Happy Birthday Joey!

I went to my good buddy Joey's 4th birthday party this morning. As you can see, I had on my party attire and I think I looked pretty good. The party was held on Joey's deck and it was the perfect day for a party.
Joey's sister Lily organized the party and it was a huge success. She baked the cake last night and frosted and decorated it this morning. Mom and dad loved the cake, but of course, there was no cake for me.
I brought Joey some Dingo's and some homemade treats. Joey immediately had a Dingo and he loved it. Joey found a great spot to eat his Dingo and take in the beautiful morning. Even though Joey is not a pug, he is one of my best buddies. I took him under my wing when he got to the neighborhood, and we have been buddies ever since.
I had a great time at the party, but as you can see, after a few hours I was pooped. I could hardly keep my eyes open when mom took this picture. After mom took the picture, I convinced her to take off my party hat and take me home because my bed was calling my name.

Doggy Ride

Mom and dad ordered me a bike trailer for dogs so that I could go on bike rides with them. They usually leave me at home when they go on rides, but they decided that I need to get out more than I have been. My bike trailer arrived yesterday and I am still deciding if I like it.

This is my bike trailer - thumbs up or down? The trailer is called Doggy Ride Mini and mine is green (of course). Check out the description of the trailer on their website:

This spunky trailer invites you to share an energetic, safe ride with your pooch. The efficient and trendy design brings together the adorable little doggy, beautiful bike and proud owner. Enjoy the ride and smile away the envy of onlookers.

This, my friends, is a recipe for disaster. Spunky? Not. Trendy? I don't think so. Adorable little doggy? Okay, that's me.

Mom and dad are trying to get me used to going in and out of the trailer. They have it set up in the family room and put treats in it so that I will go in it. Of course this method works, but as soon as I get my treat, I jump out of the trailer. They also just picked me up and put me in the trailer, so I played along and sat down. The trailer is a little small - I can turn around in it, but just barely. I guess I will get used to it, but it is going to take some time. I will post some pictures when I am in my trailer and it is hooked up to mom's bike. Until then, I will be home, hanging out with my trailer while mom and dad ride into the sunset.

Consumer Consequences

It's time to play a little game. Yes, a little game with an important message. Our friends over at American Public Media have a sustainability website. On the website you can play the consumer consequences game to find out if you are living a sustainable life. This interactive game is designed to illustrate the impact of our lifestyles on the Earth.

The purpose of the game is to ask the question "What would the world look like if everyone lived like me?" During the game, you will be asked a series of questions about your lifestyle, and as you play, it will show you how many "Earths" of natural resources it would take to sustain all 6.6 billion humans on the planet if everyone lived like you. Your answers will be calculated (based on the "ecological footprint" model created by Redefining Progress) and the number of Earths needed will change at the top of the screen. Additionally, the background graphics will change as you consumer more natural resources. There is a "Did You Know" banner at the top of each section that is tailored to your answers. This banner provides information about your consumption and tips on how to conserve natural resources.

At the end of the game, you will see the total number of global acres each part of your life consumes. The planet only has 26.7 billion global acres of land and ocean which equals about 4.5 acres per person. If your lifestyle requires more than 4.5 acres, your score will equal more than one Earth.

I urge you to not only play the consumer consequences game, but to take seriously the information it provides. There are a finite number of resources for an ever growing infinite amount of consumers. Please do your part and conserve our precious resources before it is too late. The inpact of your actions has consequences for the entire planet. Play the consumer consequences game at http://sustainability.publicradio.org/consumerconsequences/.

Wednesday Wag Out!

Zucchini Dog

Even though this isn't a real dog, mom loved this when she saw it. I am not advocating wasting zucchini, but if you have an extra zucchini that is really not up to par, consider using it to create this cute little dog. Sold by Gardener's Supply Company, this zucchini dog is one of seven different vegetable silhouettes that they sell. There is also a squash kitty, squash piggy, butternut bunny, cabbage hen and chicks, pumpkin turkey and rooster, and turnip duck and ducklings. Get yours while you can at http://www.gardeners.com/.

Forkometry

Mom loves anything recycled, especially when it comes to using unusual objects to make jewelry. The designers at Forkometry use silverware and cutlery to create jewelry that is as unique as it is beautiful. According to their profile on madeit.com, by

utilizing discarded objects, they are able to minimize their impact on the Earths resources. This is something everyone should be doing, not just designers. Check out their awesome designs at http://www.madeit.com.au/madeit/supplierdetail.asp?rsSupplierID=15403.

Red Bubble

The people at Red Bubble have some of the neatest t shirt designs mom has seen thus far. Red Bubble is an open and inclusive website where you can share your creative genius with the world. Think CafePress and Zazzle but better. The t shirts on the website are designed by artists from all over the globe. Mom especially likes the designs by dropsoul and this t shirt is one of her favorites. You are sure to find a t shirt (or two, or three) at Red Bubble that you like, so get shopping at http://www.redbubble.com/.

No More Excuses!

That's right. No more excuses for using plastic bags. Stop it right now or I will tell mom on you!

Wild Onion is a transplanted Chicagoan now living in California. This blogger loves all things fiber and is an avid quilter. Her 10 year old son just started a business selling tee-bags. Put quite simply, tee-bags are t-shirts that are recycled into reusable shopping bags. What a great idea! Everyone has old t-shirts laying around that they no longer wear. Quite frankly, everyone probably also has plenty of plastic bags laying around too, which is a big no-no.

Wild Onion's son allowed her to post the how to instructions of the tee-bags on her blog. The proceeds from the sale of the tee-bags go towards a 6th grade field trip. I know there are lots of creative kids out there that could also come up with great ways to recycle everyday items, so please encourage your children to come up with a similar project.

So grab your old t-shirts, buy some at a garage sale, pick up some at the Goodwill, or simply trade for some, and get started. Wash the t-shirts first and after 4 easy steps viola! Check out the instructions at http://wildonionstudio.wordpress.com/2008/06/01/tee-bags/. Your own custom made, machine washable, fully recycled, feel good, good for the earth bag awaits you!

Call2Recycle

Mom always tells me that there is no excuse not to recycle items that can be recycled. The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation's program call2recyle has made it easier than ever to recycle items that contain rechargeable batteries.

Founded in 1994, Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation is a non-profit, industry sponsored organization to facilitate safe, efficient rechargeable battery recycling in the U.S. and Canada. According to their website, with the help of their partners, they have recycled more than 42 million pounds of rechargeable batteries. As the flowchart below shows, most of what is collected is recycled into other products, with a portion of the proceeds donated to charity and to fund collection and education programs.


Rechargeable batteries are all over the house, in cordless phones, cordless power tools, laptop batteries, cordless toys, and everyones favorite cell phones. Simply log on to their website and type in your zip code to get a list of drop off locations. When mom typed in our zip code, 11 locations were displayed. Most of the locations are places you probably regularly visit like Ace Hardware, Radio Shack, Home Depot, and Target. With more than 40,000 drop off locations in the U.S. and Canada, there are bound to be some close to you.

These guys have may it so easy to recycled rechargeable batteries so that they won't end up in landfills, leaching toxins into the soil and ground water. For more information and to find a drop off location near you, visit the call2recycle website at http://www.rbrc.org/. The best part of the program is that it is free, convenient, and most of all responsible. Please do your part to save the environment by recycling.

Midwest Pug Rescue

Mom was on Craigslist today and found this posting:

+ + + HELP Needed Donations to Pug Rescue + + +
Reply to: mailto:comm-805657257@craigslist.org

Date: 2008-08-20, 7:22PM CDT

Greetings to all Pug lovers and friends of pugs, This has been a horrible year for our group, Midwest Pug Rescue. Many people are giving up their pets, due to the bad economy. We need committed dog lovers to help us help these innocent creatures, that to no fault of their own, have become homeless.

Since July 1, 2008 we have taken in an unbelievable number of pugs, 28 to be exact in only 6 weeks. We have taken in 68 pugs since January 1st, 2008.

We have been very fortunate to be able to find homes for most of the pugs, but we do still have some pugs that need homes. We have run up some unbelievable vet bills. Almost every pug we have rescued has needed some kind of vet work. Every pug needs the basic vet work (spay, neuter, and shots) and we have an inordinant number of pugs have needed extensive vet care..

Here is a partial list of vet bills that we have incurred this year, 2008:

• Casey had two knee and two hips surgeries totally over $1,800 with a nice discount

• We had 4 pugs go through mange treatments at ~ $200 each

• We had 5 pugs go through heartworm treatment at $350 each •

• Matilda, Murphy and Mojo all recently had eye surgeries totaling over $2,500

• Frankie still needs knee surgery at ~$400 •

• Buddy had emergency liver shunt surgery at $3,500

• Several pugs still need to be neutered, shots, dentals etc

• We also still have 12 pugs in hospice that have ongoing issues that require vet visits and meds (not to mention the amount of food it takes to feed 25+ pugs that are awaiting treatment or placement.

We really need support in the Midwest area. We really need help with fundraising on a monthly basis to keep up with the influx of pugs that are going to continue to need help. This, I fear, is not a short term situation. I am afraid it is going to keep on the same track for awhile. We are having our annual fundraiser 9/13 in KC and our annual Pug O Ween in Omaha in October.

We also need adoptive homes and we always need more foster homes - ALWAYS! I have 12 dogs at my house. I have no homes else to place or foster them. It's becoming hard on the old dogs I have. But we are doing our best. Please visit the following links for Midwest Pug Rescue about the fundraisers and information about the pugs in need and also a tribute to some very special pugs and pug people. Please let me know if you can help with fundraising, fostering or adopting. Thank you for the support you have given the pugs in the past.

If you would like to make a donation, please go to our website http://www.midwestpugrescue.com/ and go to the bottom of the first page. You will see the options that are available for you to make your donation. Thank you for caring about the orphans!

Reading this made mom very sad. The bad economy doesn't just affect people - it affects pugs too. Mom wants to help all the pugs but that is just not possible. She even asked me if I would like to have a pug live with us for a short time until it could find a home, but dad said that he couldn't live with a pug and then give it away. I know how lucky I am that I have great parents who love and take care of me, but the pugs at the rescue have not had the same life that I have had.

Please visit the Midwest Pug Rescue website to read about the adoptable pugs, pugs that have already found homes, and pugs who are in heaven. If you can, please donate whatever you can to help the pugs out. Every pug deserves a good life and a second chance.

Wednesday Wag Out!

Reusable Bags

This little sea turtle says it all. Plastic bags are destructive to the environment from their creation to their use. They never die, so their impact is felt forever. The Eco Maniac Company is a family run business that is on a mission to help the environment by reducing the use of disposable plastic bags. A portion of their sales is donated to seaturtle.org, a website that supports the research and conservation of sea turtles all over the world. Buy your own reusable bag with a cute sea turtle design on it at http://homepage.mac.com/ecomaniacco/index.htmldex.html.

Feel Good Tees

Sandra Blum started Feelgoodtees.com to express her compassion for animals. She wanted to create something that would make people think about their decision to eat meat. A portion of all sales is donated to farm animal sanctuaries and animal rights organizations. Get your own tee and spread the message by visiting http://www.feelgoodtees.com/vegan_vegetarian_t-shirts.html

BioBag For Pets

Pet waste ends up in landfills unlike human waste. Most people place pet waste in plastic bags and then throw the bags in the garbage. The problem with this practice is that the plastic bags will take over 100 years to decompose.

According to their website, BioBag Dog holds the distinction of being the first biodegradable and compostable “plastic” pooper bag in the world. Once the dog waste has been placed in the BioBag it can be thrown in your backyard compost, where both items can decompose naturally. Or the waste and bag can be buried, where micro-organisms will quickly eat both. Another option is placing the waste and bag curbside with other yard waste where communities collect biodegradable waste for composting. This great environmentally friendly product can be found at http://www.biogroupusa.com/biobag_dog.htm.

We Add Up

Mom loves all things green, so when she found out about this website, she asked me to help spread the word.

We Add Up is a mother-daughter venture to raise awareness about global warming. A global campaign using organic cotton t-shirts that literally “counts you in” in the fight against global warming, every shirt is printed by hand with a unique number. According to their website, your number represents your place in the sequential global count of all the people who are taking steps to help stop climate change. As the count grows, we demonstrate to the world that “WE ADD UP.” The really cool thing about the t-shirts, besides the unique number, is that on the back of each shirt is a word or phrase that describes an action almost anyone can take to reduce their carbon footprint, such as, Unplug, Lights Off, Carpool, Hybrid, Bike, Buy Local, and 18 others. You choose which action you are committed to doing and get counted in. No one can do everything, but everyone can do something, and when we all do then WE ADD UP!

The goal of the venture is to get millions of people around the world counted in and committed to helping stop global warming. Mom loves this idea because it grabs peoples attention and gets them talking. There are so many cool designs to choose from, so get your t-shirt at http://www.weaddup.com/ and be counted.

Mom's Back!

Mom got back late last night from her turtle trip to Georgia. I missed her a lot and am glad that she is home.

There are lots of things mom does that I don't understand, like not eating meat and not sleeping in late, but going to Wassaw is at the top of the list. The thing is, every year she comes back and raves about what a great time she had and how she can't wait to go back. Even though she had a great time, I know that she is glad to be back home because she missed me.

There were lots of baby turtles that emerged while mom was on the beach. This little guy is all full of sand as he races for the ocean. He is cute, but not as cute as me.

These babies don't look very happy hanging out in the bucket at the cabin. Mom tells me that they emerged from the nest early in the morning, but that it is safer for them on the beach at night, so they rested at the cabin until they could be released after dinner.

Mom always meets lots of great people each time she goes to Wassaw and this year was no different. Sam was the youngster of the group and mom says that he is very smart. Seth was Sam's cousin and mom loved how mellow and easy going he was. Julia was a girl from Savannah who mom told me knows a lot about music. Sam was the only one of the "kids" that had been to the island before.

Sue was the science teacher from Denver and she was the true neophyte of the group. Mom had a great time hanging out with Sue and loved how Sue would cartwheel to the nests. Mom hopes that she will be able to spend another week with Sue next year and has even offered to keep her awake during the long nights of nesting season.

The barnacle master Mike was the leader of the group. Mom loves Mike's sense of humor and loves talking music with him. Mike's son Ben joined the group on Thursday and mom told me that it is like going to science class with Ben around because he knows everything about the animals on the island. Mike's sister Rebecca was the able bodied assistant. Rebecca was in Playa Grande earlier this year, so her and mom spent lots of time talking about the project down there. Mom also mentioned that they talked about someone named Bryan, but I have no idea who that is.

Rounding out the group was mom's good buddy Carole. Even though I have never met Carole, I feel like I know her. Mom tells me that her and Carole are the best of buds and that I can relate to. I think that mom wants to go to Wassaw every year with Carole so that they can act silly and giggle all night long.

I know that I can never go to Wassaw to work with the turtles, but mom tells me that she is going back every year until they tell her she can't go. Sometimes I wish she would be the first one voted off the island.

Turtle Time!

Mom is leaving for her yearly trip to Wassaw Island tomorrow. She will be working with the people from the Caretta Research Project to protect loggerhead sea turtles.

Since 1973, the Caretta Research Project has been a hands-on research and conservation program dedicated to protecting the loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta. The three goals of the project are:

1. To learn more about the population levels and trends / nesting habits of loggerhead turtles
2. To enhance survival of eggs and hatchlings on a nesting beach
3. To involve people in turtle preservation

It is hatchling season, so mom and her good buddy Carole will be escorting baby sea turtles (hatchlings) to the ocean. They will also be excavating the nests to determine hatchling success rates. Since most hatchlings emerge at night, they will be able to enjoy all that Wassaw has to offer during the day, like relaxing, birding, relaxing, reading, and relaxing. I am so glad that I am not going (not that I was invited) because it is super hot and humid down on Wassaw. I need my air conditioning, so dad and I will party like rock stars next week while mom is sweating with the turtles.

Check out the great work the Caretta Research Project does at http://www.carettaresearchproject.org/. There is a picture of mom on the website, but this picture of Carole and her adopted turtle Trixie shows why Wassaw Island is such a magical place.

These Come From Trees

I am a dog, so I love trees. I cannot walk past a tree without stopping to take in all the smells at the base of the tree trunk. I can identify who has been by a certain tree just by smelling it. With all that being said, I want to save trees. Okay, that sounds very selffish, but really, everyone should want to save trees, not just dogs. We need trees, even more than they need us. When my mom told me about this project, I just knew that everyone should know about it.

These Come From Trees is a project. that was started when Pete, the project's owner, was in an In and Out Burger and notice how many napkins were were left unused on each table. The people who were cleaning up would throw the unused napkins away (which is what anyone would do), but this created an awful lot of waste. Pete was at once made aware of this wastefulness, but what would he do about it?

Pete then noticed all the towel dispensers in public washrooms and all the napkins that were being wasted there. He also noticed the signs in the washrooms of restaurants stating that all employees must wash their hands. The problem with these signs was that they were above the towel dispensers and not above the urinal (for men) or on the inside stall door (for women). It was at this point that the light bulb went off and he decided that he needed a message and viola, These Come From Trees was born.

The message is in sticker form as shown above. People buy them, stick them on public towel dispensers, take a picture of the towel dispenser, they send it to Pete who posts the pictures on his blog. This reminds mom of Flat Stanley or Where's Waldo. According to Pete's field testing, each sticker deployed saves about a tree's worth of paper (~100 lbs.) a year. Wow! Those stickers are worth their weight in gold.

This project is about saving trees, but it is also about raising awareness. Hopefully people will begin to understand the impact of their actions and realize that even small steps in the right direction makes a difference. Mom loves this project and is ordering some stickers today. Please join in the fight to save the trees by visiting Pete's website at http://www.thesecomefromtrees.blogspot.com/.

Chicago Botanic Garden Axes Bottled Water

Bottled water is on its way out and what better place to start the movement than at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Since Chicago has some of the best tasting and cleanest tap water in the country, why not just drink it instead of bottled water? Why not just serve Lake Michigan tap water? This was definitely one of those 'duh' moments.

As of June 5, 2008, the Chicago Botanic Garden no longer serves or sells bottled water. According to its website, the Garden sold over 96,000 bottles of water in 2007. The Garden recognizes that the manufacturing, shipping, recycling and disposing of bottled water uses a lot of energy and creates unnecessary waste. Instead of purchasing bottled water, visitors to the Garden can purchase reusable bpa-free water bottles that they can fill at the Garden Café and at drinking fountains throughout the grounds, in addition to the biodegradable cups that the Garden Café will be giving away.

The mission of the Chicago Botanic Garden is promote the enjoyment, understanding and conservation of plants and the natural world. As one of the country's most visited public gardens and a preeminent center for learning and scientific research, the Garden leads by example. By eliminating bottled water from the equation, the Garden is setting a great example for people to follow. Stop by the Chicago Botanic Garden if you are in the Chicagoland area, or check out their great website at http://www.chicagobotanic.org/, if you can't visit in person. Kudos to the Garden!