The subject of our session will be — naturally — pittie power! The presentation will include the challenging issues that pit bull type dogs face in shelters, and the damage suffered due to misguided media and myths. We will tackle some of these issues, discuss creative solutions, and host a constructive dialogue about ways to boost adoptions, support owners, educate the public, and build partnerships, to better serve dogs that often, and unfairly, get a “bad rap.”

We hope to see everybody there! Here are the details:

American Pets Alive No-Kill Seminar 2012

• Location: Radisson Hotel & Suites, 111 East Cesar Chavez Street, Austin, TX
• Dates of the seminar: Saturday (2/25) 9am-6pm, Sunday (2/26) 9am-6pm, and Monday (2/27) 9am-1pm
• Lunch will be provided on Saturday and Sunday

Hotel accommodations: Attendees can get a room at the Radisson for $119 per night by calling 512-478-9611 or 800-333-3333 and mention the American Pets Alive! Seminar. Or go to www.radisson.com/austintx and use the promotional code PALIVE.

Details for registration can be found at http://americanpetsalive.eventbrite.com. For any questions regarding the conference, please email info@americanpetsalive.org.

Can you find your picture? Click on the link to check it out! PITTIE PRIDE PICTURES

Here’s just a little preview below. Click here for the full blog post.

PITTIE PRIDE PICTURES

“I knew that Pittie owners loved their dogs before I worked the Love-A-Bull Pit Bull awareness day, but my Gawd there was a lot of love on display at Republic Square Park. Here’s how it went down…”

“…I knew I’d be busy that day, but I had no idea. Lets look at some numbers: 227 pictures in 240 minutes. That’s easy math – just about a picture a minute. FOR FOUR HOURS. And we loved every minute of it…”

“…Thank you to all that came out, enjoyed the day, signed the pledge and who continue to help show the world how great bully breed dogs truly are. If you happen to be one of the 227 owners who braved the sun, wind and rain to get your picture taken, and would like a free small jpeg of your picture…”

“…You are all rockstars and the Pitties are lucky to have you in their corner.”

Check out some of the awesome costumes we saw last year!

Even Sharky the Pit Bull and his mom Helen will be there in costume with their bells on! — Okay well maybe not really bells, just hats.

Check out the festival schedule to make sure you don’t miss out on this charming and amusing show of pets on parade!

Be sure to RSVP and join us on November 6, 2011 for this FREE event!

We are proud to partner with PALS (Prevent-A-Litter) of Central Texas, EmanciPET, Town Lake Animal Center, and Oak Hill Veterinary Clinic to make the following items and services available!

• EmanciPET will be on-site to offer and schedule FREE spay/neuter appointments.
• Town Lake Animal Center will be providing FREE microchips, FREE I.D. tags, and FREE leashes/collars.
• And we’ll have a Q&A session with Dr. Mockler from Oak Hill Veterinary Clinic.

Yep, it’s the real deal. You just have to join us on Sunday, November 6 between 1 PM – 5 PM and get hooked up! Check out the schedule to see more information on the event.

Don’t forget to RSVP here on Facebook or Meetup so we can make this even bigger and better than last year. You won’t want to miss out!

HI!

We are frantically pulling the last details for the BIG, HUGE, FANTASTIC, AMAZING, ALL PIT BULL (and their friends), ALL THE TIME , FESTIVAL AND PITTIE PARADE  in November!  And getting SO excited!  It is going to be fantastic!

You are all coming, right?!  Still on the fence?  Well, we have several confirmed guests (Holly Marie Combs, BAD RAP, John Shipe) and just confirmed another one!  SHARKY the Pit Bull!  I bet you are coming now!

No offense, but if you have not heard of Sharky the Texas pit bull – you do not have access to the internet.  Or, like my grandmother, computers scare you.

I digress – Sharky the big, beautiful, gentle PB type dog and YouTube favorite has confirmed with us that he is attending the festival!  In costume with his mom no less!  They will be walking in the parade and col’ kicking it with us and our doggies at the festival!  By the way, there will be a costume contest – so get your dogs ready!

You can find his YouTube movies here: SHARKY THE SUPER RAD PIT BULL FROM TEXAS.

I can’t decide which is my favorite.. Is it the bunny ones?  Or the chick ones?  And, who doesn’t love a cat pestering a dog video?

They are all great!  What a fantastic breed ambassador!

So, get those doggie costumes ready and come on down on the 6th!  Meet and mingle with all of our special guests, including Sharky.  And, let’s celebrate our pit bull type doggies in front of the whole city!  Hell, in front of the whole state!  No, wait – in front of the whole country!

Oh!  And be sure and check this out!  Sharky and his mom, Helen made a special video just for little ol’ us!  Dogs in hats are awesome…Jus’ sayin’

See you in November!

XOXO – Jessica

 
Love-A-Bull really wants to make this year’s silent auction bigger and better than last year! So, we’ll be giving away 2 free tickets to our V.I.P. Party to the person who, by November 4th, brings in the most silent auction donations (by value).
As in the previous contest, the Board will determine value at its own discretion and cannot take items valued at less than $50 (unless it’s a package of items together worth $50).

Wait … You mean you haven’t heard about THE VIP EVENT yet?! Well it’s the evening before PBAD – Saturday, November 5th. You can find out all the details here. We promise it will be a great time!

VIP Kick-off Party Information & Tickets

Donors should fill out our online form here: http://love-a-bull.org/about/support/silent-auction-donations (also available on our home page). And make sure that they indicate who brought them in (your name) where it says “other information.” Or you can fill the form out for them once you have a commitment.

We must have the auction item in our possession by the 4th for it to count.

See below to download our current flyers to hand out to retailers or other people you speak with. Our homepage will also be continually updated. PLEASE keep in mind when approaching businesses that you may not be the first person to do so.  Thus, it is imperative to say something like “I apologize if someone already approached you … however …”
 
THANK YOU EVERYONE and go get ‘em!

Click here for the current VIP Event Flyer and Pit Bull Awareness Day Flyer for distribution. Post them up! Hand them out!

Conrad donates 10 percent of every commission to the anmial rescue of her client’s choice. In November,  when a client mentions Love-A-Bull, Conrad promises to donate 25 percent of commissions to the group that founded the nation’s first all-pit bull therapy dog group, The Pit Crew.

Love-A-Bull is inviting all pit bull lovers to join the effort to set a new record for the world’s largest gathering of pit bull type dogs during PBAD on Sunday Nov. 6 in downtown Austin.

A pit bull parade will start at 11:30 a.m. in front of the Austin American Statesman building at Barton Springs and Congress. The parade will lead to a festival 1 – 5 p.m. at Republic Square Park, 422 Guadalupe St. Both events are free and open to the public.

For the latest details, including special guests, vendor booth information and ways to volunteer, visit the Love-A-Bull homepage.

Pit bull mix Holly shares a spot on a cushion with feline friend Izze Belle

Q&A with Stephanie Conrad:

Tell me about the animals in your life.
I currently share my home with 4 pets. Holly Madison, my pit mix , who absolutely adores my cats, Jazz and Izze Belle. Cody O is a Shih Tzu, Dachshund, Scotty mix.

How did you get involved with animal rescue?
Rescue has been a huge part of my life for so long, it just seems natural to have different rescue organizations on my radar, like Love-A-Bull. I started as a rescue volunteer in Houston 10 years ago when I was 16. I have since been really involved in rescue, both with fostering, as well as education, and I am a huge no-kill advocate.

Describe what it means to be able to paint pet portraits.
It’s incredible! Not many people get to live their dream, especially at 26 years old. I started this business with a painting I did for a friend after his lab passed away. So many people loved it, that I was asked to do more and more. Now only a year and a half later, I have over 10,000 fans on facebook and am able to do something that I truly love for a living. It’s been such a fast-paced year but I am so honored when someon orders a painting from me. I have done more than 200 individual paintings, and I am still so overjoyed when someone orders a piece. It feels unreal sometimes.

What was the best part about PBAD last year?
My favorite memory from the actual day was seeing the parade approaching the park. It was so calm and quiet, and then suddenly this wall of people and pit bulls flooded Republic Square Park.

In general, it was such a lighthearted and happy day. It was wonderful to see so many other pit bull lovers socializing and showing support for these amazing dogs.

What will you be doing different for PBAD this year?
Since last year, we have started a second business doing T-shirt design. We are bringing that business with us to this year’s PBAD, as well as The Pet Studio’s portraits. I will be donating a couple of custom portraits for the silent auction.

For more information about Stephanie Conrad’s work, visit her website The Pet Studio or e-mail service@petstudioart.com. You can also follow her latest projects on The Pet Studio blog.

There are so many reasons to spay or neuter your dog, and it’s an important part of being a responsible pet guardian: 

• Reduced risk of cancer and other health problems
• Decreases aggressive behavior
• Less desire to roam, therefore less likely to be injured in fights or auto accidents
• Reduces spraying and marking
• Reduces number of unwanted puppies
• Reduces shelter population

Please share with others to help us spread the word!  Download these digital flyers to print out, distribute, post or e-mail:

• Pit Stop Flyer: Free spay and neuter program for pit bulls (121 kb, PDF)
• Volante de Pit Stop: Esterilizacion gratuita para perros pit bull (126 kb, PDF)

To make an appointment with EmanciPET, please visit emancipet.org or call 512-587-SPAY (7729).