One More Day for Collars for Dollars! Plus Chain Off

DDB E-News 7/1/2010

Collars for Dollars Ends July 2nd!

This year, Dogs Deserve Better is holding a celebrity auction in conjunction with Chain Off. Please support this auction and Chain Off. This is our biggest fundraising time of the year, and without your support, we cannot continue to lead the way for chained dogs. Celebrities are supporting our work...support us by bidding on your favorite celebrity and taking home a great prize that you will always treasure!"

Betty White, Dr. Phil, and Kim Basinger top the list of celebrities donating their dog's used collars for a "Celebrity Collars for Dollars" auction. Each celebrity donated an autographed photo and a signed dog collar with both their name and the name of their companion.

We also received collars from Terry Bradshaw, Kate Bosworth, Kelly Hu, and Richard Simmons. All have been framed in shadow boxes with a photo of the celebrity, any personal notes, and a Dogs Deserve Better "Celebrity Collars for Dollars" inscription label specifying the celebrity name, his/her companion's name (if known), and the date of the auction.

Ashton Kutcher, Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Jeff Bridges, Tony Hawk, and Troy Aikman were among the celebrities who donated autographed photos. The framed photos are also available through the online auction. 

Matthew Broderick donated an autographed photo and a signed copy of "The Producers" playbill. Also donating photos or other signed items to the auction were Bob Barker, Carol Burnett, Chris Cagle, Dan Akroyd, Debra Messing, Sean Hayes, Eric McCormack, Fabio, Faith Ford, Greg Biffle, Jack Hanna, Jenna Elfman, Jimmy Buffett, Stefanie Powers, and Ted Kerasote.  To see some of the auction items, visit our website.

This just in-- Trisha Yearwood and Randy Owens (from Alabama) signed photos available!

Betty White's photo is currently in the #1 spot with a bid of $250 followed by Jimmy Buffett's at $197.50. Randy Owens is number 3 at $150 but Bob Barker is very close in the forth place spot at $147.50.  There are several pictures still in the $30-$40 range so bid today!

Main Events for Chain Off 2010 This Weekend!

Are you going to be in Florida or New Mexico this July 4th weekend?  Dogs Deserve Better is having two main events this weekend at the Towne Centre in Alachua, FL and at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Please join us at either of these locations or at other locations across the country. This is the final weekend for Chain Off 2010.

See all the locations and participants! 

Unfortunately, this year's Chain Off has not raised as much money as in past years. Without your support, Dogs Deserve Better's programs may suffer as this is our biggest fundraiser of the year. However, there is still time. Click to sponsor any one of the participants. Or give directly to Dogs Deserve Better through our fundraising page at www.firstgiving.com/dogsdeservebetter

Are you following our friendly fundraising competition? If you remember, the last two years Rhonda Sims has kicked Tamira Thayne's butt in their friendly donation competition. Currently, Rhonda Sims is #1 with $3375; Tamira Thayne is #2 with $2860; and Marleen Oetzel is #3 with $2618. Donate to sponsor one of these worthy candiates or someone in your area!

Dog Days of Summer Continue

The Dog Days of Summer continue...and dogs across the country will languish, suffer, even die in the heat.

DDB has a unique challenge for the second summer in a row: Let's Rescue a Chained or Penned Dog a Day! That's 90 Chained or Penned Dogs in need of foster and vet care, not to mention new, inside, loving homes and families. Can we do it?

So far we have rescued 27 dogs that have lived their lives at the end of a chain!

Here is the story of another dog rescued this summer:

The crack in the fence is why the owners tethered, when I asked had he ever gotten out before being tethered, the answer was no, so it made no since as to why they decided to tether him. The other two are of us on our way home from the vet's office this afternoon.

Deana Whitfield, Region 1 Coordinator

See the stories of the other 26 dogs rescued so far...

Are You on Facebook? Vote for Dogs Deserve Better in the Chase Community Giving Challenge

Now through July 16th, vote for Dogs Deserve Better in the Chase Community Giving Challenge. If Dogs Deserve Better can stay in the top 200, we are guaranteed to win $20,000 and have a chance to win up to $250,000. You only need to vote once between now and July 16th!

Children's Book Main Character Contest- Only A Few Days Left for Your Dog to Become A Star!

Sponsor our newest children's book and get a chance to have YOUR DOG be the star of the show! Since sponsorhip has been low, your dog has great odds at winning! 

And you will help us get this book off the ground as it's so needed in our schools! Sponsor TODAY.

Dogs Deserve Better will be publishing our second children's book in October of 2010, entitled A New Name for Worthless, and this time we're looking for the STAR of the show!

Written and illustrated by Rocky Shepheard, it's a delightfully poignant tale of the love of a man for his dog, and the lengths both man and dog will go to for each other and freedom.

There are lots of fun characters to add camaraderie and humor to the plot and adventure that will keep you turning the pages. The ending will surely bring smiles to the faces of both you and your children.

Of course, as with everything else Dogs Deserve Better does, our book has an important message for children that dogs are part of the family, and they want to live inside with us.

So how do you get involved? Well, all of the characters are currently being developed graphically except one--the lead protagonist, a dog named Worthless (named for the real-life dog who started Dogs Deserve Better).

DDB will be giving one of our supporter's dogs the chance to be drawn as Worthless, the star of the tale, who receives a miraculous transformation and a new name!

How do you get YOUR dog in the running to be the star? Just sponsor the book, and indicate whether you want your dog to be eligible for the drawing or not. (You can sponsor without entering your dog in the contest too, of course.)

We will choose the winner of the contest from eligible book sponsors on July 12th, and announce it on our site.

For more information, go to the website...

The Shelter Challenge is Back! Help DDB win $10,000

Dogs Deserve Better wants to win $10,000 to support our mission and programs. Click everyday to vote until August 22nd. Remember to vote for DDB in Altoona, PA. Vote now.

Butte, MT Council Sends Mandatory Chaining Ordinance to Judiciary Committee

*******************

7 Pit Bulls Rescued From Near Death in Bainbridge CA

Upcoming Events

Dogs Deserve Better

PO Box 23

Tipton, PA 16684

814.941.7447

Email:info@dogsdeservebettter.org