Tootsie's Howloween Costume

Presented without comment.

Ok, one comment: she has been at home stewing about this all day and I have a feeling we might come home to a nasty surprise or two...

November Toy Drive Info

Our November toy drive will be hosted by the popular local coffee shop Austin Java. I love supporting local business, and I love Austin Java (especially their buttermilk pie... yum!) so this is a perfect set-up. They are a dog-friendly establishment, so feel free to stop by with your furry friend.

The drive will run from Saturday, November 6th until Saturday, November 20th. Austin Java (click here to follow them on Twitter) has decided they want the drive to benefit Blue Dog Rescue.

So to all you Austin-ites out there: please held to Austin Java for your coffee fix these next few weeks! And don't forget to bring a dog toy to drop in our bins.

Update 10/27/2010: I just got off the phone with Austin Java, and they want to have the toy drive at all THREE of their central locations! WOW! The toys raised at all the drives will benefit Blue Dog Rescue.

Austin Java's 3 central locations are located at:

• 301 West 2nd Street
• 1608 Barton Springs Road
• 1206 Parkway (12th and Lamar)

#TeenyIH4TH Iams Campaign Results!

Our Iams Home 4 the Holidays campaign & giveaway officially ended last night at 11:59pm CST.

Between Monday, Oct 18th and Sunday, Oct 24th our AMAZING Twitter followers used the #TeenyIH4TH hashtag 2,345 times. Iams will donate 10 bowls of food per use (to shelters participating in their Home 4 the Holidays program) so in total we raised...

(DRUM ROLL PLEASE!)

23,450 bowls of food for shelter dogs!

I am so proud of and grateful for all of you this morning. None of this would be possible with YOU GUYS! Together we have accomplished something pretty amazing.

The other part of the contest what that whoever used the hashtag the most would win some pawsome Iams gear. I'm happy to announce the winner is our furry friend @ShaynaCat with almost 400 uses! We'll be sending her a box full of goodies very soon!

Howloween #PawPawty Last Weekend

This past weekend was the October #PawPawty and the theme was, of course, Howloween. After a long debate, Teeny finally decided not to dress us as Teeny Gaga but as Teeny Winehouse instead. I think it was a good decision, don't you?

The pawty raised $1,240.00 Orphan Animal Rescue and Sanctuary. OARS is a no-kill, non-profit organization that provides a sanctuary for those who will never find other homes. They will always have a home at OARS.

Teeny took his monthly turn at the DJ booth, and the playlist was a hit! I have posted it below.

Thank you to all the anipals for another FUN and successful PawPawty and we're already looking forward to next month!!!

Howloween PawPawty Playlist

1. Ghostbusters Theme Song
2. She Blinded Me With Science ~ Thomas Dolby
3. Love Potion #9 ~ (cover)
4. The Devil Went Down to Georgia ~ Charlie Daniels Band
4. Men in Black ~ Will Smith
5. Don't Fear the Reaper ~ Blue Oyster Cult
6. This is Halloween ~ From the Movie "The Nightmare Before Christmas"
7. Bad Moon Rising ~ Credence Clearwater Revival
8. Thriller ~ Michael Jackson
9. Flying Purple People Eater
10. Tainted Love ~ Soft Cell
11. Forever ~ Chris Brown

IAMS Home 4 the Holidays Campaign & Giveaway

This week we are teaming up with folks at IAMS Home 4 the Holidays for our second giveaway of the month.

Between Monday, October 18th and Sunday, October 24th, each time you Tweet and use the hashtag #TeenyIH4TH, IAMS will donate 10 bowls of dog food (via their Bags 4 Bowls program) to a needy shelter participating in Home 4 the Holidays. This offer is also good for re-tweets.

As if that weren't exciting enough, one lucky reader will get some awesome IAMS gear. The Twitterer (Tweeter???) who uses the #TeenyIH4TH hashtag the most during the contest period will win an IAMS goodie bag. If you don't already follow us on Twitter, we are at www.twitter.com/teenysfriends (disclaimer: "Teeny" assumed control of our Twitter some time ago, and his spelling and grammar are not always the best! I hope none of our readers are English professors...) Please follow us so that we will be able to get in touch with you if you win!

Bags 4 Bowls has a goal of providing 5 million bowls of food before the end of their Home 4 the Holidays program on January 4, 2011. Help us help them reach their goal!!! Now get out there and Tweet... we're watchin you! :)

The above giveaway on TeenysFriends.com running through Sunday, Oct. 24, 2010 are solely for TeenysFriends.com and have no affiliation with IAMS and/or Proctor and Gamble. All prizes are purchased and presented to winners by the Administrator, Katy McDougall, and all contests are sole proprietary of the blog TeenysFriends.com.

Blog The Change For Shelter Animals

Today is "Blog the Change for Animals" day. This is a challenge for animal lovers to renew their committment to improve the lives of animals, a way for them to spread the word, and to support each other.

Did you know that 3-4 million animals are euthanized each year in US shelters?

Our mission has always been to help shelter animals and to promote the importance of animal rescue (Adopt! Don't Shop!). We also like to help the pets of low-income families - all dogs deserve toys!

Studies have shown that socialized dogs are far more likely to be adopted from a shelter. Many people are not aware of just how important toys are to the socialization process. Many times, shelters operate on a shoestring budget and toys are a luxury they cannot afford. So each month we have a toy drive at a local Austin business (restaurants, shelters, grooming salons, vet clinics, etc). At the end of each month, I get to drop off the basketfull of toys raised at the beneficiary organization. I love watching the reactions of the employees - they are truly grateful.

There are many ways you can help as well. If you are like me, you have tons of dog toys lying around the house - many of which your dog hardly ever plays with. Box 'em up and take them to your local shelter. Trust me, they will appreciate it. You can also help provide food for these needy dogs. Many pet companies, including Pedigree and IAMS, have Facebook pages. When you "like" them, they donate bowls of food.

"Giving of yourself isn't effortless. You have to make a conscious decision to be the change. You have a gift to give... do you know what it is?" -Be the Change for Pets

Winner of the "Caption That" Contest!

Recently, we held our first ever contest to give away a Caesar Bistro prize pack. We received two, courtesy of their #lovethemback campaign, and decided to give away one of them to one of our supporters. We asked people to write a caption for a cute animal photo, and our favorite would win the prize. Well, the results are in and the winner is...

(drum roll please)

Our Twitter friend @blindmaximus with his caption "All we're missing is a weiner dog!"

Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who entered! ALL your captions had us cracking up! :)

Howloween Rap Video From Teeny's Friends

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Halloween is just around the corner! It's always been my favorite holiday- any excuse to dress up! Since we entered October I have started to get excited. Decorating the house, planning our annual pumpkin carving party with friends, and planning costumes. Not mine (I've had mine ready since mid-September!) but costumes for my husband and dogs. In the spirit of Halloween, here's a little video put together for you by the Teeny's Friends gang- Katy (me), Todd, Teeny, and Tootsie. Oh, and Barack Obama. Enjoy!

IAMS Home For The Holidays

On October 1st, 2010 the Iams Home 4 the Holidays campaign officially kicked off!

Along with founding partner The Helen Woodward Animal Center, Home 4 the Holidays has a goal of finding forever homes for 1.5 million dogs by January 4, 2011.  The folks at IAMS emphasize the importance of adoption, which we at Teeny's Friends are big advocates of.  They also provide families who adopt through the program with an adoption kit, chock full of goodies like nutrition information, training, and proper care to ensure that the relationship with their new furry friends starts off on the right "paw."

IAMS also understands that not everyone is currently able to take in a new pet, so they will also be working to provide 5 million bowls of food through their Bags 4 Bowls program.  For every specially marked package of Iams dog or cat food purchased during the campaign, IAMS will donate one bowl of food to a participating animal organization.

Home 4 the Holidays is one of the world's largest pet adoption programs, with 3,500 partnering organizations working together to help more than 4.6 million animals find homes over the last 11 years.

“Pet homelessness is an epidemic in our country and many animal organizations look to programs like Iams Home 4 the Holidays to help drive families to our centers to see these amazing animals,” said Mike Arms, founder of the adoption drive and president of Helen Woodward Animal Center. “We’ve been a part of the adoption drive for 12 years now and have really seen the benefit of what this program can do for animals, our employees and the families who adopt.”

Below are some photos of the wonderful IAMS adoption angels as well as some furbabies looking for homes. To follow their stories, "Like" their Facebook page. In return, Iams will donate up to 100 meals per “Like” or comment to feed orphaned animals.

To learn more about how to make a difference in the life of an orphaned pet, including how to get involved, details about pets available for adoption, fun ways to donate meals and quick access to informative content and tips, visit www.facebook.com/iams.



October Toy Drives Up & Running!

This weekend we set up the October toy drive bins at both Changos locations. We also had breakfast at the Changos South Lamar and it was delicious! The toy drives benefit Austin Pets Alive! [South Austin location] and Emancipet [Guadalupe location].

Also, I wanted to point out that today is National Taco Day - what better way to celebrate than by stopping by Changos for tacos and dog toy donations?

"Caption That!" Caesar #LoveThemBack Giveaway

Teeny and Tootsie ate like a king and queen last night.

That's because I came home to a box of goodies sent to us from the great folks at Caesar. The dog food company, not the Vegas hotel! :) Courtesy of their #lovethemback campaign, we received TWO gift bags full of great stuff; we kept one and I decided to hold a contest on here & give the other away to one of our awesome supporters. Each gift bag contains a pouch of filet mignon flavor treats [my husband said they smelled so good he was tempted to try one!] three containers of Caesar's Bistro Flavors dog food [flavors: Grilled Chicken Primavera in Sauce, Steak Tips Sonoma, and Tuscan Style Stew w/ Beef], an adorable purple serving plate, and a t-shirt with a cute dog slogan on it. As you can see in the photos below, mine says "Go small or go home!" Thank you so much to Caesar for sending us this great stuff ~ as you can tell, we had a blast with it! Now, about that contest... the information is below the photos.

We've never really had a contest here at Teeny's Friends, so I'm pretty excited about this. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, will be to write a caption for the photo below. The best caption wins the goods. To recap, that includes: a pouch of filet mignon flavored treats, 3 flavors of Caesar dog food, a purple serving plate, and a t-shirt (size small) that says "Give Small A Chance." Leave your captions in the comments below. The contest ends Friday, October 8th so put on your thinking caps! Good luck!!!