Introducing Face of the Month - July 2010

Happy Fourth of July everyone!

Since today is about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, I wanted to introduce my new segment on VBJD: Face of the Month. As my loyal readers know, Greg and I are huge fans of PAWS Chicago. Obviously they took wonderful care of our three girls before we adopted them, and they continue to run an impressive cage free shelter that adopted out over 3400 cats and dogs last year. I think they are extra special, though, because they are also taking a systemic approach to fighting the pet overpopulation problem, doing such things as having a spay/neuter clinic, creating programs to help families keep their pets instead of relinquishing them (including a pet food bank), sponsoring pet legislation, and working with Chicago's Animal Care and Control to save homeless pets.

In that spirit, VBJD wanted to do something special to support PAWS and their wonderful efforts, and so I'm starting the Face of the Month. (I use this term because I've noticed that when people go to shelters, they fall in love with the faces first.) Each month, I will feature a pet from PAWS that would be a wonderful addition to a home. If you adopt the cat or dog, shoot me an email. I will follow up with you after your two week foster period, and if you decided to keep the pet, I will mail you two dozen cookies! For real!

In honor of Thursday's post, I thought it was only appropriate to feature a dog that is close to the heart of our family: Red.
Red came from a loving home, where he was very well cared for by his owner. Unfortunately, last summer, robbers broke into his home, so naturally Red tried to protect his owner. He was successful, but the robbers shot this poor pup in the back, leaving his hind legs paralyzed. Because his elderly owner lives in a fourth floor walk-up, he very tearfully had to relinquish Red.

Red is a sweet boy who loves to be around people, and he's playful at the same time. Please don't let Red's paralysis deter you from considering him for adoption. Greg and I did try to bring him to our home (and in our hearts, he will always feel like our fourth dog), but after he was attacked, Red needs to be in a home that is dog-free, something we couldn't offer him.

Besides, if you adopt Red, you'll be living with a celebrity! He recently won a contest hosted by Dog-a-Holics and is now the featured spokesperson for his own line of treats. He was featured in his own news story in Chicago. And most importantly, he has shown that he is a brave boy and deserving of a family who can return that love and more. I hope it's one of my readers!

If you have any questions, you can contact me at vegbakerjd@gmail.com or PAWS directly at adoptions@pawschicago.org. And remember to keep me posted - if you become the lucky doggy parent of Red, I will happily spoil you with treats!