Brandy and Val

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

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.”

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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It’s no secret that the number of stray animals and abandoned pets is on the rise and, sadly, is now reaching epidemic proportions.  First, there were all the abandoned pets resulting from Hurricane Katrina and now there are the “Foreclosure Dogs.”  We at Brandy and Val are very pleased to have recently formed alliances with Help Save a Stray and Happy Tails Books, two groups that address these issues in philanthropic ways:

HELP SAVE A STRAY Rather than my editorialize, I’ll just quote from Jennifer, the

organization’s founder and then you can check out the site on your own!

“The mission of helpsaveastray.com is to increase the amount of donations and adoptions made through animal shelters and rescue foundations and decrease the amount of stray animals in the United States, by promoting animal shelters and rescue foundations as well as educating pet owners on proper pet care, so that every animal will have a safe place to call home……No animal deserves to be without a loving, caring, forever home.  Help me through this journey of education and promotion.  I’m convinced that if we all work together we can and will make a change!”

Welcome to the first posting of Brandy and Val’s blog where we’ll keep you up-to-date on the pups’ news and events!  We’re excited to announce that Brandy and Val books and toys will be making their debut in the D.C. area at the Washington, D.C., JCC blood drive and emergency preparedness day.  The blood drive runs from 4:30 – 8:30 p.m.   A portion of our sales from the event will help support the JCC. Emergency preparedness is near and dear to our hearts since Val is a Hurricane Katrina dog and he most likely lost his family when they had to evacuate New Orleans and was forced to leave him behind.  Why was he abandoned, you might ask?  Because there was no evacuation plan that provided for pets! Since then, the Government has thankfully enacted the Pet Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act (PETS).   www.avma.org/disaster/petsact_faq.asp We hope Bo, the first dog, helps out with the enforcement of this important provision.