We are two of the most loving, caring, gentle, fun dogs around but we’re angry and we’re not going to take it anymore!  First there were the Katrina dogs (Val is a member of that group), then there were/are the foreclosure dogs and NOW?  Now there are the oil spill dogs, given away by families as a result of the Gulf Oil Spill.  What are we angry about?  Plain and simple:  we, as dogs, family pets, etc.  do not feel we are disposable items once we are adopted into a family.  Do you give away your children?  We think not.

We will provide unconditional love, friendship, companionship and “warm-fuzzies” for the rest of our/you life if you just treat us with some respect!

We know mom has mentioned this before but DO NOT ADOPT US unless you can afford to keep us and love us.  As puppies, we grow up, and for some, become less “cute.”  Consider that.  Once we hit the adult stage it does not give you permission to abandon us.  We get sick and need maintenance against fleas, ticks and the like. Therefore, we incur VET bills.  Please be sure you can handle them.  We require food.  That means FOOD bills.  Please be sure you can feed us and provide us with water.  We require nuturing and love and exercise, like your children.  Without it, we can become angry and mad and mean.  We may even misbehave.  You also must teach us how to behave in your home.  Consider that before adopting us. Think of us as infants needing to be taught.  Seriously.   Also,  spay and neuter us and help control our population.  DO NOT IGNORE us once you’ve given us shelter. That is simply not enough.

There are way too many of our family members being given away, being abused and being abandoned.  Stop the insanity.  Thank you.

NOTE:  Our mission is “to do good where good is needed.”  We help our fellow pups by donating sales from our books:  BRANDY AND VAL, BRANDY AND VAL’S FAVORITE THINGS and BRANDY AND VAL’S SPECIAL STORY to animal rescues and sanctuaries.  Your support is greatly appreciated.  Mini-Brandy and Mini-Val toys are also available.  We help children by participating in various pet therapy programs.

We would love to hear from you.  If you have a great cause or blog idea, contact us at:  info@BrandyandVal.com

REAL DOGS WITH REAL TALES

Welcome to the Dog Days of Summer!  Brandy and Val are enjoying their ice cream to beat the heat and we hope you are having your own “fun in the sun.”  Our big news is that Brandy and Val, LLC just celebrated its’ first anniversary.  We are very proud of our accomplishments this year in “doing good where good is needed.”  To name a few, the following charities have benefited from the sales of our products: Best Friends Animal Sanctuary; Pets Alive Animal Sanctuary; Prader-Willi Association; Cabrini Connections Tutor-Mentor Connection and, of course, Fortunate Pooches and Lab Rescue, where Brandy and Val were adopted from!  So, a big thanks to all of you who have supported us throughout our first year and who helped make this possible.

Continuing to make news with our fabulously fun books and toys for tots, we appeared this past month in PET PRODUCT NEWS and NATURAL DOG.  If a child you know doesn’t have one of our books or toys yet, order one now as they make great diversions for the kids while on car rides, at the beach or anywhere toddlers become restless, in other words, EVERYWHERE!

We would LOVE for you to comment and suggest stories for our blog, “What We are Barking About” and don’t forget you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter, too. Also, look out for our article in the September edition of Women’s World magazine. I hear it will be on newsstands in mid-August.

In closing out the month, Brandy and Val also want to say thanks to the Center for Independence Camp for allowing us to read to and work with your special children.  We hope that through our pet therapy duties, we can enhance the lives of children in some positive way!  Please contact us at info@BrandyandVal.com if you would like Brandy and Val to visit a school, library or children’s program in the Chicago area.

Enjoy the rest of the summer.  As always, thanks for your support,

Ilene Fine, Author,

Brandy and Val, Brandy and Val’s Favorite Things, Brandy and Val’s Special Story

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

Happy 2010!   Brandy, Val and I are gearing up for our late winter/spring appearances.  Our first several months meeting, greeting, reading and announcing our new books and toys have been a fun adventure so far.    Kids come up with the funny and  interesting questions so I thought I share with you some one that keep coming up or are my favorites (along with the answers!)

1) Is yogurt a healthy treat for dogs? Consult with your vet for the authoritative answer on this.  We do not feed Brandy and Val yogurt on a regular basis but we DO let them lick out the bowls when we’re done with ours and they get to lick out what they can from an empty jar.  We even have a photo of Brandy doing this in my book Brandy and Val’s Favorite Things. Our vet says that’s fine and the live cultures are good for them.

2) What are the names of the friends that are pictured in the books?  In Brandy and Val, the bichon frise’s name is “Petreus.” In Brandy and Val’s Favorite Things, the collie’s name is “Molly” and “Maverick” is the big Bernese Mountain Dog!

3) Who are the cats in the painting on the back cover of BRANDY AND VAL’S  SPECIAL STORY? Before we had Brandy and Val, we had two cats,  Ragmonster and Oscar.  Both were rescues, too!

4)  Zachary, the boy for whom I wrote the book,s asks if I tell everyone that I wrote the books for him. YES!  I do.

5) What kind of dogs are Brandy and Val?  Val is a Labrador Retriever. Brandy is a mix between a Viszla, (a Hungarian hunting dog that look like a red-haired Weimeraner)  and a Lab.

6)  Probably my favorite question came from a little girl who noticed that all the paw prints in the books are black but Brandy and her mini-toy have pink pads.  She then wondered why I only show Val’s footprints in the books.   Truth be told, it never crossed my mind to put pink AND black paw prints in the  books.  Next time!

So many on hand to help

Look at all those kids helping to make doggie treats JUST FOR US!  Ok, well, they were supposed to take them home to their pups but, can you believe it (?!) in a group of about 20, only 2 had dogs.   We thought everyone had a dog or maybe even a cat or bird.  No matter, we were the beneficiaries and were very happy about that.  The Whole Foods Market in Evanston held the event for us and they liked it so much, we’re going back on December 2.   We waited in the car while the kids came in and prepared the biscuits, then mom read BRANDY AND VAL and BRANDY AND VAL’S FAVORITE THINGS while they were baking.  When the treats were ready, we donned our working tags and stopped by to reap the rewards.  How fun.

Before we continue on with the “nitty gritty” of the blog since, like people, our personalities generally result from the cumulative products of our pasts, I’d like to share with you some background on Brandy and Val.  The dogs are very lucky, indeed, and given what I know of their histories, it appears they both overcame incredible obstacles with little psychological ramifications.  Each day, I am thankful for them and am so overwhelmed by how little emotional scarring they seem to display.  Talk about picking yourself up by the bootstraps and moving on!

Brandy was originally discovered in a kill shelter in southern Illinois.  Why Ileana, from Fortunate Pooches and Lab Rescue (FPALR), decided she was a “keeper” I’ll really never know unless she saw the same qualities in Brandy that my husband and I did–boundless energy, a great disposition, interesting looks and smarts.  She was quickly adopted by a family but ultimately, became the casualty of divorce  so back she went to FPALR.  Next up was a couple who caged her with another dog for 10 hours a day while the pair was away at work. Needless to say, with her energy, the cage wasn’t the place for her, let alone one with another dog.  Back again to FPALR, being told she didn’t get along with the other dog and had social issues.  DUH.    At 11 months, Brandy finally found us and we her!

As I write in BRANDY AND VAL’S FAVORITE THINGS, Val’s story is even more amazing……