New guy in town

Aaron leaves town for a couple weeks and I bring this guy home!

I have been talking about getting a second cat for awhile. It's rough when I see them constantly coming into the Rochester Animal Services shelter I do volunteer social media work for. I would send a kitty picture to Aaron and he would reply NOPE.

Then my friend Liz who photographs animals at the shelter sent me Pablo's picture. HE HAD A MUSTACHE! This time Aaron said "maybe" so I jumped on the opportunity. I had to move fast so I didn't lose this chance. I went to the shelter to meet him (the pics above was in the visitation room) and he was just as nice as I could have hoped. He let me pick him up and purred like an engine.

I put my name on his waiting list, (he was a stray so there is a several day hold to make sure an owner doesn't show up) and then today he was ready to come home with me!

They say he is 8 months old but he looks so much smaller than Stewie did when he was 8 months old. So either Stewie was older than 8 months or this guy is younger.

He is what is called a Tuxedo Cat, a type of Bi-Color cat. A Bi-Color cat has white fur combined with another color. In the case of a Tuxedo Cat, it's black. Apparenly to be a true tuxedo cat - "the feline's coloring should consist of a solid black coat, with white fur limited to the paws, belly, chest, throat, and often the chin."

Sometimes tuxedo cats are called "Jellicle cats" from the T.S. Elliot poem  "The Song of the Jellicles" his book "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats". T.S. Elliot describes Jellicle Cats as black and white.

We aren't keeping the name Pablo, so there has been a lot of brainstorming. We liked the idea of something like Stewart/Stewie... perhaps Franklin/Frankie, Fredrick/Freddie. I'm starting to think it has to be the name of another famous mustache wearer like Dali, Tom Selleck or Sam Elliott. Right now we are calling him Kitten. Stay tuned.

Successful 2015 The Fast & The Furriest ®

Thanks to generous donations, the pugs raised $500 for VSAS at The Fast & The Furriest®.

They really hustled along during the dog walk. They knew that the funds raised would go to a good cause, helping the homeless animals at Rochester Animal Services.

I love this picture my friend Liz took of us during the walk. I didn't even recognize myself at first. We look like hipsters in a big city.

The Fast & The Furriest® 2015

In a few short weeks the pugs will be lacing up their sneakers and walking at The Fast & The Furriest® to raise money to help homeless pets in Rochester. I will be working the festival as a volunteer. We would all appreciate any donations toward our fundraising. This is our donation page. Even $5 buys peanut butter for dog enrichment in the Rocheste Animal Services shelter. Thank you!

Alex and Ani: Charmed by Charity for VSAS

Last night Verona Street Animal Society had a Charmed by Charity fundraiser at Alex and Ani Rochester. 15% of the sales went to VSAS. There were even a couple of canine greeters at the door.

I was doing a little gift shopping when one of the girls surprised me with a bag and said my husband had called in an order... a bracelet with this Claddagh charm! He's a sneaky one!

Adopt me ties for rescue dogs

I wanted to make something really special for my friend Liz's birthday. What do you make someone who is an awesome rescue pet photographer? Adopt Me ties!

I have a large collection of ties I've been saving for an as of yet unknown but very cool project and this is it. Oscar and Hugo were very nervous about modeling them. They wanted to be sure I made note that * THESE PUGS ARE NOT UP FOR ADOPTION.

Real Men of Rochester - Spay and Neuter Your Pets

While most people know the benefits of spaying or neutering your dog, there are some that still choose not to do it for irrelevant reasons. Most of them are men that feel fixing your dog is not macho. Truth is, spaying/neutering is the only way to control the unwanted dog population. It also lowers health risks for your dog, curbs the desire to mark, be agressive and run away.

In order to help get this message out in Rochester, members of the Verona Street Animal Society, took on the challenge to create a campaign to show that real men fix their dogs. (Oh this goes for cats too!)

My friend Shireen came up with taglines and themes, found models and coordinated the photo shoots. My friend Liz set up the lighting, arrangements and photographed real men that live right here in Rochester. Baseball players from the Red Wings, lacrosse players from the Knighthawks, firemen from Rochester Engine 5 firehouse and more.

The photos turned out amazing and perfectly illustrate the taglines that show real men do the right thing by fixing their dogs. I was happy to help out by doing the poster designs.

Doesn't that guy on the left and the pugs look familiar?! You can view all the posters in this public Facebook album -> http://bit.ly/realmenfixpix.

For a campaign this amazing you have to have a launch party. For one evening all the photos were on display at Rochester Brainery. Just in time for February - Spay and Neuter Awareness Month!

I should have taken more photos! This was towards the beginning of the show when people were starting to arrive. Soon both rooms were packed!

We had so many generous donations - beer from Genesee Brewery, adorable cookies and cupcakes and so many food donations from volunteers and supporters!

Samson, one of the campaign models came to opening to soak up attention and admiration.

Here is Aaron's photo on display, along with a stack of posters below for people to take and hang to help spread the word.

[Liz, Aaron, Me, Matt and Tina]

It was so nice for my friends to show up for the show! What a great night for Liz to see her hard work and talent pay off.

Huge thanks to these ladies, Liz and Shireen for their incredible work on this campaign. Stay tuned, there will be more to come through-out the year! [photo from Liz's instagram feed]

Verona Street Animal Services Holiday Craft Sale

Today was the Verona Street Animal Services Holiday Craft Sale. I cleared out of bird feeders and went home with just one wreath left so it was pretty successful.

This is Nana, an RAS pup in a foster home. She was there greeting customers as they came to the show. So glad the show went well.

Verona Street Animal Services Holiday Craft Sale & Janda Made Wreaths

On the 12th I'll have Janda Made goodies at a Verona Street Animal Services craft sale that benefits the Rochester Animal Services shelter. Tina will be there with her Sweet & Cute sweets too.

I spent Thanksgiving working on wreaths for the craft sale. I call this one Golden Berries.

This is called Holly.

And there is a matching wreath called Jolly.

This is an extra large wreath. It is 20 inches across. This one is called Heavy Metal.

I'm hoping to make a few more before the show.

Alex and Ani - Charmed by Charity event benfiting VSAS

This evening Alex and Ani of Rochester hosted a fundraiser for Verona Street Animal Society. What a great chance to shop AND help homeless animals. I love my Alex and Ani bracelets Aaron got me for Valentine's Day and was excited to get this Feather bracelet and May Birthstone bracelet to add to my arm candy.

It was nice to hang out with my peeps for awhile too! Big thanks to Alex and Ani of Rochester for helping out VSAS!

Weekend Events

We have family in town this weekend, but if you are free, there are two events you should check out today. This afternoon, Spokes and Ink is at the Genesee Center for Arts and Education. There is a bike poster sale, printing demos, live music and more.

I had a poster in the sale again this year. I featured an enterprising spider who wished he had a bike.

In the morning, The Fast & The Furriest is being held near Rochester Animal Services at Brown Square Park. There is a 5K, 10K, Dog Walk and a Pet Festival with food trucks, pet vendors, pet contests and more. Plus adoptable cats are $10 and dogs are $20! Take home a new friend!

VSAS, RAS and Social Media

Today I stopped at the Channel 8 studio to do an interview with the Director of Rochester Animal Services about the Verona Street Animal Services Facebook page.

It was a chance to talk about how social media helps the RAS shelter and assists in getting cats and dogs adopted. Here is the interview. It was great to see some of the RAS cats and dogs show up in the clip too!

Pet of the Week

Meet Colton, an 8 month old Domestic Short Hair at Rochester Animal Serivices. Colton is a playful, fun little kitty who enjoys playing with his cat nip toys. He also loves to explore and then settle down for some serious snuggle time. Please pay Colton a visit; he could be the new best friend you’ve been looking for! If interested please contact RAS at 428-7274.

Kendall #21675139

Kendall is a 10 year old female domestic long hair mix with gorgeous green eyes! She's a lovely lady who would love to find a place in your home and your heart.

VSAS Pedaling for Paws Charity Spin

Today Verona Street Animal Society had a charity spin to raise money for Rochester Animal Services.

Paulette very kindly made an inspirational poster to cheer Tina on with her spinning.

There were also a few adoptable dogs from the shelter there to meet and greet spinners. This one, Corey, was tuckered out from his busy morning!