Last Friday we celebrated the 10th Annual Pet Sitters International’s Take Your Dog to Work Day (TYDTWD) by hosting a contest for the top office dogs in San Diego. The competition was steep, but in the end the San Diego Humane Society’s entry won us over, and they received a special canine lunch delivery of our freshly prepared dehydrated raw food.

We had such a tough time deciding because we received so many amazing entries – so we want to acknowledge a few finalists that will be receiving special The Honest Kitchen gift baskets as prizes. They are:

• San Diego Community Newspaper Group
• Baja Bound
• Wheatley & Timmons
• Exhibit Options

Thank you again to everyone who participated and we hope you all had fun bringing your four-legged friends to work with you!

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A few months ago, we had the great pleasure of meeting a very special dog named Baxter. He’s a nineteen year old therapy dog with the most extraordinary gaze that it seems like he already knows all about you, before you’ve even introduced yourself.
Recently, the book ‘Moments with Baxter - comfort and love with the world’s best therapy dog’ was launched and we highly recommend it! The book is full of incredible true stories of Baxter’s work connecting with and bringing comfort and love to hospice patients.
The book is a beautiful account of finding joy in the moment and the amazing intuitive abilities of animals to truly help their human counterparts on so many levels. Click below to learn more.
Moments with Baxter is a truly inspirational, moving book. All proceeds from the sale of Moments with Baxter, will be donated to charitable causes.

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Holistic Pet Food Company and Local Restaurant Team-up to Introduce New Herbal Tea for Dogs and Pet-Friendly Menu

The Honest Kitchen, a Gourmet Pet Food manufacturer, and Café Merlot, a chic fine dining establishment located in the Bernardo Winery, have partnered to host a High Tea for Pups, a one-of-a-kind, whimsical tea party for pooches to celebrate the launch of Lithe Tea, The Honest Kitchen’s newest product – and raise money for San Diego Humane Society.

The event will take place at Café Merlot, on March 24th from 2:30-4:30 p.m., at Café Merlot at the Bernardo Winery, 13330 Paseo del Verano Norte, San Diego, Calif. 92128.

San Diego dog owners are invited to bring their pooches to sample the delectable and healthy offerings being provided by The Honest Kitchen and Café Merlot.

While the event is free-of-charge, attendees are encouraged to offer a $5 donation for each cup of Lithe herbal tea. The Honest Kitchen will donate 100 percent of all contributions to the San Diego Humane Society to support their programs and services.

Those interested in attending are asked to RSVP at 619.985.9519 or via email at Natalie@rkpr.net.

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The fires from Tracy Hotchner’s blog post on The Honest Kitchen’s donation to the HSUS last year continue to smolder.

Steven, an Honest Kitchen blog reader, left the following comment on Tracie’s post…

“This is one of those topics where, in order to have a credible argument/opinion on the issue, one must do a little homework; “drive-by posters”, keep on driving….

While I agree that the Humane Society of the United States (By the way, you should always define acronyms on first use.) has done a lot to help the welfare of animals, it, like any other large organization is not without its faults, and no amount of general nonconstructive criticism will not change this; only actions such as education of the public, letter-writing, internal member actions, etc. can effect organization policy…
To the layperson, HSUS is usually thought of in a solely positive light, but as a dog owner I have come to have some strongly-felt criticism towards the organization…
While acknowledging their overall historical contributions to animal welfare in the US, I was only recently made aware of their stance that all fighting dogs confiscated by law enforcement should undergo mandatory euthanization.

The landmark decision of the federal prosecutor in the Michael Vick case to allow the temperament testing and screening of the animals resulted in the exposure of the ignorance of the HSUS on this matter: Only one dog had to be destroyed as too far mentally damaged to be rehabilitated. The remaining 48 or so dogs that survived have all been rehabilitated and most, if not all of them have been adopted into loving permanent or foster homes. These dogs are ambassadors of the breed and highlight the ignorance of the HSUS because, as an organization that claims to be knowledgeable about animals, they really should have known (and acknowledged) that the APBT (American Pit Bull Terrier) is as resilient mentally as they are physically and have an excellent chance of recovery and rehabilitation despite the horrendous abuses they endure.
HSUS is large and powerful enough to have taken a stance supporting rehabilitation screening for former fighting dogs a long time ago and could have saved countless dogs’ lives. Some speculate that lack of this action is due to their policies being influenced by the “foo-foo show dog crowd” who do not want “their organization” to be seen as helping “those killer dogs”.

(more…)

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The Barking Lot is a local animal rescue here in San Diego that is operated by a fellow animal lover Stacy. She started this small organization a few years ago with fostering a dog named Patti Cake, which lives with her still to this day.

Stacy recently came to our rescue when we found a cute but scraggly dog wondering the streets of Downtown San Diego. He was running through the trolley station scared and confused. Luckily we were able to get a hold of him and brought him back to our office. The poor guy was covered in urine and had bubble gum stuck in his fur. Instantly we knew he needed a bath or two. So we lathered him up, fed him and he fit right into the pack. I have to admit that I got attached to him. He is so sweet and loving and I know will make some human very happy.

The unfortunate part of it was that none of us were able to bring him home. But thanks to Stacy and The Barking Lot, Trolley, (that’s what we named him) will be given a great opportunity to find a loving family that will treat him with all the love and respect that he deserves.

Small organizations like The Barking Lot depend on donations so they can help these animals find homes. They do wonders for them like spaying or neutering, vaccines, feeding and fostering them till they are adopted. It’s a lot of work and takes a lot of dedication. If you would like to learn more or make a donation to help one of the many dogs that are awaiting adoption at The Barking Lot then you can visit the site by clicking on the link below.

The Barking Lot

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This is the first in our series of ‘Celebrity Bloggers’ and comes from our dear friend and supporter, Tracie Hotchner, esteemed author of “The Dog Bible: Evey thing your dog wants you to know’.

Each month The Honest Kitchen donates a portion of it’s profits to a different non-profit organization. One donation in particular, to the HSUS, drew a spirited response from some of our customers, against the donation. Tracie Hotchner was “sickened by this reaction-to say the least” and felt an attack on our donation to The HSUS was an attack on the one & only organization “working tirelessly to promote a dignified life (and death) for animals”. Tracie says “I’m glad the blog is here so I can say “Shame on you” to those self-righteous and angry nay-sayers - you are attacking people on our side, the side of animals”.

Listen to Lucy (THK President) discuss the customer uproar with Tracie Hotchner

I am the author of the best-seller “THE DOG BIBLE; Everything Your Dog Wants You to Know” (and also THE CAT BIBLE: Everything Your Cat Expects You to Know). I am also the producer/writer and host of two live weekly call-in radio shows - DOG TALK on NPR station WLIU out of Southampton College, New York and CAT CHAT, on the Martha Stewart Channel for Sirius Satellite radio.

I have been an active promoter of the Honest Kitchen food for years. By my own choice, for free, I have been working to get Honest Kitchen samples into peoples’ hands because my research made clear the quality and integrity of this product, well before the era of pet food recall. Therefore I was privy to the fact that when HK recently gave a generous donation to HSUS they were viciously attacked by some of their customers for this charitable decision. I was sickened by this reaction, to say the least - because any attack on HSUS is an attack on the one and only organization working tirelessly to promote a dignified life (and death) for animals by improving laws that affect the way we share the planet with animals. I’m glad this blog is here so I can say “Shame on you” to those self-righteous and angry nay-Sayers - you are attacking people on our side, the side of animals. I want to believe that you have been stirred up into anger by misinformation, and disinformation, I’d love to hear a rational, fact-based rationale for this venomous attack (more…)

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He is a young loving adult male looking for a home that will provide him with all the love he could ever need. He is a lover not fighter and that may be due to his front paws being declawed but that doesn’t hold him back from providing which ever lucky human adopts him with unconditional love. He does have a case of I.B.D, similar to I.B.S in humans but his raw food diet has helped him manage it. If you are interested in adopting this handsome guy and making him a permanent part of your family go to www.tailshumanesociety.org or email Sam at krlenser@yahoo.com for information on how you can make Arden a member of your family.

Source:Tails Humane Society

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An update on the trio of Luke & his two Great Pyrenees making the trek from Austin to Boston. “Luke, Hudson and Murphy have passed the 100 mile mark, what a celebration!! They are now past Hearne, TX and almost to Franklin, TX.” They are being welcomed with open arms along their route.

I’ve noticed the guys either sleep in a tent or under the stars on the side of the road, so what about hygiene?

What do you do about hygiene? These last few weeks, I’ve been looking bad enough to put the entire grunge movement back underground. I even got the ’suspicious character’ phone call and was almost refused service at a restaurant once. At a bare minimum, I try to get a shower and a shave once a week as well as wash my clothes. But I carry a toothbrush & floss, rinse-free antibacterial soap, and even deodorant so I don’t get too dirty and stinky.

Can you imagine walking 8 hrs a day for 8 months, sleeping on the side of the road, showering once a week, without music, tv, blogs or any of the luxuries we all know and love?! I struggle to walk 4 blocks to work everyday! Thank god for my puppy, who drags me along….

We’re glad the walk is going as planned and couldn’t be happier lending our support. Hudson & Murphy (the pups) had their first vet check up last week, since starting their walk, and have been given a clean bill of health! Keep it up guys, only 1900 miles to go (Almost There!!)

Follow Their Progress: 2 Dogs 2000 Miles

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As I mentioned a few weeks ago, The Honest Kitchen is proudly sponsoring Luke & his two Great Pyrenees pups as they walk 2000 miles from Austin to Boston for k-9 cancer research. The three started their journey on March 16th, and we’ve been given an update by Luke! It looks as though the two are nearing San Gabriel, TX after being halted the 1st week by mother Nature.

…the guys sat out the first half weathering some serious Mother Nature! It would seem that the Austin area was hit this week with some of it’s worst weather in years-typical, eh?

Much like when I went back home to NJ (from FL) to visit family in 2003 only to get blasted with the infamous “Presidents’ Day Blizzard”. It seems Mother Nature decides to test you right off to make sure you’re worthy…

The weather has passed and the three are off again! You can follow their progress and planned route here. Aside from the weather, it seems the fellas are doing great so far! We’re glad to helping with a great cause. If you’d like to help, there are several things you can do.
Donate/Help Luke & the pups

Source: 2 Dogs Blog

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