Before anything else, a quick shout-out:

Hey, Willamette Valley Pet People!

You’re a huge part of the Spot community! Have you voted yet? The ballots are open ‘til Sept 30th.

Top Dog Awards honor pet and pet-friendly organizations named best by popular vote for products, services and performance. This is a great way to say THANK YOU! 

Jennifer McCammon with Broadway

Ok, onward. This month there’s much cause for celebration . . . check it out!

Spot’s Transport and Foster Networks are growing! We’re becoming increasingly involved in rescues, and took part in two last month. The first brought 18 cats out of a hoarding situation (story and photos in “Behind the Scenes With Us” the Blog Spot heading on our website). The second involved getting a litter of 8-week-old Pit puppies and six 6-9-month-old Pit and Pit mix pups from So Cal to loving foster homes in the Northwest. Both had happy endings. If you’d like to lend a hand and heart, please sign up online. 

On a related note, we’re currently studying regional transport, foster care and shelters, and we’d love to hear from those of you working in shelters and rescues. We’re working to identify the needs and overlapping resources toward streamlining and maximizing all our efforts. Our goal is to connect existing resources, eliminate redundancy, and improve connections and transparency for all involved — toward saving time, money, and more lives. 

If you work in rescue, transport, foster care or shelter, we’d love your input . . . and there’s an app for that! — (not really, I just couldn't resist using the expression) — but there IS a questionnaire on our website. Please help Spot help — put your 2 cents in about what’s needed, and what’s not. Thank you!

Yep! They’re underway. Spot Walks are meetups for fun, fitness and socialization — for pets and their peeps! The first few are just for fun, as they’re still officially in development. BUT, they’re happening, they’re a blast, and we want you to come play! 

Smile! Photo classes start now 

Spot has partnered with photographer David Childs, who some of you may know from his amazing work on Fences for Fido’s slideshows, as a photo teacher at OHS, or you may even have a framed “David Childs” hanging in a place of honor at home.

This month David begins a series of photo classes right here, and you are gonna love them! Read all about it page 13, and take a seat . . . class is set to begin.

We’re also pleased to announce that David is Spot’s official photographer for the Portland-area 2011 Cover Model Search. This year’s search is happening at Doggie Palooza Oct. 24th at the World Forestry Center. On that note, circle the date for Doggie Palooza! In addition to the Cover Model Search and 2 Spot Walks will be a Halloween costume contest, pooch parade, contests and more.

Spot’s Willamette Valley Cover Model Search, conducted this summer by Spot’s top shooter Marnie McCammon, wraps this month with a last chance to enter at Hot Dogs, Cool Pups Aug. 7 at Alton Baker Park in Eugene. I’ll be there too, so please stop by and say hi!

Finally, in addition to the magazine, Spot’s online media are great ways stay current on what’s shakin’ at Spot’s House. Fan Spot on Facebook, subscribe to eNews, and/or follow us on Twitter. In addition to Spot happenings, you’ll get posts on regional pet events, health warnings and food recalls, broadcasts on rescues in progress, and just-for-fun alerts on everything pet. Sign up for one or all, they’re each a little different, so take your pick of the litter!

Much to celebrate. Thanks for being part of the adventure — we love having you along!

Oh, and speaking of celebrating. Last but not least: Spot turns 5 this month!

It’s our great pleasure to serve, work with, and celebrate this special “birthday” with you! Thank you for 5 wonderful years, and here’s to many more! 

Yours in everything pet,

Jennifer McCammon with JackI can’t ever remember a so-called spring/summer like we’ve endured this year. And I really can’t EVER remember the weather (this time of year) having the impact it has on people since . . . what, April? The grumps and grumbles have been remarkable, but of course so has this RAIN! Ick!

So let’s all take a moment and make a communal gesture toward summer . . . the real stuff. Sizzlin’ days, balmy evenings, and if we’re going to do this at all, let’s give it our all: I vote we bring in summer weather and just keep it around a little longer . . . say through November? All in favor, say AYE!!!

Alright. Now that that’s settled and we’re sure to be walking on sunshine this month, let’s take a look at the very fitting event roster. We’ve got a bunch of perfectly rockin’ outings on tap, just in time for this belated arrival of summer daze! 

A new event we’re especially excited about is Spot Walks. They get underway with the first event July 24th at noon with “Diamonds in the Pearl,” a little a jaunt through the Pearl District promising a little history, a little sight-seeing, great company and tons of fun! Led by one of our favorite dynamic divas of the Pearl, LeRae Hunt, Dogwalker extraordinaire and proprietor of Recess in the Pearl, she’s lending her joi d’ vivre and sass to our first outing, taking us on a fun stroll to our final destination, Sniff Dog Hotel, where walkers will enjoy complimentary treats and tours if they like at the newest pet destination in the Pearl.

 If you’re not signed up for Spot Walks yet, contact Angie@SpotMagazine.net, and she’ll get you situated. You can pick up your T-shirt and PETometer at the walk, and get right in step with the fun! One thing about Spot events and outings: we always have a great time! And we’d love to have you with us. 

Jake proudly wears his PETometerA second walk is happening July 31st, when our friends at Multnomah County Animal Services will be celebrating their annual Animal House Toga Party & Adoptathon in Troutdale. This one will be an evening walk, starting at 7pm, and our guest Dogwalker, Alison Eberhard of Alison’s Dog Training and Dog Scout Troop 192, has some unique, very fun “extras” planned for our twilight adventure. Plus, after our Spot Walk, we can jump right into the fun of the Toga Party, complete with live music, food, and fun activities. If you’ve been considering adding another little walker to your brood, this is your night! Either way, come out and play!

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So the one other thing (among several) buzzing right now is Spots’ involvement in rescue. Little by little we’re working to identify existing resources in hopes of eliminating redundancy and maximizing efficiency. We’re also working to identify areas of unmet need in hopes of getting coverage in place.

What’s thrilling is that day by day, call by call, message by message, it seems to be taking on a life of its own. Folks have stepped up to help with what I think of as Spot’s little safety net in the making. We’ve got a fleet coming together of folks willing/able to transport animals — usually out of circumstances they need to be pulled from and into proper, loving care. One woman let us know she’s a bottle feeder; others are stepping up, indicating the specific ways in which they might help — and also what their limitations are, which is just as important.

Please allow me to continue to talk with you about this effort and how it’s growing. Rescue and spay/neuter (the latter really getting to the core issue: overpopulation of unwanted animals strains EVERY support system) are the greatest needs for homeless animals, and I’m convinced that together we can make a difference. I’ve always been a pretty patient, long-term builder, and I’m pleased to see this area beginning to take on a life of its own.

If you have a heart for helping animals, please let me know. Contributions of time, transport, food, phone calls, emails . . . all matter very much, are hugely appreciated, and each in their own way go a long way toward saving lives. And isn’t just one worth everything we’ve got?

Yours in everything pet,

Jennifer McCammon with Broadway

It’s been really busy and fun around here lately. After the year we just survived (yes the economy seriously slapped this puppy around, just like everyone else) it feels good just to still be here!

Even better, so much is coming into bloom! Great new programs like Spot Walks (fitness just got more fun . . . and purposeful, and we’re doing it together!), our rescue efforts are becoming more focused and defined, the stories and phenomenal people coming to us are breathtaking, and a bunch of great events in May gave us time with many of our treasured friends.

Good times . . . I love this work!

I am constantly amazed and proud of the rock stars tackling the issues so many companion animals face. Kermit the Frog says, “It’s not easy being green,” but for animals everywhere, “not easy” ain’t the half of it. For many — especially this time of year when the population explodes — it’s brutal. This just in: In developing countries nine in 10 animals are homeless. In the US it’s one in 10. Both numbers are way too high.

There is hope, thanks to champions like the countless ‘mom-n-pop’ rescues and volunteers, folks at OHS, Greenhill, Multnomah, Marion and Clackamas County shelters (to name just a few), Safehaven, Bonnie Hays, Willamette and SW Washington Humane Societies, Save The Pets, Family Dogs New Life, Senior Dog and North Star Rescues, Fences for Fido, and those angels who fly solo but STRONG: Angela Adams, Serena S, Vanessa S, and the list goes on.

Thank God for “monsters” like these who work tirelessly for animals in need — AWESOME human beings.

* * *

A recent development in the pet food biz reminded us of the vital importance of knowing how to make good choices. Good food is perhaps THE most important factor in promoting health and longevity, so we asked our friends at Solid Gold Northwest, makers of really good food, for tips on choosing well. Please take a look at their recommendations — they’re short and sweet and easy to apply, and so important.

* * *

Did you know Spot has a “nonprofit” side? Always has, and lately, it’s been gaining momentum. A little dream of mine on “that side” is building a rescue network — identifying and maximizing existing resources while eliminating redundancy. The ultimate goal: to save money, time, and MORE LIVES.

If you have a heart for helping animals and would like to join the effort, please let me know. Like many of our friends, we’re in the business of saving lives. And like all big things, the magic is in the smallest details — the phone calls, transport, emails. It all adds up, and each piece is priceless. If you’d like to help, you’re a champion already. And you’ll be amazed how big and rich life can get when you apply your time, talents and energy to meaningful work.

I promise too, you’ll love the company — almost as much as the experience of seeing a precious baby home safely. Call me! You can save lives, too.

Yours in everything pet,

Jennifer McCammon with Broadway

So often things transpire as an issue comes together. I’ve begun to share some of the really special tales in my blog “Behind the Scenes with Us” at SpotMagazine.net (check it out!).

Here I want to share a few details that came in around the “Lost Dogs” story, after the story had already been finalized.

First, about the pup on the cover this month. Talking with Reese Mercer, right-hand to filmmaker Vanessa Schulz, I learned that while they were filming this scene, 10 whole minutes elapsed before a single passerby reached out to touch that dog.

Heartbreaking.

At the same time harsh realities like this must be tempered with the realization that different cultures are . . . well, different. Thankfully we can’t imagine tens of thousands of homeless dogs living in our streets. In other locales it’s simply part of the landscape.

As to the pup Vanessa is holding, that’s Bob. You may have noticed the fur is gone from his ear. He’s a Cocker Spaniel that really touched her heart (the missing fur was the very LEAST of his problems, says Reese). Bob will definitely be in the final film cut, says Reese, along with the fabulous rescuer Gabriela, who gave his owners grief about not caring for him properly. Reese says, “Bob’s OK now, but still in Chile.”

I hope you feel as I do that sharing these stories opens windows into realities that should open our eyes, expand our perspectives and, hopefully, stir our compassion. I also hope you share the sense of honor and appreciation in having the opportunity to meet and support those who work in the trenches. Not only is the labor of it demanding and often thankless, but having to withstand the pure heartbreak (you might be able to bring four or five home, but you’re painfully aware of the thousands who remain behind). These guys are monsters in the very best sense of the word, and I hope if you feel led, you’ll reach out and give a hand. I promise they’ll take it and put it to very good use . . .touching lives.

Yours in everything pet,