As a reminder, your dues sustain the full range of programs, activities, events and initiatives that Love-A-Bull presents to its members and the public on an ongoing basis, including our training programs, education and outreach efforts, flyers/brochures, legislative tracking, community events (including National Pit Bull Awareness Day), and more.

We appreciate all of our dues-paying members, and this is a great way for you to feel that while you’re helping Love-A-Bull achieve its goals, you’re also getting more “bang for your buck”!

Here are the discounts in the package for 2012 (with more being added throughout the year!):

• Love-A-Bull (http://love-a-bull.org/programs/training/) FREE training program – Basic and Advanced classes (http://love-a-bull.org/store/) plus discounts off merchandise and events
• Dr. Mockler/Oak Hill Vet Clinic (http://www.oakhillvet.com) 10% off all vet services
• Austin Eco Cleaning (http://www.austinecocleaning.com) 10% off cleaning for life
• Buddy’s Chance (http://www.buddyschance.com/) 20% off training services for new clients
• Dress-A-Bull (http://www.dressabull.com) 10% discount PLUS 20% donation to Love-A-Bull
• Fancy Pants Pet (http://www.fancypantspets.com) 10% off all non-shipped items
• Fetch! Pet Care (http://www.fetchpetcare.com) 10% off all services
• Groovy Dog (http://www.groovydog.com) 10% off boutique items (excludes treats and food)
• Jakey the Clown (http://jakeytheclown.com) 10% discount for a scheduled birthday party (must mention membership when booking)
• K9 Savvy Training (Jess Wilson) (http://www.k9savvy.com) $10 off a private session with a free or low-cost consultation
• Leaps N’ Hounds (http://www.leapsnhounds.com) 10% off training sessions/packages AND 40% off single private in-home training session (new adopters only)
• Paw Print Photography (http://www.paw-print-photography.com) 20% off photography packages AND 10% off pet sitting in Leander, Cedar Park, and Georgetown areas
• Woof Gang Bakery (http://www.woofgangbakery.com) 15% off everything in the store

Dues can be purchased through our online store here or by sending a check made out to Love-A-Bull to: Love-A-Bull; P.O. Box 18792; Austin, Texas 78760.

You’ll receive your membership card via e-mail upon receipt of payment (please include e-mail address with your check, if sending by mail). Print out and present your membership card when redeeming discounts.

Join us as a dues-paying member for 2012 — the pitties (and Love-A-Bull) thank you!

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

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.

The meeting will include coaching and advice from Love-A-Bull trainers. Read AKC’s detailed description of the CGC test. Teams will work on as many drills as time permits.

What to bring:

• 6-foot leash
• 20-foot lead
• collar (buckle or slip collar made of fabric, leather or chain) or a harness that does not restrict the dog’s movement
• brush or comb
• treats
• water

Schedule:

9 a.m. Meet and greet
Gather at the three benches to the west of the Shoal Creek Greenbelt & Dog Park parking lot. See map below.

9:15 a.m. Practice starts
Participants will go over as many exercises as time allows with special attention paid to those skills individual teams need help with the most.

10:30 a.m. Practice ends
Feel free to stay in the area for a walk.   Please keep in mind that neighborhing Pease Park requires dogs to be leashed.

To RSVP for CGC practice, visit Love-A-Bull’s Meetup.com page.

By the final class on July 24, they could lie still while handlers placed treats, squeaky toys and balls within reach. When entering or exiting the classroom, the pit bulls could sit at the open door and wait for the signal to go through.

The pit bulls had learned obedience.

The group met once per week at Mud Puppies, 12233 N. FM 620, a self-serve dog wash and day care that partners with Love-A-Bull to provide a space for free training classes for members.

Trish Jones, a Certified Canine Behavior and Training Specialist, showed the group how to use positive reinforcement to achieve training success.

“The most rewarding part for me is having these wonderful dogs in my classes and seeing the difference between the first class and the last class, she said. “It is an amazing feeling to me to see these people really working hard and taking the time to make their dogs well behaved.”

Trainer offers skills

Jones, owner of The Confident Canine, has been training dogs professionally for more than 12 years and shares her home with 9 dogs rescued from shelters. She started offering her skills to Love-A-Bull in May.

“Love-A-Bull is such a great organization.  The amount of work this organization does to educate the public about pit bulls is remarkable,” she said. “I am proud to be a small part of that.”

In class, students learned a variety of commands, such as “watch me,” “stay,” “leave it” and “heel.”

Jones encourages her students to take the dogs as many places as possible on a regular basis to practice the commands.

She hopes the people who have attended her classes will continue to do more with their dogs, such as getting a Canine Good Citizen certificate, doing therapy work, learning search and rescue skills or participating dog sports, such as agility.

“The more visible  these well-trained dogs are, the  more their reputation will improve,” she said. “I hope they take my advice to heart so that everyone can see that these dogs are special.”

Kimbo learns

When the free class started July 3, a white pit bull mix with black spots called Kimbo was so excited by the new surroundings and other dogs, he slid across the polished cement floor as he entered Mud Puppies. When Jones gave instructions, he often got up to sniff nearby classmates.

As the weeks progressed, he learned to pay attention to his handler. Kimbo usually stayed when told and when his mind wandered, he responded more quickly to corrections.

He was beginning to master obedience.

“Kimbo is such an adorable boy — he draws you in with his doe eyes and he reminds me of a marshmallow! I can’t help but smile when I see him in class,” Jones said. “Kimbo has a wonderful temperament. He’s fun and loves to play, but he is also capable of being calm.”

On July 31, Kimbo is scheduled to take the Canine Good Citizen test at South Paws Playschool, 2324B South Lamar Blvd. It will be his second attempt. Two months ago, he passed seven of 10 sections of the test.

If he passes, Kimbo will be one step closer to joining the Pit Crew as a therapy dog.

Those interested in taking the next Canine Good Citizen test, noon July 31 at South Paws Playschool, can visit Love-A-Bull’s Meetup.com page for details.

DATE: November 17, 2009

MEDIA CONTACT: Lydia Zaidman (718) 791-5493

http://www.love-a-bull.org
info@love-a-bull.org

AUSTIN, Texas — Love-A-Bull, a local nonprofit education and advocacy organization, is proud to announce that it has recently been awarded two grants from the Animal Farm Foundation. Love-A-Bull has received the Project Support Grant to fund a program recognizing pit bulls attaining the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) distinction, and the Achievement Award Grant for outstanding achievement by one group member dog.

The Animal Farm Foundation was founded in the 1980s to improve the lives of dogs labeled as “pit bulls” and to protect all dogs from discrimination and cruelty. The Foundation awarded Love-A-Bull the Achievement Award in recognition of Mocha, a Staffordshire Terrier, and her achievement as a Canine Good Citizen and Certified Therapy Dog, and her appearances at public events and in the media. The grant specifically notes that Mocha “is opening hearts and changing minds about all dogs who appear to be pit bulls through her achievements, especially in the community of Austin, Texas.” Mocha’s guardian, Lydia Zaidman, is a co-founder of Love-A-Bull.

The Foundation also recognized Love-A-Bull’s training program, awarding funding for each canine member of the group who achieves the Canine Good Citizen status, a rigorous ten-step temperament and behavioral test administered by trained professionals through the American Kennel Club. The grant is intended to promote responsible pit bull stewardship, the primary focus of Love-A-Bull’s mission.

To underscore the importance of training, which is central to responsible dog ownership of any breed, Love-A-Bull offers its members a free, four-week training program, with sessions filling continually throughout the year. The training sessions are held at Southpaws Playschool and are led by experienced, professional trainer, Jessica Wilson. To date, more than 90 dogs have participated in the training, with more than 10 Love-A-Bull members’ dogs attaining the CGC distinction, and 4 working as Certified Therapy Dogs in hospitals and schools. More information on the free training program can be found on Love-A-Bull’s website at http://love-a-bull.org/programs/training/

Mocha, Canine Good Citizen and Certified Therapy Dog, Animal Farm Foundation Grant Award Recipient

About Love-A-Bull: Love-A-Bull is a 501(c)(3) organization, composed of over 450 local owners committed to responsible ownership of pit bulls and working to share information with the public on issues such as spay/neuter, rescue and training, active advocacy against breed-specific legislation, and promoting a more positive public image of these dogs. www.love-a-bull.org