ohmidog!

Sponsors

Hayle

 Love of Dog Bakery  

    In late 2006, Julie Newman decided to bake homemade dog treats for her friends’ dogs as holiday gifts.
    Her husband Rob had no problem with it; and Hayle, their mutt (a Flat-Coated Retriever/Border Collie), was all for the idea.
    Her friends’ dogs liked them so much, that one — a friend, not a dog — suggested Julie consider selling them. That was the beginning of Love of Dog Bakery, which launched its website in 2007.

    The company donates 5 percent of its gross sales to dog-related charities, picking a new one every month. (In August, it was Animal Rescue, Inc. in York, Pa.)
    It also strives to be environmentally conscientious, using 100% recyclable corrugated cardboard shipping boxes. Even their packing peanuts (do not eat) are reused — passed on to Rob and Julie by friends and family.
     Julie, who is completing her PhD in clinical psychology, has focused on working with children with developmental disorders and brain injuries. Rob, who has a business degree in marketing, has worked in sales, marketing, management, and business consulting.
     When they aren’t working their “real” jobs or busy in the kitchen, Rob, Julie, & Hayle — who is official taster and has her own blog on the Love of Dog website — enjoy trips to the dog park, hikes in the woods, camping, or swimming in the reservoir, river, lake, bay or any other of body of water into which Hayle might jump.
    Love of Dog Bakery can be reached at 301-497-1524. 

 Chesapeake Veterinary Surgical Specialists

    Since 1992, Chesapeake Veterinary Surgical Specialists has worked to combine state of the art surgical care with deep-rooted compassion for animals.
    Founded in Annapolis, CVSS added a second location, in Towson, in 1998 and today serves residents of Baltimore, Annapolis, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the Eastern Shore.
    Formerly named Chesapeake Veterinary Referral Surgery, the practice is made up of seven staff surgeons, all certified by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. 
    At both locations, the practice is associated with emergency care facilities that have doctors on the premises 24 hours a day, and CVSS surgeons work closely with top specialists in internal medicine, oncology, cardiology, ophthalmology, dentistry, and dermatology to address highly complex patient issues.
    The CVSS team specializes in all areas of canine and feline surgery, and works to provide a responsive, kind and compassionate experience during a difficult time.
    Committed to mastering new technologies, CVSS surgeons have recently added several specialty surgeries to their repertoire — among them the sliding humeral osteotomy, a treatment for arthritis which only about 50 surgeons worldwide provide. Chesapeake Veterinary Surgical Specialists is also establishing an elbow replacement program for dogs, and they have been providing total hip replacements for canines since 1992. 
    The practice plays an active role in the community, having contributed to, helped sponsor or provided services for Animal Rescue Inc., Anne Arundel SPCA, Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter, Inc. (BARCS), Baltimore County Humane Society, Defenders of Animal Rights, DelMarVa Dachshund Rescue, Fallston Animal Rescue, Fur-Gotten Friends, Inc., Mid-Atlantic German Shepherd Rescue (MAGSR) and Westie Rescue, Inc.
             

                                          (Chesapeake Veterinary Surgical Specialists surgeons, from top left: Dr. Joseph Prostredny, DVM; Dr. Anne C. Minihan, DVM; Dr. Krista L. Evans, DVM; Dr. Daren M. Roa, DVM; Dr. F. Robert Weeren, DVM; Dr. Sean P. Kennedy, DVM; and Dr. Matthew M. Keats, DVM)  

  K-9 Kraving

   Bob Barrett had seen too many of his German Shepherds die too young. As a kennel owner, he’d seen them develop hip problems, and he lost several to what he suspects was bloating.

   In 1999, he switched his dogs to a raw diet, and in 2000 — already in the meat business – he started his own raw dog food company, K-9 Kraving.
    It wasn’t too far removed from what his company, Boesl Packing Co. was already doing. Located at 2322 Belair Road, they’ve been making and selling hot dogs in Baltimore since 1932, when his uncle’s father came over from Germany and started the business.
   The difference a raw diet makes in a dog’s health, Barrett says, is remarkable.
   “The raw diet is about feeding your dog as Mother Nature intendented to maintain your pet’s optimum health, longevity and reporductive capabilities,” Barrett said in a recent interview in Baltimore Dog magazine.
    K-9 Kraving is manufactured using quality natural ingredients from USDA inspected plants, and the Belair Road plant is visited daily by USDA inspectors. It contains no preservatives, sugar, dyes, nor chemicals. 
    “A dog, true to it’s evolution, should not eat commercially prepared food that is processed, baked, based on grains, loaded with salt, sugar, food additives, or coloring,” according to the K-9 Kraving website. ”Every bite of our diet is based on a scientifically balanced and blended recipe of raw ingredients specifically formulated with quality ingredients. Our food has not been cooked so all of the natural enzymes remain intact, retaining maximum values of nutrients.”
   Cleaner teeth, shinier coats, and smaller stools are just a few of the benefits you can expect with the raw diet, says Barrett, 51.
   K-9 Kraving can be reached at 410-675-1471. 

   Doghouse Girls

  After working for 15 years in mental health and 4 years managing a busy call center, Pauline Houliaris dreamed of working from home and spending more time with her dog and cats.

   So, in 2001, she became a professional dog walker. In a way, it was step backwards: While working on her Master’s degree in clinical psychology at Loyola College, Pauline Houliaris had been a pet sitter, taking care of people’s pets while they traveled.

   Now co-owner of Doghouse Girls, Inc., Pauline enjoys providing behavioral advice for clients’ pets, which doesn’t seem that far removed from her days doing psychiatric evaluations in the emergency room.

   When not taking care of her clients’ pets, Pauline enjoys gardening, cooking, reading, NPR, dog training, animal behavior and nutrition, and watching “The Dog Whisperer.”

   She describes her own dog, Ravenopolis, as a “Greek-American Pit Bull Terrier.” He’s a certified Canine Good Citizen and Pets on Wheels volunteer therapy dog. Pauline also volunteers for several organizations including the Canton Garden Association, Adopt-A-Homeless Animal pit bull rescue and BARCS.

   As a founding member of the Canton Community Association and its first Vice President, she has volunteered many hours in the neighborhood over the last 10 years and helped start Canton Dog Park. She is currently on the Board of Friends of Canton Dog Park and a founding member of a new nonprofit called B-More Dog, Inc.

   Sue Loeffler, co-owner of Doghouse Girls, is also a rat race refugee, having left her career in  logistics, fulfillment, and warehouse management.  She says she’s found that she prefers a dog park to a corporate office.

    She started professional dog walking in 2001 and enjoys working with especially timid dogs and helping them feel more confident around humans and other dogs. She has 2 dogs of her own: Chance, a 13-year-old shepherd mix, and Dewey, a 4-year-old long-haired rat terrier, plus a recently rescued cat Matilda.

   When not taking care of her clients’ pets, Sue enjoys keeping up on current events, reading odd news stories, watching movies and true crime shows, and spending time with her grandchildren.

  Visit the Doghouse Girls website for more information about the Doghouse Girls and the rest of the staff, pictured below in a group photo. They’re all hard workers, except maybe the guy in the back row on the right. Rumor has it, he might be doggin’ it.

 Lucky Lucy’s Canine Cafe

   Lucky Lucy’s was opened on Charles Street in Federal Hill in September of 2002, and named after Lucy, a rescued German Shepherd that belonged to the original owners.
    The tradition they started – selling homemade dog treats, baked on the premises – has continued through two more owners.
    Today, Nancy McMullen is the one who’s cooking up “chicken and cheese squirrels” and a variety of other treats, in the back room of Lucky Lucy’s Canine Cafe. One or both of her Welsh Corgis can often be found back there as well.
    A former airline employee who had started her own dog-walking business while on furlough, McMullen bought the store in April 2007.
    McMullen grew up in South Baltimore. (Her father once worked for the Maryland Biscuit Company, also on Charles Street, which made biscuits for humans.)
    The café also carries designer collars, leashes and accessories – beds, toys, bowls and food for dogs and cats.
    But the treats are what get visiting dogs excited. My dog Ace – pets are welcome inside — has nose-slimed the glass case in which the tasty morsels are displayed more than a few times.
    On Wednesdays, Lucky Lucy’s co-hosts a happy hour on the patio of Regi’s American Bistro. The dog treats are free, and humans can order at half price.
    On the last Saturday of every month, Lucky Lucy’s invites a dog available for adoption from the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) to visit. The dog, along with a BARCS volunteer, is there until 2 p.m.
    Lucky Lucy’s can be reached at 410-837-2121.

  Camden-Inner Harbor Veterinary Services

I first met Dr. Johnny Slaughter while writing about him for the Baltimore Sun. I spent a day making the house call rounds with him.

Slaughter, in addition to working as a vet at the Banfield Pet Hospital at the PetSmart in Bowie, has a private mobile practice, and spends several days a week on the road, dropping by clients’ homes to provide their dogs with check-ups, vaccinations or any other care they need.

The son of the former chancellor of the University of Maryland, Slaughter is also an author. More details about him can be found here.

Here’s the video that went with the story I wrote about him:

 Buskerdog.com

    As a painter of dogs, Gil Jawetz brings a quirky, colorful, impressionistic flair to the world of dog art.
   As a designer of websites (including this one), he strives for utility, simplicity and grace.
   Gil, who studied at the Art Students League of New York, has also worked as a film director, crew member, editor and festival director, created CD-Roms, DVDs, and has designed everything from T-shirts to web pages.
   But whichever hat he has on, Gil doesn’t forget the animals.
   I first met Gil when his work was the first to be featured at Canton’s Yellow Dog Tavern when it opened last year. He had a second show there this summer.
   Both times, Gil gave 5% of the sales from the show back to the animals, through a donation to the Baltimore animal rescue group Recycled Love. He’s also donated paintings or proceeds to BARCS (Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter), Baltimore County Humane Society, Mid-Atlantic German Shepherd Rescue, Legacy Boxer Rescue, and Barkin Arts NYC.
   “Whether I’m painting pets or people, I learn something new and valuable from each and every subject,” Gil says.”
   He was showcasing his work at a recent Parade of Pets at the American Visionary Arts Museum in Baltimore when I took this photo of him, working on a painting of his own dog, Pete.
  To see more of his art, visit his websites: buskerdog.com, or painterofdogs.com.
  To learn more about his web design business, go to giljawetz.com.
  To learn more about his recently released book, “Human(e) Beings,” or order it, click here.
  Gil can be reached at 410-323-2192.

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If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please contact us at muttsblog@verizon.net.

          We will only be accepting a limited number of paid sponsorships, and we will only accept as sponsors companies, products and services that sincerely care about dogs.

          In other words, we’re going to be picky. We will not be running any ads for products and services we are not familiar with or about which we don’t have first hand knowledge.

          Money may talk, but it doesn’t dictate what we do.

          Being a sponsor is not in anyway protection. If we hear, and confirm, something negative about your company or product, we will print it. Our dog-loving readers, and their dogs, come first. Basically we are striving here for the kind of ethics newspapers once had.

On the other hand, those sponsors we accept, those we know and trust, will in effect be receiving the Good Muttskeeping Seal of Approval. Any product or service that appears on this website is one we’ve tried, or know enough about, to recommend.

The same will hold true for any unpaid friends – those nonprofit organizations to which we will link. They will all be organizations we have worked with, checked out personally and trust.

In addition to linking to the websites of our paid sponsors, we will have, appearing on this page, a list of those sponsors, and a brief history of who they are and what they do.

Rates will be set based on page views. As we start up, a special introductory rate — good for the first two months — is being offered to a select group of sponsors. When our readership expands, new rates will be determined based on the number of page views we’re getting.

 Thanks for your understanding. If you have questions, email us: muttsblog@verizon.net