Tootsie's Eye Surgery A Success!

I'm happy to report that Teeny's little sister Tootsie had her cataract surgery last Wednesday, and so far all is well!

She's still wearing the CONE OF SHAME while home alone and will be taking pills and having eye drops put in [two different drops, four times a day!] for the foreseeable future. But her quality of life has already drastically improved. Cataract removal surgery in dogs is 95% effective, and Tootsie is able to see clearly for the first time in two years. Even just looking at her you can tell a difference!

At her doctor's suggestion, we're trying to keep her as still-ish and calm-ish as possible. This is proving to be more difficult than you would think - you'd never guess she recently had surgery. Between zooming around the yard, playing up her "condition" for treats or attention, and annoying her big brother she has been pretty active. Her one week check-up is on Friday, so paws crossed that all is as well as it seems!

On a related note, I have been spending a lot of time thinking about our February toy drive. It will benefit Miniature Schnauzer Rescue of Houston in honor of Tootsie's 5th gotcha day. The drive will be an online one, but I am still working out all the finer details. I'll let you guys know as soon as I get it all worked out!

Chicken and Rice Cake Dog Treats

Yesterday afternoon I made my dogs Season's Eatings and Peas on Earth Cakes from last months edition of Everyday with Rachael Ray. Teeny's little sister Tootsie is having her cataract surgery tomorrow, so I wanted to spoil her a little bit beforehand. The cakes were a big hit, especially with Teeny - as you can see in the picture below, he just held it in his mouth for a few minutes before he dug in. I think he was savoring the flavor! Want to make them for your own furry friend? The recipe is below.

Season's Eatings and Peas on Earth Cakes

1/2 cup cooked brown rice

1/4 cup frozen peas [thawed]

1/4 cup rotisserie chicken [skin & bones discarded and meat shredded]

1 egg

2 tbsps plain breadcrumbs

2 tbsps chopped fresh parsley

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1. In a medium bowl stir together rice, peas, chicken, egg, breadcrumbs and parsley. Form into 4 patties.

2. In a medium skillet heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken patties and cook, turning once, until golden brown - around 6 to 7 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool.

3. Prepare to feel like the best dog owner in the world as you watch your pooch dig in!

Raising Toys For Australia

Our sweet dog friend Phabulous Phoebe is having an emergency drive benefitting two different rescue organizations in Queensland, Australia. Click here to visit her website and see the "wish list" of needs they have put together. She is also accepting donations via PayPal.

We got to know Phoebe's human Tammy through her dog Coco, who is one of our friends on Twitter! I really want to help support this worthy cause, so all toy donations generated from the sale of our one-for-one toy will be sent to Phoebe and included in with the goodies sent to Australia

Happy Birthday Aunt Karly! Love, Teeny & Tootsie

Teeny and Tootsie wanted to wish their Auntie Karly a furry happy 19th birthday!!! We love you Karly!

More Pepsi Refresh Project Information

My animal organization, Teeny's Friends, is in the running to win a $5k grant in the Pepsi Refresh Project. In case you are not familiar with the project, Pepsi gives away $1,300,000 each month to fund "great ideas" that will help make the world a better place. There are 4 categories: $5000, $25,000, $50,000 and $250,000. The public votes on their favorite ideas and the top 10 ideas in each category win the grant money.

It occured to me that I should not ask you to vote for Teeny's Friends in the Pepsi Refresh contest without telling you WHY you should vote for us:

Reason #1 you should vote for us - Lots of studies have shown that socialized dogs are many times more likely to be adopted from shelters. Many people do not realize what valuable aids toys are in this socialization process. Shelters, often under-staffed and running on tight budgets, do the best they can but many animals are not given the one-on-one attention they need. Having access to toys can make a big difference, and we do our best to provide these toys to as many local organizations as possible [through our monthly toy drives and the sale of our official "one-for-one" toy].

Reason #2 you should vote for us - Many times we raise toys for organizations other than shelters, such as animal sanctuaries. These sanctuaries often house animals with disabilities, disfigurements, or facing end of life issues. These guys certainly deserve a little fun, don't you think?

Reason #3 you should vote for us - The majority of toys we are able to donate are raised via monthly toy drives at local Austin organizations. We estimate we raised around 400 toys in 2010 alone. The organization is self-funded and run on a volunteer basis part-time. If we won the Pepsi grant money, it would enable us to broaden our reach and provide even more needy dogs with toys.

Reason #4 you should vote for us - This face!

Voting in the contest ends on January 31st. You can vote on their website [click here] once a day. You can also vote by text messaging 104976 to Pepsi (73774). Teeny and I truly appreciate your support! We're up against some "big dogs" who have more resources than us, so every vote counts!

If you have any questions or would like more information, please don't hesitate to contact us by email at teenys_friends@yahoo.com!



IAMS Home 4 The Holidays Final Numbers

*appaws* *appaws* *appaws*

I received a lovely email this morning from my friend Chad with IAMS, letting us know the Home 4 the Holidays final results ~ and oh my dog they were impressive. Forever homes were found for:

• 593,146 dogs
• 509,470 cats
• 23,051 other animals [such as rabbits, reptiles, horses, birds, etc.]

Can you believe that! Such fantastic news. Congratulations to the hard-working animal-loving folks at IAMS, and congrats to the adopted animals who are now in loving forever homes.

IAMS will also be donating 5,000,000 meals to all of the Iams Home 4 the Holidays participating animal organizations! This was all made possible through retail purchases and online engagement from animal lovers like you!

It's a "Ruff" Life

Rough (ruff) adjective : lacking refinements, comforts, and conveniences.

Teeny's Friends Tribune January 2011

[Click on the newsletter for a larger version]

Pepsi Refresh Grant

What a way to kick off the new year!

Teeny's Friends is in the running to win a $5,000 Pepsi Refresh grant. That kind of money would buy a lot of toys for needy dogs!

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

You can vote once a day. There are also ways to vote on Facebook and by text message. I will be posting daily reminders on our Facebook page and on Teeny's Twitter account.

Please go vote and help support Teeny's Friends!