AdoptAShelter.com gains Ellen DeGeneres natural petfood company as sponsor

AdoptAShelter.com, an online shopping portal where consumers can donate to their favorite animal shelters at no cost just by shopping at stores such as Amazon, Petco, Best Buy, iTunes, Expedia, Lowes and more, has announced its exclusive 2014 Pet Food Partner: HALO, Purely for Pets, Ellen DeGeneres' natural petfood company.

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AdoptAShelter.com is an online cash rewards mall featuring over 500 top-name merchants, from Amazon to Zazzle. With no login or password needed, shoppers connect to their favorite online stores through AdoptAShelter.com, select their favorite shelter to receive a percentage of their shopping totals, and then shop as they normally would.
"There is no petfood company more devoted to animal welfare organizations than HALO, and we are thrilled that their incredible partnership will allow us to greatly extend our reach to more animal lovers and shelter supporters," said AdoptAShelter.com Founder Chris Ruben. "They are an exemplary corporate citizen, and we are honored to work with them to help more animals in need. Over 1,300 shelters, rescue and adoption organizations from across the US have already registered with AdoptAShelter.com, and over 600 donation checks have been mailed, so we are working hard to continue our mission and momentum." 
Halo donates over 1.5 million meals of its Halo Spot's Stew every year to shelter pets by sponsoring Freekibble.com. Halo also sponsors the PBS series "Shelter Me," and donates more than five times the national corporate average through the Halo Pet Foundation, which sponsors national adoption campaigns with the Humane Society of the United States, ASPCA and more.
Pet parents can also shop for Halo natural pet products on AdoptAShelter.com through Petco.com, Amazon.com, Wag.com, Pet360.com (Pet Food Direct), Drugstore.com, OnlyNaturalPet.com and 1800PetMeds.com.

Increase in abandoned dogs blamed on Mexico's 'luxury tax' on petfood

A new 16 percent "luxury tax" on petfood in Mexico could lead to more abandoned and neglected dogs in Tijuana, according to a report.

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The tax is meant to help ease Mexico's budget woes. Pet ownership is viewed by the government as a luxury, therefore making the petfood tax a "luxury tax."
Josh Pratter, director of Baja Dog Rescue in Tijuana, said the group has started to see the result of the tax on the abandoned dog population.
"We're seeing a larger dog on the street now. Bigger dogs are consuming more food so it's more costly to have a bigger dog. They want a smaller dog so the cost is less on a weekly or monthly basis for them," Pratter said.

Pedigree highlights shelter dogs with 'See what good food can do' program

At the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, baseball player David Ortiz and actor Josh Duhamel were on site to help kick off Pedigree's "See what good food can do" campaign and help shine a spotlight on the millions of shelter dogs in need of a home. The new documentary-style campaign features real stories of shelter dogs, their shelter caregivers and the dog's new families.

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Pedigree is now calling on the rest of the US to get involved:

• Every time dog lovers tell their tale of what their dog means to them, using #DogTales on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, Pedigree will donate a bowl of food to a shelter dog in need.
• View the documentary-style films by Ortiz and Duhamel at Facebook.com/Pedigree and share these videos with friends. Leave a comment and let Pedigree know what your shelter dog means to you.
• Check out the new Pedigree commercials that document real dogs stories and their transformations with new homes on the brand's YouTube page, www.youtube.com/pedigreebrand.
• Be on the lookout for Duhamel's own personal documentary-style story which showcases his involvement with shelter dogs.

Companies recognize importance of giving back to homeless pets

Companies outside of the pet industry are recognizing the importance of giving to homeless pets and also helping their own business, says a recent article. 
For example, Cedar Park Overhead Doors regularly sponsors special events for local animal shelters near the Cedar Park, Texas, USA, community, most recently sponsoring an annual bowl-a-thon for Texas Humane Heroes. 
According to Don Grenier, owner of Cedar Park Overhead Doors, "I am always looking for ways to give back to the community and, since my wife and I have two rescue dogs, giving back to the local animal rescue community is the perfect fit."
In Florida, USA, Subaru of Orange Park recently hosted an Adoptathon, covering all adoption fees and donating 100 pounds of food to local shelters for every car sold during the event.
In White Plains, New York, USA, the Pepe Infiniti dealership began a photo contest on its Facebook page. Mark Hersh, executive manager of the dealership, was inspired to begin the contest after seeing an amusing photo of his son holding Leo, a Labradoodle. After the overwhelming success of the contest online, he decided to host a dog rescue event in the dealership. "Six rescues from around Westchester County, New York, brought five adoptable dogs each to what was called Pepe Infiniti's Fur-Ever Home Dog Adoption event," said Hersh. "Approximately 200 guests came to the event and 12 dogs found Fur-Ever homes." The event was even so successful that a mall in the area, The Westchester, asked Hersh to reproduce the event with 12 participating rescues and more than 2,500 attendees. 

FreeHand chooses rescue dog as face of new pet food packaging

FreeHand, a pet food company, recently awarded a Dallas, Texas, USA, rescue dog named Leslie as the winner of the "New Fuzzy Face of FreeHand" Facebook contest winner. As winner of the contest, which aimed to encourage rescue dog adoption, Leslie will also appear on the front of the pet food company's new 5-pound, super-premium dog food bags.
Leslie, along with three other rescue dogs selected by FreeHand, will be spotlighted on the new petfood packaging of Engage, Enrich, Empower and Energize, available through local resellers and veterinarians in select US areas and online for consumers nationwide starting in March.
“Since everything about FreeHand revolves around saving homeless dogs’ lives, it was a no-brainer to feature four real-life rescue dogs on our new packaging,” Bagamane said. “What better way to highlight our products and our cause than by using dogs whose health and vitality have been restored after eating our food while waiting to be adopted from one of our partner rescue organizations?” 

Horizon Pet Nutrition, Pet Planet donate petfood to homeless dogs

Pet Planet health stores and Horizon Pet Nutrition provided more than 1,000 pounds of pet food to Dogs With No Names. Established in 2011, Dogs With No Names is a scientific pilot program working to combat the number of homeless dogs on First Nations reserves in southern Alberta, Canada, through the use of contraceptive implants.
The program says that while adoptions of reserve dogs are possible and encouraged through rescue groups, it is often limited to puppies and tamer dogs, and there is also a shortage of welcoming homes for these dogs.
In addition to efforts in contraception, Dogs With No Names distributes donated dog food from Horizon Pet Nutrition and Pet Planet health stores to undernourished dogs throughout two First Nations reserves in southern Alberta. Another 1,000 pounds of dog food from Horizon Pet Nutrition is planned to be distributed over the next quarter. 

San Diego Humane Society named 'Top Pet Tale' by Purina, Ralphs

Purina and Ralphs awarded the San Diego Humane Society with “Top Pet Tale” in the third-annual “Tales for the Pet Lover’s Heart” campaign.
The San Diego Humane Society received a US$53,000 donation during a presentation hosted by campaign spokesperson, Trista Sutter, from ABC’s “The Bachelorette.” Another 17 animal welfare organizations from across the US also received donations as part of the campaign, which gave away a total of US$150,000. 
To participate in the campaign, each animal welfare organization submitted a written tale and then turned it into a video. The finalists were chosen by Sutter and  production company, Blind Squirrels, based on creative content, storytelling and the pet tale’s direct connection to the "Tales for the Pet Lover’s Heart" mission. The videos can be viewed on the "Tales for the Pet Lover's Heart" website.