Brandy and Val

As we reflect on the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and what has and hasn’t transpired during this time of rebuilding and healing, here’s my thought: BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD. Credit to Mahatma Ghandi.

Although in some respects it’s “never enough” to be reminded of all the work that needs to be done, there are plenty of stories at the local and national level about New Orleans and its’ environs, 5 years after the storm.  My thought, above, for the day sums it up for me and has helped to foster our mission at Brandy and Val, LLC to “do good where good is needed.”

Val’s story as a “Hurricane Katrina Dog” will be told on this evening’s NBC5 News Chicago 6 p.m. broadcast and I’ll post the link tomorrow so everyone can hear his tale.

It is through our pet therapy duties and sales of our books:  BRANDY AND VAL, BRANDY AND VAL’S FAVORITE THINGS and BRANDY AND VAL’S SPECIAL STORY and sales of our mini-Brandy and mini-Val toys that we hope to benefit the lives of children and animals.

We’re celebrating our FULL PAGE SPREAD in this month’s Women’s World Magazine.  Pick one up today and read all about us–who we are, what we do and why we do it!

After all, we’re all about “Doing good where good is needed.”  Our books – BRANDY AND VAL, BRANDY AND VAL’S FAVORITE THINGS and BRANDY AND VAL’S SPECIAL STORY — are entertaining and educational for pre-schoolers and they do good since every sale benefits animal rescues throughout the country.  Don’t forget we have Mini-Brandy and Mini-Val toys, too.  There’s still time to order and have them to take with you on that final summer hurrah we call Labor Day Weekend!

We’re enjoying our summer break but are gearing up for the busy fall, lining up our appearances and pet therapy programs.  On Septeber 16, we plan to be at the “Character Counts” Social in Elk Grove Village, IL (225 East Elk Grove Blvd) starting at 4:30 p.m. talking about the responsibilities of pet ownership and reading our stories.  Starting September 23 on consecutive Thursdays through October 14, you can sign your child up to read to Brandy and Val at the Mt. Prospect Library, IL, PAWS TO READ PROGRAM 7:00 p.m. – 8:15 p.m.

With the 5th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina coming up the end of the month, we wish to thank everyone who helped in the reilef eforts and who continues to help rebuild the City.  Val was adopted from Katrina and he sends special doggie kisses to those out there who helped save his life.  The rest of his family is forever grateful, too!  100% of the sales from BRANDY AND VAL’S SPECIAL STORY are donated back to the rescue Brandy and Val were both adopted from.

Until next month, remember that without your continued support, we wouldn’t be able to continue helping others.  Please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and comment on our posts at “What We’re Barking About,” our blog.

Ilene Fine, Author,

BRANDY AND VAL REAL DOGS WITH REAL TALES

We never know when life will throw us a curve ball.  Is your dog sitter/walker available at the 11th hour?  If not, what will you do?  Of course, stuff like this happens more often that we’d like and hopefully, you’re prepared to handle this.  But what if another Hurricane Katrina happens or you can’t get back to your home to retrieve your pet in case of an emergency like a flash flood, or wildfire or…..? Who could foretell that the the homeowners in the area around the World Trade Center would not be able to retrieve their pets immediately following 9/11?  Since Katrina, 5 years ago this August, laws have been passed and towns and local municipalities have been working on provisions to ensure that in a natural disaster emergency, pets and their families will have places to go together, that retrieval efforts will be made available should a separation occur or that there are local places that pets can be dropped off where your animals will remain safe and secure until you can safely return.

However, the onus is on US, the pet parent, to HAVE A PLAN and know, in advance, what options are available.  The plans should range from simply designating a friend in a nearby town as a “go to” person or having pet photos and tracking chip numbers on your phone or laptop to more elaborate plans like ensuring that pet carriers are at the ready along with some food and any medications that might be needed.  Know which shelters in your area will take pets if need be. I just discovered PetFriendly Travel.com which has links to great emergency preparedness sites along with listings  and numbers of pet friendly shelters, by state.   Ready.org offers a downloadable guide for pet owners to help us all plan for the unexpected. Another downloadable brochure is offered by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)  and is quite extensive covering animals of all types–horses, livestock in addition to our run-of-the-mill pooches and kitties and birds.  They really mean it when they titled it, “Saving the Whole Family.”

Of course, I always think I would NEVER leave my pets behind and I don’t ever, ever think I would or even could, but sometimes, one has to think of the unthinkable.  Don’t wait until it’s too late.  Don’t let what happened to Val right after Hurricane Katrina happen to your beloved furry friend.

Val, upon adoption by us

A happy & healthy Val, 2010

Brandy and Val are two rescue dogs who are now very fortunate pooches.  Our mission at Brandy and Val, LLC is “to do good where good is needed” and it is through the sales of our children’s books, Brandy and Val, Real Dogs with Real Tales, and toys that we aim to improve the lives of sheltered, abused and abandoned animals.  It is through our pet therapy that we hope to benefit the lives of children and their families.

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.

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.

In the February 1 edition of New York Magazine, the cover story, The Rise of Dog Identity Politics, elicited over 100 responses on their blog.  I’m not convinced this article wasn’t yet another rehashing of so many we’ve read before about how we treat our dogs as pampered pets in today’s society but its’ scope was all encompassing in terms of the myriad levels of discussions it could provoke.  Two basic categories stand out:  the obvious, or superficial ways we humanize and treat our pets and the scientific, evidential studies that substantiate the underlying reasons for our behavior.

I don’t plan to detail the answers to all the underlying questions posed by the article but, they are definitely provide “food for thought” and will make for great dinner party discussions and ice breakers with fellow dog lovers at the next cocktail party. So, in no particular order, contemplate:

• What constitutes too much pampering for your pet? (Uh, like pet pedicures maybe and cologne for pets might be a bit over the top? I’m all for nail trimming, however)
• Should we really be dressing up our dogs?  What does it really say about us and our priorities when we are willing to spend as much on our dogs’ sweaters as that of our own?  (Yes, I do believe that some breeds need coverage while going for walks in cold-weather climes, but seriously, a Burberry coat?)
• Do you really think your dog knows the difference between a generic dog biscuit from the grocery and a carob-frosted donut from the corner barkery? (No, I really doubt he or she does but, to put it bluntly,  any food product that reduces the amount of poop and gas my dogs emit rate an A+ in my book)
• Is it misguided or wrong that in her will, Leona Helmsley earmarked billions of dollars to provide for the care of dogs and that was her only specific charitable request?  Regardless of where you stand on that matter, shouldn’t her wishes be carried out?  Why is it that so few funds so far have been distributed to animal causes?
• If you are a vegetarian or vegan, should your dog follow-suit? (aren’t dogs carnivores?  has anyone done a long-term study on the long-term health effects of a vegetarian diet on these animals?)
• Should all shelters be no-kill?  How should the animal population be controlled so there are fewer strays?
• How do we educate people that pet guardianship is a serious responsibility — adoption is for life!  We don’t give away kids that are problems do we? (ok, there are exception to every rule)
• Should all states enact spay/neuter laws for all pets being adopted?  How should that be monitored (won’t everyone who doesn’t want to comply say they are keeping their pet for stud purposes)
• Were too many resources used to help rescue the pets of Hurricane Katrina at the expense of helping human residents (since so few resources in this case were Federal, who is to judge?  However, the government does have pet rescue provisions in place for future natural disasters)

I’ll assume that the author of the article, John Homans, had fact-checkers, even though many of the scientific “facts” mentioned in his article were not specifically referenced.   In any case, we know beyond the scope of this article that having pets has a positive impact on our health and well-being both psychologically as a stress-reducer and physically in the recovery from certain heart ailments and that pet therapy programs have proven to be beneficial to the recipients.   Programs abound that study the relationship between animals and humans in addition to the Center for the Interaction of Animals and Society,  Companion Animal Behavior Program at UC Davis and Animal Studies program at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Given how much time, we, as humans, spend being mean and cruel to each other in this “dog eat dog” world, doesn’t it logically follow that the sky is the limit for the only creatures in our lives that love us unconditionally; the only creatures who are always there for us at the end of the day and first thing in the morning with a wagging tail and “smiling” face; and who can, in extreme circumstance, can save the day for us both figuratively and literally?

Animal relief efforts are underway in the aftermath of  the earthquake that devastated Haiti on January 12. Food, water and first aid are desperately needed to help the animals that survived and vaccinations are needed to help curb the onset of disease.  Haiti will not be able to rebuild and renew if its’ animals, including their livestock, die off!  BRANDY AND VAL will donate $5 to Best Friend’s Haiti Animal Rescue, a member of the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH) from EVERY Brandy and Val book and toy purchase now through 2/28/10.    We are especially fond and thankful to Best Friends since they were so instrumental in coordinating relief, pet relocation and reunification efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (Val is a Hurricane Katrina survivor!).

There is always something to be thankful for in our lives, even on the bad days.  Every day, I take a moment to reflect on how thankful I am for so many things, taking “the glass is half full” versus “the glass is half empty” approach.  For most of us, Thursday will bring an over-abundance of food to our tables as we share it with friends and/or family. However, heartache abounds–Afghanistan, Iraq, the flailing economy, I could go on an on. Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf coast in 2005 and every day I am reminded that New Orleans has still not recovered as a city and wonder how many families are still in a state of flux.  Val is a Hurricane Katrina dog and there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t look into his eyes and wonder what his story is or under what circumstances his family decided to leave him behind. He was obviously destined to be with us (and we’re all very lucky) but what happened to all the other pets that were abandoned?

Following is a reprint of an article I wrote that is currently available on eZines:

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New York Times/Nov 1, 2009

Provocative article in the “Week in Review” section of  November 1 NEW YORK TIMES:  Good Dog, Smart Dog Many of us are already aware of the human-like and super-sensory capabilities our canine friends possess.  They are so prominently on display in the roles of service dogs–in search and rescue capacities (think 9/11, Hurricane Katrina), pet therapy (soothing anxious patients in hospitals or making contact with autistic people), seizure and psychiatric service dogs and seeing eye dogs to name a few.  However, the verdict is still out as to whether dogs can actually think like humans or whether it is a combination of training and dogs’ keen awareness of the people around them that explains this perception.

Research on these topics is discussed citing studies by scientists in Hungary, Germany, that of  Clive D. L. Wynne at the University of Florida, and reknowned psychology professor Stanley Coren, the author of several books on dogs, including The Intelligence of Dogs and Why We Love the Dogs We Do.  The U.S. Army is even now planning to study how psychiatric service dogs might help soldiers cope with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

How often does one hear the phrase, or some variation of, uttered in dismay or disgust, “my dog has more brains than he/she does.”  Well, maybe one day the evidence will confirm that.  In the meantime, we can simply refer to Dr. Coren’s rankings of the 100 most intelligent breeds where Border Collies, Poodles, Retrievers, Labradors and Shepherds round out his Top 5.

Val, what a sorry state we found him in!  We weren’t necessarily looking for another dog, but my husband and I were at a vet’s office looking at one who, we were told, was Brandy’s biological brother.  Without going into the details, we all recognized, including Brandy, that this would not be a match made in Heaven.  There was another dog at the clinic that I noticed because he was so emaciated and his eyes were so full of loneliness and sadness.  I was told FPALR was trying to find a home for him but we went home, not giving it another thought…..or so I thought.  My eye contact with Val haunted me,  I ultimately relented and told my husband that if he wanted a 2nd dog, the sickly yellow lab we saw from the other day would be it.

We didn’t know anything about Val’s history at the time but when Val walked through the door, further explanation was warranted ASAP!  His belly was full of surgical staples, he smelled, his leg had a big protruding bulge of bone on it and he was covered in some form of skin rash.  I was not  thinking of giving him back since I felt even sorrier for him now but I definitely was thinking “what did we get ourselves into with this one?” AND “ka-ching, ka-ching on vet bills!”

Ileana brought over Val’s papers.  A Katrina Dog.

We heard of all the abandoned pets and saw the pictures of the lost souls wandering New Orleans, standing on roof tops, etc. and felt awful.   It turned out that FPALR brought up 30 dogs to place (they did) and Val was part of the group.  We know nothing of his background but can only assume that he had a family since he clearly was trained, obedient, walked easily on a leash and adores being around little children.  As for his name?  Don’t really know but he was called “Valenti” and the school of thought is that the ASPCA veterinarians in New Orleans oversaw the care of  groups of animals and they were identified by the name charge or some variation of that theme.   By the time we adopted him, he reasonably enough responded to his new name and we didn’t have the heart to change it again.  He was 40 pounds upon arrival to our home; he truly must have been at death’s door when he was picked up in New Orleans.  I wonder every day why he was chosen to survive and what his story was.  How I wish he could talk.

Needless to say, we nursed him back to health.  He weighs in at 72 pounds and shows very little signs of his traumatic past.   He remains petrified of heavy rains and storms and can detect thunder and lightening at a distance.  He shakes so much and it is so pitiful.  Many dogs, however, fear storms so I’ll never really know to what extent Katrina played in this.  Surprisingly, Val loves to swim.  We thought, for sure, he would stay away from water.

Fortunate pooch, indeed!  One look into Val’s eyes and I know each and every moment how grateful he is for his new family.