Dogs Deserve Better Delivers Valentines to 5277 Dogs in it's 4th Annual Have a Heart for Chained Dogs Week, February 7-14, 2006

Dogs Deserve Better's Have a Heart for Chained Dogs Week far surpassed our hopes and blew our 2006 goal totals out of the water! We initially held a goal of 4000 Valentines, but when it became obvious that we had underestimated our abilities, we upped the goal to 4500, which was then surpassed by 777 Valentines!

We attribute much of our campaign success to the helping hand of HSUS, who added it to their e-news and home page, as well as the new Best Friends Network and help from many others who ran articles which helped us get the word out. Thank you!

Additionally, a HUGE push came from our area reps this year, who for the first time were required to provide 10 addresses each for our campaign. Many of them far exceeded our expectations, with the top two reps being Robin Maisel of North Carolina with 93 addresses provided, and Shari Strader of North Carolina with 64 addresses provided.

Girl Scout Troop 1969, New Jersey

Preparations for the event started in early January, when we sent out a press release and e-mail requesting help from students and other groups to make Valentines for the project. We were thrilled to see an overwhelming response to our plea this year! We received a total of 5,971 Valentines from 119 different groups and individuals, along with some tremendously touching letters. We provide excerpts from some of them here:

Jessica Smith, Illinois, wrote: "I work with chemically dependent males age 12-18, and I thought making Valentines for Dogs Deserve Better would be a wonderful way for them to tie in service work to their treatment..."

Monica Kinley-Kuhn, Indiana: "I work at a community mental health center, and these Valentines were made by adults with a serious mental illness."

Peggy Reydberg, Georgia: "I am a figure skating coach, and I invited my skaters and some neighbors over to my house for a Valentine party. Ages 2-adult came to the party, and made over 50 cards!"

Monica Perry, California: "I printed the information regarding the campaign and took it to my children's preschool. They were thrilled, and more than willing to help. I feel it was a positive and educational experience for the children, and they really gained an understanding of why your dog needs to be part of the family."

Read MORE WONDERFUL notes

Kindergarten Students, Bethlehem, PA

Of the packages of valentines mailed to Dogs Deserve Better, 30 of the 119 came from school classes, 9 from other school youth clubs or groups, 7 from area reps, 5 from scout troops/4-H groups, 3 from adult facilities, 3 from families, 2 from humane groups, 1 from a church group, 1 from a corporate group, and 58 from individuals.

Students Hard at Work, Woodstock, GA

Valentines came in from 33 states, with the most coming from Pennsylvania, where 16 groups or individuals participated. New York was a close second with 11, and New Jersey was third with 8 groups or individuals participating each. We also received valentines from volunteers or groups in Connecticut, Virginia, Georgia, Washington, Illinois, Arizona, Oregon, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Kentucky, North Carolina, West Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, Texas, Missouri, Florida, California, Ohio, Alabama, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma, Indiana, Wisconsin, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Maine, Michigan, and Maine. Thanks so much to all groups and individuals who sent valentines! We tried to photograph representative Valentines from most packages, peruse the photos here and on subsequent pages to see a sampling of the creativity shown by our supporters.

Our goal this year was to send 4500 Valentines nationwide/worldwide, and we surpassed it by 777, sending or delivering 5277. Valentines went to every state in the nation except these four: Alaska, Mississippi, North Dakota, and Nevada. Pennsylvania dogs received the most valentines, with a total of 1290, followed by Ohio with 422, and then North Carolina and Indiana with 391 and 327 respectively.

We held two Valentine stuffing parties at Tammy's home in Tipton, PA, with 12 volunteers showing up to help stuff envelopes, and we served snacks and sodas to keep them motivated and enthusiastic. 12 volunteers worked 5 hours Thursday evening, 3 volunteers worked 6 hours on Saturday, and 3 volunteers took work home with them to finish during the week. Extra special thanks to Jodi Brumbaugh, Kim Campbell, Rocky Shepheard, Tammy Grimes, Nancy Eaken, Betty Jo Houser, Robyn Fanelli, Ruth Garland, Paiton Garland, Amanda Hammel, Terri Bunge, and Eric Bunge for all the help they provided! Jodi, Betty Jo, and Robyn all worked twice or took work home with them, and we much appreciated the fabulous efforts of our local volunteers to pull this off!

58 Area Reps across the country contributed to the campaign, and we held a contest in which the top 5 reps will receive a DDB item of their choice from our cafepress shop, and the top two reps will be featured in our next newsletter, along with our Area Rep Coordinator Kris Taylor. Robin Maisel of North Carolina won first place, with a total of 93 addresses; Shari Strader of North Carolina won second place with a total of 64 addresses. Christy Dotson of Ohio, Sandy Lynn of Missouri, and Marie Belanger of Indiana all won DDB items as well for their excellent contributions. Congrats to our DDB reps for a job well done!

Successes are starting to trickle in, and so far we've paid for two fences as a result of the campaign: one home in Texas, and one home in Raleigh, North Carolina. We also spoke to another woman from Baytown, Texas, who wants help either fixing her fence so her dog won't jump it, or rehome him with another family where he will be able to live inside the home with the family. She told us the Valentine really got to her, and she wanted to make a change for her dog. Texas Rep Michele Reynolds will be working with her to find a solution that works for everyone.

From Robin Maisel, North Carolina rep: "One of my Valentines, a collie mix, was on a chain 24/7, and like normal, it didn't look like the dog EVER got any attention.  She was very excited when I would stop wih biscuits, and would wet herself when petted. I drove by her house almost daily, and would often cry when it was raining or really cold. She would be standing there, out in the elements, looking toward the house and it almost seemed to me that she was crying. She just looked so sad, and had a real faraway look in her eyes. I went by there 2 days ago, and she was GONE! I have seen her there since, but not on the chain.  She was out in the yard, and looked SOOO happy!"

From Ann Zubris, Pennsylvania area rep: "I drove past another house today that I had delivered a Valentine Card too and the Rottie wasn't outside! That's 2 dogs out of 22 houses. I'll keep checking on these dogs and making sure that they are no longer outside. I hope the vd card touched the owners heart especially since the card was made by the children. I just wanted to share this wonderful news, and hope to post more."

If you sent in addresses and see any success, please send us the story so we can continue to update our listings, they really help motivate us to continue!

Stats from the event:

Groups/Individuals who created and mailed Valentines: 119
To read a list of Valentine contributors, click here

States in which Valentines were created: 33
16 Packages came from Pennsylvania, 11 from New York, 8 from New Jersey; Illinois sent 7, Georgia 6, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, and California each sent 5; 4 came from Tennessee, Massachusetts, and Ohio; 3 from Connecticut, Virginia, West Virginia, South Carolina; Arizona, Oregon, Maryland, Alabama, Nevada, Oklahoma, Wisconsin all sent 2; Washington, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, Indiana, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Maine, and Minnesota. 5 packages had no return address.

Volunteers who stuffed Valentines: 12

Valentines sent/delivered total: 5277
Broken down by state/country

Canada
Manitoba, Canada: 2
Ontario, Canada: 8
British Columbia, Canada: 2

United States
Alabama: 52
Arkansas: 111
Arizona: 43
California: 116
Colorado: 10
Connecticut: 12
Delaware: 78
Florida: 233
Georgia: 308
Hawaii: 1
Iowa: 52
Idaho: 47
Illinois: 107
Indiana: 327
Kansas: 37
Kentucky: 10
Louisiana: 17
Massachusetts: 29
Maryland: 99
Maine: 17
Michigan: 92
Minnesota: 23
Missouri: 161
Montana: 3
North Carolina: 391
Nebraska: 10
New Hampshire: 15
New Jersey: 44
New Mexico: 33
New York: 244
Ohio: 421
Oklahoma: 17
Oregon: 19
Pennsylvania: 1290
Rhode Island: 11
South Carolina: 125
South Dakota: 9
Tennessee: 149
Texas: 258
Utah: 10
Virginia: 97
Vermont: 19
Washington: 21
Wisconsin: 29
West Virginia: 8
Wyoming: 3

States with no Valentines sent were: Alaska, Mississippi, North Dakota, and Nevada.

If you are in a state where you know there are a lot of chained or penned dogs, but you see hardly any Valentines mailed there, please get addresses right now, and we will mail them letters and brochures. It's important to start the educational process as soon as possible.

Thanks so much to all who participated, we are making a difference in those dogs lives!

Please help our work to continue!
Any donations you make will be tax deductible.

If you'd like to donate via regular USPS mail, you may print out this form in .pdf format, and send to P.O. Box 23, Tipton, PA 16684

Want to see more photos? Click here.