A few weeks ago, I published a post about a casting call for 3-legged canines.  Now Animal Planet is looking for some potential 2-legged reality stars.  If you’re interested in participating in the 2nd season of Animal Planet’s, “Underdog to Wonderdog” tv show you can contact michaelp@sharpentertainment.com.  Here’s who they’re looking for:

We are looking for charismatic, enthusiastic and energetic families and individuals – who have a unique, sentimental, or powerful emotional reason to want to bring a dog into their lives.  But above all else, we are looking for caring people who have a lot of love to give and are truly serious about giving a shelter or rescued dog a “forever” home.  We are looking for families in the New York area immediately. This includes New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Long Island, and Pennsylvania.

Season 1 is airing now – I’ve only managed to catch one episode so far, but what’s not to love?  Experts rehab a forlorn shelter dog and place them in a nice home.  Hopefully it will inspire lots of people to add a rescue dog to their family!

What if I was to tell you that there was a way to support animal shelters without it costing you a penny??  Well, hold on to your hats…because BringPetsHome.org has set up an online portal where visitors can access more than 150 major online retailers, like Amazon, Sephora, Wal-Mart, iTunes, and many more.  These retailers have agreed to donate a percentage of your purchase to BringPetsHome.

So, all you have to do is add one click to your shopping experience – just go to the BringPetsHome shop site and click through to the retailer that you were going to purchase from anyway.  You can even register on BringPetsHome to specify which charity you want the money your retailer donates to go to.

I’m an admitted Amazon shop-a-holic…and according to the BringPetsHome website, Amazon will donate 4-10% of each purchase I make.  I tested it out and clicked through the Amazon link in the BringPetsHome shop and it took me right into my normal account!  Seems like a no-brainer…I just book-marked the BringPetsHome shop and now all I have to do is remember to go there on my way to my Amazon shopping.  Very cool!

About Bring Pets Home
BRING PETS HOME is a not-for-profit animal charity that raises money to help animals in shelters across the country. 100% of the money raised will go directly to animal shelters to provide food, shelter and medical treatment to pets in need.  All operating costs of BRING PETS HOME are covered by Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health. There is no additional cost to the consumer.  To learn more, visit www.bringpetshome.org.

Despite continued bleak economic forecasts, the luxury pet product market does not seem to be losing steam.  Meet the Papooch…

The Papooch carrier’s shell is made with DuPont Hydrology water-resistant leather that allows the bag to be washable.  A small latch inside the bag can allow the owner to connect the pet’s harness to the bag for safety.

If your dog is 5-8lbs and 12 inches or less long, you could be one of the first to have a Papooch by purchasing one of the 50 “first run” bags now available on Smashing Darling for $170.  Enter the coupon code “friend” and snifnycdog readers will receive a 10% discount.

For a demonstration of how the Papooch works, check out the YouTube video below…

Camp Bow Wow is celebrating their one year anniversary on Saturday, July 18 with an adoption drive at their doggy daycare and overnight boarding camp located at 47-16 Austell Place, Long Island City, between Skillman Avenue and 27^th Street. 

The Anniversary Adoption Drive will be complete with food, games, raffles and prizes all afternoon.  Camp Bow Wow is partnering with the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC Animals, Animal Care & Control, North Shore Animal League, the Animal Center of Queens, Sean Casey Animal Rescue, Zani’s Furry Friends, Wellness, Babette Haggerty, My Two Pets, Inc, The Good Dog Foundation and more to find forever homes for the many animals that need our help this year.  All of the money raised at the event will go to the participating shelters and rescue groups.

Camp Bow Wow Long Island City Anniversary Adoption Drive vendors and fun activities include:

• -Adoption Drive with NY ACC, North Shore Animal League, Animal Center of Queens and more!
• -$25 Micro-chipping from the Mayor’s Alliance
• -Raffles, games, food and drink
• -Professional Photographer Ian Duncan Ball
• -Trainers Babette Haggerty and My Two Dogs, Inc.
• -Gift basket for every animal adopted from Whiskers Holistic Pet Care

The festivities will run from Noon to 4:00pm on Saturday, July 18th!

Two local pooches are trying to do their part to help revive the economy by promoting tourism in NYC.  Follow Schmitty and her sister Pudge as they visit a number of dog-friendly landmarks around New York.   Too cute!!

To learn more about Schmitty and Pudge, check out the press release for the video here.

My husband is probably the only one who knows this…but I am obsessed with 3-legged dogs.  I don’t know exactly why, but I think it has something to do with how resilient they are in the face of adversity.  I find it so inspiring to see a 3-legged dog walking down the street, as if they didn’t even notice their missing appendage.  Before we got Oscar, I was fixated on adopting a 3-legged dog, but in the end I chickened out – I thought it would be too risky to adopt a special needs dog as my very first dog. 

That being said, you can probably imagine how excited I was to hear about a casting call for 3-legged dogs!   Los Angeles-based New Zealand filmmaker Geoff Talbot is looking for a 3-legged dog to pay Scrap in his new movie “Lucky and Rich”.   If you have or know of a great “tripod”, pass the word along!

Also you can see all of the contestants who have registered so far and vote for your favorite here.

Looks like Maty could be a ringer…

Maty is a world champion frisbee contender.  But my personal favorite so far is Torpedo Montana…he looks so happy!

Okay, that was a really cheesy title to introduce a recent NYTimes article about the boom in dog waste removal services.  Despite cutbacks in lots of other areas, people are still willing to shell out the bucks to have someone come to their house once or twice a week and pick up all the dog crap from their lawn.

Honestly, I don’t really get it…I mean, I get that people don’t like picking up dog crap, but what I don’t get is how you live with 3-6 days worth of dog crap on your lawn before it gets picked up!!  Oscar is a pretty small dog, and he could render a lawn unusable in about a day.  I can’t even imagine the damage a lab could do in a few days!  I guess that I’m just old school when it comes to picking up poo…I would have to hire someone to follow Oscar around 24/7.  Somehow I don’t think that would be very economical…

There’s a new pet social networking site on the scene – meet Petizens!

Petizens is a social network for any type of pet.  They offer free webpages that are really easy to make and can be completely customized using drag and drop technology.  Their main purpose is to give pet owners a place to socialize and share information with other pet owners.

Get in on the ground floor and sign up now!

A few weeks ago, I told you about Camp Unleashedin the Berksires, but for another local retreat that will cater to both you and your canine, check out Canine Club Getaway.  Located about 2.5 hours from NYC, you’ll have the opportunity to do lots of fun activities with your dog and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Catskills.

But don’t take my word for it…from the Canine Club Getaway:

From agility, lure coursing, frisbee, hiking, Rally Obedience, “barks and crafts,” and swimming (and yes, your dog can go in the pool with you!) to obedience and tricks classes and seminars by top veterinarians and trainers, CCG offers endless opportunities to have fun with your dog while meeting other like-minded dog lovers.

But taking your dog on vacation doesn’t mean you have to “ruff” it. When you’re not playing with your dog, you’ll enjoy heated and air conditioned rooms with cable TV, delicious gourmet meals by a renowned chef (formerly of NYC’s Russian Tea Room) “Yappy Hour” by the pool and nightly entertainment that runs the gamut from live music and dancing to karaoake night.

Canine Club Getaway is September 10-13th.  Register by July 1st and avoid a $25 late charge!  For information about rates and the application, check out their website for more information.

The Cool Puppy is introducing a new super cool product : The Loki Puppy Dog Collars and Leads.

The 80’s are back!   The Loki Puppy Leather Set is handcrafted from ultra-soft leather and custom dyed for this collection. Colors range from Key Lime Green to Radiant White to Punk Pink. This luxury set is accented with hollow studs in 80’s inspired cool colors and features a custom buckle with a brushed-silver finish and a fabulous Loki Puppy charm.

Check out the full 2009 collection here!