Speak Up for Animals!

Hello animal friends,

March has been an exciting month for Dogs Of A Good Society.  We participated and showed our support at the Humane Lobby Day for the third year in a row, right here in Minnesota.  It was energizing and inspiring to be around so many like minded people, who wanted to advocate for animals.  We got the chance to make new connections and meet old friends.

@ Humane Lobby Day-March 16, 2016

HSUS Information packets, bills to present to our legislatures inside and a swag pin!

Our legislators from our group said YES they would support the animal rights bills.

Here we are with the great animal advocate Senator Scott Dibble.  He was presented with an award that day for all his efforts in animal advocacy.

That's our amazing Treasurer, Lan, in the Make Your Mark t shirt and the other person is me. :D

And here's Dave, our wonderful Board member.  We had to take a picture with a picture with animals, of course! :D

At the March 1st, 2016 Caucus with our fantastic Secretary, KoKo, holding our resolution and awesome Board member Lauren.

For the love of animals, we love what we do and sharing it with you!

The Humane Society of the United States  for more info on the bills in our state and other states

D.O.G.S. Advocacy our resolution

Until next time,

Join the Pack and be a Pack Leader and help us help animals in need.

www.dogsofagoodsociety.org

info@dogsofagoodsociety.org

FB Dogs Of A Good Society 

Twitter @ D_O_G_S_MN
Insta dogsmn

Family

Hello,

All dog lovers have been there… you have a dog (or a couple) and are looking to add to your fur family. If you’re anything like me, emotion always plays apart in this decision. It is often hard to think so rationally when you see an adorable puppy (no matter the age, they’re all puppies). Now that I have 3 of my own, I have actually learned a lot about adding another fur baby.

First, it’s vital to think about your current dogs and all other pets as well. From their personalities, temperament, how they interact with people and dogs, how they act around feeding times, etc. This can all be important to determine the best match for your household.

Maybe the most important part of adding to your family is knowing that all family members, both pets and human, are in agreement. There is nothing worse than having the stress of a new member wearing on someone who wasn’t on board. If you have a cat who isn’t dog friendly, it is not fair to throw their life and routine upside down.

Next is lifestyle. While dogs often do not hold all the traits of their breed, most can hold true. Matching your active style to the dog can be very important to both the balance of the dog, and the owner’s happiness. It is extremely easy to fall in love with an active hunting dog, but if you and your family do not live that lifestyle, natural traits of the dog can become difficult to deal with in a home. Be honest with yourself about the type of lifestyle you live and research breeds online.

Your current pets and their personalities are also very important. When I added my 2^nd dog, changes had to be made to how my oldest dog eats. It was a tough transition, but we found a good personality fit in a dog for her. They’re now on a schedule feeding due to her younger sister, but it’s important to know that changes will have to happen.

Ideally, the goal is to match a dog to your family. There are several rescue pups that are looking for their forever home. We suggest doing your research and finding a rescue group to help you in the process of adopting your new family member. Most rescues will also want current pets to meet, which is where you can truly determine if it’s a good fit. If you go to a shelter, be aware of the dog’s energy and ask if you can bring a current pet to meet. At the end of the day, everyone wants it to be the right fit and not one based solely on emotion. 

Here's our board member, Lauren's 3 cute furbabies:

Big thanks to our guest writer-Lauren Thewes-Board Member for a wonderful blog on adding a new family member.

Until next time,

Join the Pack and be a Pack Leader and help us help animals in need.

www.dogsofagoodsociety.org

info@dogsofagoodsociety.org

FB Dogs Of A Good Society 

Twitter @ D_O_G_S_MN
Insta dogsmn

New Year, Same Dream. Same Goal.

I have a dream…

If you were to ask me what my ultimate dream is, if I could do one thing and know that I couldn’t fail, I would say without hesitation that my dream would be to have my own little island full of all the animals in the world needing their own home and family.  That would be THE ultimate dream.  But I have to be realistic (unfortunately!). 

The closest to having my own island filled with animals would be to have an animal sanctuary full of rescued animals.  I would take in the old, theunwanted, the strays, the sick, I would take them all.  I would be honored to take care of them, bring them back to health, show them love, and if possible, adopt them out to loving families.  

While that dream is definitely more realistic than having my own island, it’s still not something that can be fulfilled in a snap of a finger.  It will take hard work and (a lot of) money, but someday, watch me make it come true.  

..now tell me, if you could fulfill a dream, knowing that you could not fail, what would you do?  What is your dream?


Susel shares our dream and goal....:)

Guest writer-Susel Depinoy
D.O.G.S.-VP

Until next time,

Join the Pack and be a Pack Leader and help us help animals in need.

www.dogsofagoodsociety.org

info@dogsofagoodsociety.org

FB Dogs Of A Good Society 

Twitter @ D_O_G_S_MN
Insta dogsmn

Don't break my heart, my achy breaky heart...

Good morning everyone! :)

Do any of you remember that song?  Don't break my heart my achy breaky heart, I don't think it'll understand....da da da da daaaa  ??  Well I'm a country music listener myself and love country music!  That song popped in my head this week when I was talking to someone who called D.O.G.S. about surrendering their dogs.  The owner was crying and my heart hurt for her as well.  Recently D.O.G.S. has been getting emails and calls more and more.  Which is great, our team that works on marketing us is doing their job.  We are grateful to have people help us navigate our Google 'perks' like Google adwords.  If you are starting your non profit, you should check it out!  Google offers a variety of support for non profits!


Anyway, it's tough to receive calls and emails like those and I suppose it is the nature of the beast when working with a non profit that helps animals.  People may not read our mission or fully understand what we do.  They may see animals, help, rescues and call or email.  We help them as best we can and offer resources and support.  All the while listening to the sad stories is difficult.  Sometimes going through my Facebook feed or just having an email is difficult.  The sad stories, pictures, tragedies can be overwhelming at times.  One way I keep on trucking is reminding myself THIS is why I want to continue to work on D.O.G.S. for all those sad stories to go away.  Eventually.  Decrease them.  Cease them.  It may seem naive, some may say how nonsense of her to think that way, but that's a way I know how to cope/manage with all of it in a healthy way.  

If you would like to share how your organization or yourself manages situations like this.  I would love to hear it.  Please comment below or shoot me an email.  Let's connect!  Strength in numbers, the power of positive thinkers.  :)


Until next time,

Join the Pack and be a Pack Leader and help us help ANIMALS in need!

www.dogsofagoodsociety.org

dogsofagoodsociety@gmail.com

FB Dogs Of A Good Society https://www.facebook.com/DogsOfAGoodSociety

Twitter @ D_O_G_S_MN
Insta dogsmn

Who Moved My Cheese?

Greetings animal friends,

Lately I have been experiencing more change then I would like to welcome.   Don't get me wrong, I understand change is going to happen, sometimes even necessary.   Whether it is a good change or a not so good change, change is present all around.  My friend loaned me a book called Who Moved My Cheese?when I was in transition from one job to another to create more time for D.O.G.S.  It was a simple, fast read, which I appreciated it very much at the time considering my lack of time.  I would recommend it for people going through change in their life or to read for fun.  I took away some nuggets from it.

With that said, with D.O.G.S. change is constant, making changes, making adjustments, decisions for the betterment of D.O.G.S. and so on.  One change I will share with you today is:

Today we made the decision to move our candy machine for fundraising for D.O.G.S. 100% of proceeds go to assisting animals in need.  We moved it to hopefully a higher traffic location.  We are so grateful for So Good Asian's support in our candy machine fundraising efforts for over a year now.  We were able to connect with Hot Comics in New Hope, with a different demographic and perhaps higher traffic will help with our fundraiser for D.O.G.S.  It was a tough decision, since we had such great support at So Good Asian.  In the future we hope to have multiple candy machines throughout MN, but for now we are happy to be able to sustain this one.  We are looking forward to our new partnership with Hot Comics and this isn't good bye with So Good Asian :).  

I feel truly blessed to have amazing opportunities for D.O.G.S.  As D.O.G.S. grows, I feel the support increase.  It definitely is a different vibe then when I first started this dream.  So if you are thinking of doing something you love, don't hesitate, take the steps, make it out, give it a feel, and go for it!  It will be hard, it may get harder, but it does get easier.  D.O.G.S. is challenging and easy if that makes sense, everything else is a bit more difficult, but made easier because I am doing what I love.  Do what you love.  Make the change.  Create the change you want.  I know I still am and will continue to make changes for a happier, healthier me and D.O.G.S.

New hours come to Hot Comics and get your read on and support D.O.G.S.

I Rather Be with My Dog, Really?

Hello everyone! :)

Have we met?  My name is MyLy.  Me then: I am an introvert at heart.  I tend to keep to myself quite a bit, prefer to stay home with the furbabies, enjoy my alone time, love working on what I love and am happy to do it alone, and of course would rather be with my dog then anyone else.  And I mean anyone.  People would say she's got be with her dog only.  Say what?

Me now:  I am still an introvert, however with the birth of D.O.G.S. I have a little more extrovert in me.  See: an outgoing person.  I enjoy my introverted side, no doubt, but I also embrace a new side of me.  A butterfly that wants to meet others with similar interests in helping animals, meeting new friends, partners, supporters, and animal lovers.  It is actually really fun.  If it wasn't for Dogs Of A Good Society, I would not have the chance to meet amazing rescue heroes, rescue supporters, and most everyone on the board of D.O.G.S.  I have gained some wonderful friendships, partnerships, and a new sense of me and on going.

So, sometimes it's good to go outside of your comfort zone and learn something new about yourself through something that speaks to your heart.  Try it, you might like it.  I know I do. 

Hi, have we met?  I'm MyLy and I go wherever D.O.G.S. takes me.  It may be scary, it may be a bit crazy??  It may be a risk.  Some may call me a 'dog lady', but really what's the negative in that???  As long as it's positive, makes me smile, and I get to try to be the person my dog already thinks I am.  Why not?  

Until next time,

Join the Pack and be a Pack Leader and help us help ANIMALS in need!

Right now we are gearing up and are excited for our Humane Lobby Day event on Wednesday, Feb. 24th from 8:30a-12pm.  Meet your legislatures and speak up for animals with us!  Contact us to join, we'll stand up together :)   dogsofagoodsociety@gmail.com 

www.dogsofagoodsociety.org

dogsofagoodsociety@gmail.com

FB Dogs Of A Good Society https://www.facebook.com/DogsOfAGoodSociety

Twitter @ D_O_G_S_MN
Insta dogsmn

Are you going to eat that?

Greetings fellow animal friends! :)

This week's post I decided to blog about my somewhat, but not quite borderline 'hoarding' of anything I can use for Dogs Of A Good Society.  As some of you may know, I am not much of a collector of things I don't need (i.e. clothes, boxes, knick knacks, etc).  I absolutely love cleaning and organizing, getting rid of 'junk' so to speak.  With that said I do collect: old/new t shirts (for DIY dog toys), boxes, Starbucks coffee bottles (for event decor), mason jars (events), notebooks, paper, recycled paper, pens, pencils, folders, candle jars (events), shopping bags (storage, etc), hangers from the dry cleaners (for D.O.G.S. clothing closet), seasonal clearance items (event decor/supplies), frames, and so much more!  Random items I collect all for D.O.G.S.  I find myself frequently thinking, what could I use this for D.O.G.S., or this or that.  

"Hey don't throw that away, you never know when I could use it for D.O.G.S.!"  Lucky for me, my family is pretty supportive of my 'keeping of things'.

Being a start up non profit, I don't want to waste any resource; waste not, want not.  Almost anything could be a resource.  Heck, I recycled an old table a neighbor was throwing out for the D.O.G.S.'s office.  And for those of you who know me fairly well, that's almost unheard of.  I am quite a germ-a-phobe, got some snippets of OCD cleanliness in me.  However, I figured a good scrubbing and disinfectant and va la!  An office desk so I can work diligently and efficiently in the D.O.G.S.'s office.

I suppose you have to keep everything and anything, reuse, recycle, and all that to save a little here and there.  All to be able to spend more on helping animals.  It's OK to do that, it's OK to want to spend it where it counts.  I'm learning it's OK to change some of my habits, way of thinking, what have you to really focus on what's really important.  The BIG picture. Pinch a little here, save a little here, keep a little of this, get a little of that, to help.  Help a furbaby that will make my heart and face smile for days on end.

A glimpse of some of the items I collect

all for these cuties...

Join the Pack and be a Pack Leader and help us help ANIMALS in need!

www.dogsofagoodsociety.org

dogsofagoodsociety@gmail.com

FB Dogs Of A Good Society https://www.facebook.com/DogsOfAGoodSociety

Twitter @ D_O_G_S_MN
Insta dogsmn

Light bulb!

Greetings animal friends! :)

My life consists of working on Dogs Of A Good Society, maintaining a full house, working at a part time job, balancing a full calendar and squeezing in self care; can have my head spinning at times.  For the most part, I love it and enjoy the 'whirl wind' of a life I have created for myself.  With lots of love, support, and coffee it works out well!  

I am asking my fellow blog friends, D.O.G.S. friends, and everyone around the world, what would you like to see on the blog?  More on D.O.G.S.'s process, announcements, day to day happenings, you name it!  I would love to hear from you all.  Sometimes my mind goes 100 mph a minute I need to slow down and reflect on what works well here.  Let me know @ dogsofagoodsociety@gmail.com or comment below.


I am happy to share all things D.O.G.S.

I'm listening....

Thank you 2014, Welcome 2015!

Hello animal friends! :)

It's been awhile since D.O.G.S. has posted a new blog, thanks for being patient with us.  We are excited to roll out some new initiatives and have already introduced a couple of our projects to assist animals in MN.

It has been a GREAT 2014 and we look forward to an even better 2015.  Here's a little recap of what we have been up to in pictures.  Enjoy!

Our Annual Benefit

Our new t shirt design for 2014

BBQ with your Buddy fundraiser! 

Paws on Grand

We got to be a part of GiveMN-Give to the Max day!

Holiday wrapping 2014 at Barnes and Noble

Join the Pack be a Pack Leader initiative

Supplies to share, we are here to assist animals, however we can!

Meetings, meetings, and more meetings to connect with YOU and other great partners!

Our new BOGO leash designs, proceeds go to helping animals and we donate one!

Coming soon, our YouTube project!

Constantly learning new skills, thanks to our site designer and 'on call webmaster' we learn the ropes!

This is just a snippet of what we had done in 2014 and 2015 there is so much more in store.  Stay tuned!  Thanks to you all this and more is possible-for the animals!

Join the Pack and help us help ANIMALS in need!

www.dogsofagoodsociety.org

dogsofagoodsociety@gmail.com

FB Dogs Of A Good Society https://www.facebook.com/DogsOfAGoodSociety

Twitter @ D_O_G_S_MN
Insta dogsmn

BOGO (Buy One, Give One)

Good morning animal friends!

Brrrrrr it's cold here in MN.  If you are going to go for a walk or run with your furbaby don't forget to bundle them up too!  Booties are nice for our four legged friends as well. 

We at Dogs Of A Good Society are excited to offer our brand new spanking leashes!  It was a fun process, designing, shopping around for quotes, and building partnerships to get our leashes.  It took us longer then expected, however little bumps in the road are expected with new ideas.  We couldn't have done it without your support.

Check them out below.

The leashes are $10 bucks and when you buy one (all proceeds go to assisting animals in need here in MN), we give one to a local rescue, shelter or pound.  Our version of BOGO.  What a deal right?  

Want to sport one of these with your furbaby and support animals in need?  Contact us today @ dogsofagoodsociety@gmail.com or www.dogsofagoodsociety.org

Until next time,

Join the Pack and help us help ANIMALS in need!

www.dogsofagoodsociety.org

dogsofagoodsociety@gmail.com

FB Dogs Of A Good Society https://www.facebook.com/DogsOfAGoodSociety

Twitter @ D_O_G_S_MN
Insta dogsmn

Thankful

Hello D.O.G.S. friends,

It's been approximately two years since Dogs Of A Good Society started, six months since we received approval for our 501c3 non profit status, and six years since a dream, wishful thinking and ideas became reality.  I am so thankful for all this progress, better yet the driving force behind D.O.G.S.-our amazing board members, volunteers and kind donors.  I am thankful.  Thankful for the organization and its heart; it's mission and vision.  It took much work, sweat, a few tears, no blood thank goodness to get D.O.G.S. up and running.  You may have remembered from my past blog posts, that there were challenges in the beginning and being alone.  I don't feel so alone anymore.  I am not alone, because there is YOU.  

D.O.G.S. has had the opportunity to grow slowly, but surely.  With growing comes growing pains and I am thankful for those as well.  From organizational growth, budget woes, lack of  resources/manpower, to name a few-am thankful for it all.  For the ups and downs, the achievements and the snags you run into as an organization, the accomplishment seems so much sweeter.   Balancing life, family, social time, self care, the organization is no easy task.  A task I am still working on mastering; multi tasking and time management.  It never ceases to amaze me how much time is needed for it all.  As much as I love D.O.G.S., enjoy its challenges and what it stands for.  I know, realistically and idealistically I can't live, eat, breath it, but I have the passion for it.  Isn't that what counts first?  Passion.  Find what's your drive and passion and it becomes easier.  Of course there are many challenges, but they don't seem like uphill challenges when it's something you love.  They are welcomed. 

So for this week's blog we wanted to say THANKS, not just for Thanksgiving, but for EVERY DAY.  I am thankful for all of you kind and generous donors, volunteers, partners, collaborators, members, friends, animals, and family.  We at D.O.G.S. are thankful for you.  

D.O.G.S. is part us and you for supporting us in our mission.

Until next time,

Join the Pack and help us help ANIMALS in need!

www.dogsofagoodsociety.org

dogsofagoodsociety@gmail.com

FB Dogs Of A Good Society https://www.facebook.com/DogsOfAGoodSociety

Twitter @ D_O_G_S_MN
Insta dogsmn

Give To The Max!

Greetings everyone! :)

It's been a few weeks since our last blog and we apologize for keeping you waiting!  We have been working on a few projects that has been keeping everyone, including myself extremely busy!  Trying to organize it all and prioritize all the happenings, projects, events, schedules, timing has been a bit of a challenge for me.  I am working on improving my time management skills, multi-tasking skills, among others.  It is a constant learning curve and I am constantly learning on better ways to operate Dogs Of A Good Society and ways to be a better example and leader for the organization.  I suppose I got what I wished for, forever being in 'school' and being a forever student! hehehe ;)  More to come...

With that being said, I have learned, we as a team have learned the many different opportunities we can be a part of since our non profit 501c3 status in May.  We get the privilege to be a part of Give To The Max day here in Minnesota.  A great chance to be a part of the movement to 'ignite generosity' in Minnesota on a small to grand scale.  Giving on one day, with perks of giving, with matching donations as something we could be a part of and much more.  Please consider giving to D.O.G.S. today and schedule a gift with www.givemn.org your gift will go a long way and we will make sure every single penny counts!  Over the past year, we have tried to the best of our abilities to reach out to animal organizations to let them know we are here to help.  We can help multiple organizations and many animals all with your support and we are grateful for that.  As part of our passion in helping however and whenever we can!  Whether it be with rescuing supplies, foster supplies, funding for surgery, transportation, advocacy work, and much, much more.

Interested in Joining Our Pack?  Check out our web site www.dogsofagoodsociety.org to get involved in volunteering, becoming a board member, or being part of our foster database to help #SaveALife  We need YOU to make it happen, let's do it together, to make a world of difference for one animal at a time.

You Like Big Mutts and You Cannot Lie

Good morning everyone!  Beautiful weather in Minnesota today :)

The last couple of weeks we had a t shirt fundraiser campaign to raise funds to assist animals in need here in Minnesota.  We are so pleased to announce that the campaign was successful and we reached our goal of 30 t shirts/sweatshirts sold.  We appreciate everyone's support, sharing, and spreading the word about these cute shirts designed by our talented team.   Swag helping a cause.  The dollar is powerful.  You can do so much with your dollar.  You can buy something that helps someone, a furbaby, somewhere; it's a powerful concept.  Thank you for using your dollar for a cause = helping animals.

We at D.O.G.S. have many project initiatives we are working hard on and are excited about.  One of the projects was the t shirt campaign.  Efforts, resources, and passion go behind everything we do and we can't thank everyone enough for supporting our mission.  To keep our vision alive we strive to do what we can and invite you to be a part of our journey.  We are actively looking for volunteers for events, projects, passionate board members, and fosters to connect with rescues in Minnesota to #SaveALife  Please consider joining our team in the efforts to do what we can, when we can, however we can; to help animals in need.  

If you are not able to donate your time, please consider donating for a cause by visiting www.dogsofagoodsociety.org  There are several fun ways to participate and help.  

Join our pack and become a Pack Leader and donate on a schedule that works for you.  All proceeds go to animals in need.

We hope to hear from you soon!

Join the Pack and help us help ANIMALS in need!

www.dogsofagoodsociety.org

dogsofagoodsociety@gmail.com

FB Dogs Of A Good Society https://www.facebook.com/DogsOfAGoodSociety

Twitter @ D_O_G_S_MN
Insta dogsmn

I like Big Mutts (and I cannot lie)

Good afternoon fellow animal friends! :)

I like big mutts and I cannot lie, that is our latest fundraising campaign for t shirts and sweatshirts for Dogs Of A Good Society, where all proceeds go to assisting animals right here in MN.  Having two rescue mutts myself, I had to get my hands on this sweatshirt!


Please like and share away! 
Help us reach our goal of selling 30 tshirts in the next 19 days! 
http://teespring.com/dogsofagoodsociety





Here at D.O.G.S. fundraising is a big part of what we do in order to raise money to help local shelters, rescues, pounds, and animals!  Choosing what to do, when to do it, how to do it and the manpower/resources to do it can be tough.  We have a wonderful team that makes these decisions, our board.  However, we do look to outside influences such as other organizations, friends, families, and we do some research.  There are so many good ideas already out there and existing, why reinvent it all?  An original idea is fun and exciting and can be successful, but we like to keep our options open.  Hence, when we saw Teespring's campaign from other groups and individuals, we thought let's try it.  At no risk to us, the ability to reach more people, no product handling or added cost, it's a win win!  


Running on a tight budget, where literally every penny and dollar counts; scoping out the most economical way to fund-raise is a must, so we had to share!



Another blog edition of a little view into my world of "running a non profit".   Thanks for reading!

Join the Pack and help us help ANIMALS in need!

www.dogsofagoodsociety.org

dogsofagoodsociety@gmail.com

FB Dogs Of A Good Society

Twitter @ D_O_G_S_MN
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