Net Recos for this Week

Recos = Recommendations

In the past month, I've had a terrible time trying to keep up with my Google Reader and all the incredible pet stuff that continues to surface on my journeys through the Internet. To give me more incentive to make the time to do the reading I've decided I'm going to start a regular Wednesday feature on my blog. Each Wednesday, I'm going to bring you snippets and links to the stuff I've looked at over the week that has resonated with me in some way. They probably won't all speak to you the way they do to me. But maybe you'll find one or two things that are useful or entertaining or educational. Skip what you don't like, or click the link offered to read more. Enjoy!

SECOND CHANCE GRAY HOUNDS
http://www.secondchancegreyhounds.org/
This is a really cool group that I found through Twitter (@2ndChanceGreys). They work to place retired racing Greyhounds into forever homes. The really wonderful thing about them is that they do much of their fostering through state prisons! Each dog is expected to pass the Canine Good Citizenship test--so the inmates must practice their patience and responsibility while they train and foster the dogs. The dog gets one-to-one fostering and training, the inmate gets the unconditional love that only a dog can bring to a relationship, which I have to believe makes the inmate involved a better person. What a fabulous deal!

BAD RAP BLOG: Lessons from the late, great Dirk
http://badrap-blog.blogspot.com/2009/06/lessons-from-late-great-dirk.html
If you have a place in your heart for Bully dogs, underdogs or just dogs in general, then you need to check out the Bad Rap Blog.

The post that touched my heart is about Dirk. Dirk was a shelter Pit Bull who started down the right path to a forever home. He was good-looking. He responded well to training. He played well with other dogs. But one day the life he was forced to lead as a shelter dog caused all the good work and progress he had made to come undone. There is no fault to assign here--shelters do the very best they can with the materials they have to work with. They are chronically understaffed and underfunded. Dirk was put to sleep.

Bad Rap has turned Dirk's experience into a brilliant lesson. They've fine-turned their Ambassadog Program to create a home environment at the shelter where dogs can learn or re-learn how to be pets. It just makes all kinds of sense. Be sure you watch the video of this "oasis" in action.

TAKE YOUR DOG TO WORK
http://www.takeyourdog.com/
It's coming up fast! Did you know that June 26 is Take Your Dog To Work Day?? This is a global event created by Pet Sitters International in 1999--so this year is the 10th anniversary! Bailey has big plans to join me in the office next Friday. If you like to Tweet, maybe we could all use the hash-tag #tydtw? (Be sure you listen to the theme song posted in the upper right corner of their page.)

FRUGAL DOUGAL
http://www.frugaldougal.co.uk/#
I met Dougal on Twitter, at a pawpawty. If you're clueless when it comes to pawpawtys, check out Dougal's blog because he's got all the details and I think his blog is very well put together.

SLEEPY CAT HOLLOW
http://sleepycathollow.wordpress.com/
I really like Sleepy Cat Hollow because I LOVE the photos that Michelle posts--especially the photos of her kitties. They're beautiful! Michelle is an artisan and in addition to her photography, she quilts--which is something I have also enjoyed doing, though I never seem to have time to do it these days. Michelle also has an Etsy site (Etsy is like eBay for crafters).