE A TREE

S.O.S. if that helps you to remember.   Theoretically, the intimidating pup will find you boring, lose interest in you quickly and move on to more interesting prospects.  Don’t worry, chances are you won’t be mistaken for a fire hydrant, but I guess that would be a small price to pay in exchange for a trip to the E.R.!

Our mission is “to do good where good is needed.” We aim to help animals and people and spread knowledge about causes we believe in through our work and sales of our books, Brandy and Val, Real Dogs with Real Tales.

WHAT IDEAS OR TIPS DO YOU HAVE?  SHARE WITH US…..

This past Saturday, Brandy, Val and I were interviewed by NBC5 Chicago.   We were thrilled and excited when we had our first interview on ABC7 back in November, when our book series, BRANDY AND VAL, REAL DOGS WITH REAL TALES and our toys were recognized for having special needs appeal but now, to have another major station focus on us was AMAZING! Watch and learn even more about Brandy, Val and their stories.

NBC Intro: “Ilene Fine and her two rescue dogs from Hurricane Katrina have inspired a series of books and stuffed animals to help others. Ilene is the author of the Brandy and Val: Real Dogs with Real Tales.”

YES!  We’re so excited that our Country’s Post Office has released a commemorative stamp advocating the adoption of shelter pets.  10 different stamps are available, each with a photograph of a former shelter animal, all of whom now have been adopted.  Products ranging from Pet Adoption Certificates to Pet Adoption notecards are available through the Post Office website and at your local post office.   Mugs, coasters and artwork are even available.

According to Postmaster General, John E. Potter,  “These stamps continue a Postal Service tradition of bringing attention to serious social issues of the day … one letter at a time…This campaign will increase public awareness about sheltered pets and our hope is that it will encourage pet adoption and promote humane and responsible pet care.”  Ellen DeGeneres, a long-time advocate of pet adoption and  avid promoter of pet adoption awareness has teamed up with the Postal Service and, in conjunction with her company Halo, has pledged to provide one million meals to sheltered animals.   Halo is a holistic pet-care company that Ms. DeGeneres co-owns.

We’re so happy that a cause that is so near and dear to our hearts is taking front and center stage.  Our mission is “to do good where good is needed” and since we are both former shelter dogs, we help animal shelters and sanctuaries with the sale of every one of our kids’ books and toys.

The Gulf Coast needs our help, again!  Still recovering and rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina which hit the area 5 years ago this August, Louisiana is now combatting the effects of the massive recent oil spill.   In danger  are its’ water, coastline, wetlands, wildlife and general economy (think fisherman).

A dead Portuguese man-of-war floats on rust-colored oil off the Louisiana coast on Tuesday.

An interesting article caught my eye this morning regarding how human and animal hair (fur) and nylon pantyhose is being used to help in the clean up efforts.  Apparently, hair’s texture makes for good “sopping” material and works well on capturing crude deposits, having been tested back in 2007 when a tanker hit the Oakland Bay Bridge and spilled oil into the  San Francisco Bay.

The San Francisco based environmental charity, Matter of Trust, is organizing a campaign for the collection and distribution of  all types of hair and nylon stockings so, collect those dust-bunnies!  keep your haircut trimmings (I actually got mine cut today, coincidentally enough)! and contact them to find how you can help curtail the gushing oil ravaging the Gulf Coast off New Orleans.

At Brandy and Val, LLC our mission is “to do good where good is needed” but we can’t do it alone!  Val is a Hurricane Katrina survivor and he, along with his family, doesn’t want more destruction to befall the great Gulf coastline.

I’m all for the First Amendment and the freedom of speech but the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn a a federal law that made it a crime to create or sell dogfight videos and other depictions of animal cruelty seems really out-of-touch with the world at hand. While the law as it stood may have been weak, its’ underlying principle was sound and should have been upheld.   In order to maintain a lawful society, we need laws and, hello! HAVE laws that curtail abusive and abhorrent behavior without their subverting our basic freedoms.

In the sole dissent, Justice Alito wrote, “The activity underlying both kinds of depictions (referring to child pornography) are crimes.  The crimes are difficult to combat without drying up the marketplace for depictions of them and both kinds of depictions contribute at most minimally to public discourse.”    Indeed.

Have we already forgotten the lessons learned from Michael Vick’s dog-fighting scandel?

Violence propagates violence–abuse of children, women, animals and tendencies to inflict harm to one group have been shown to affect the others.  Dispersing information that overtly supports and endorses this type of behavior is and should continue to be crime.

Our mission at Brandy and Val, LLC is “to do good where good is needed.”   It is through the sales of our books and through our pet therapy duties and appearances that we hope to spread the word and support causes that have a positive impact on animal welfare and the lives of children.