Brandy and Val

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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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.