Mutt-i-grees Unite!

In an effort to encourage more people to adopt shelter dogs and puppies, The Pet Savers Foundation launched a very cool web-based initiative called the American Mutt-i-grees Club on August 27. The club hopes to change how mixed-breed dogs are regarded by celebrating their unique characteristics and steering folks away from retail/online sellers who offer canines from puppy mills. Check out their new website—offering pet advice, dog adoption referrals, shopping and more—at http://www.muttigrees.org. Ellen
(PHOTO: My husband and I adopted T-Rex, a border collie mutt-i-gree and phenomenal frisbee pup, right after we got married.)
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NY Pet Fashion Week

As some of you may know, this past weekend was New York's Pet Fashion Week. Not really a week at all, just the weekend, the show brings together national and international pet lifestyle exhibitors and buyers. If you'd like to see more photos from this extravaganza please visit their official site petfashionweek. I think I have to get one of these hats!
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National Dog Day Promotion

Celebrated annually, National Dog Day strives to increase public awareness regarding the number of dogs that need to be rescued each year. On August 23rd, businesses, shelters and rescue organizations across America will host "affiliate events" to celebrate dogs and help save homeless dogs in their community. In 2007, National Dog Day resulted in the adoption of nearly 15,000 homeless dogs! One way all of us can help is by donating $5 or more to a local animal shelter. At Best Friends Studios, we're making a donation to the Animal Protective Association (APA) of Missouri, which has seen a decrease in adoptions due to construction on Highway 40/I-64.

In addition, you can share the name of your favorite animal shelter to be considered for a future Shelter Friends profile on our website. As a thank-you for helping out, you'll receive a coupon code for free shipping on your next order at Best Friends Studios, plus a chance to win a $25 gift certificate. To participate, simply click HERE to provide the following information:

• Your Name
• Email Address
• Local Shelter Submission

That's all there is to it! DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTALS: Friday, September 5, 2008. We look forward to hearing about your favorite shelters! Ellen & Mary Ann
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Book It: Sink Your Teeth Into A Little Dog Lit. 101

If you didn't fulfill your summer reading quota, wrap up these final dog days with one of three novels recommended by author Steven Barnes. On a recent segment of NPR's All Things Considered, Barnes reviews three classic canine tomes: Cujo (Stephen King), The Hounds of Baskerville (Sherlock Holmes) and Dragon Tears (Dean Koontz). And here's one I've been wanting to read: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel (David Wroblewski). Relax, unwind one last time and enjoy! Ellen
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A Biased Review: Walking the Dog Tote

Occasionally, I do a little website work for Mary Ann's side of the studio. This inevitably opens up a can of worms because she'll insist on paying me. Since we're in Best Friends Studios together, this makes me uncomfortable, though I do understand (and appreciate!) that she doesn't want to take advantage of me. Plus, I'm constantly sending her dog silhouettes to review like the new Shih tzu I did the other day that looked like a deranged chicken on its first go around. So I like think that things have a way of evening themselves out.

But when I helped her revamp her studio pages last month, I have to confess an ulterior motive. I wanted a new purse and had fallen in love with her new Walking the Dog Tote design. Well, the purse arrived last week, exceeding my expectations. I absolutely love it! (I know, I'm biased and all that, but my St. Louis friends raved about it, too.) So check out Mary Ann's new line of handbags on our website! Ellen
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I think it's Ellen's turn to blog, but I couldn't resist this. And I'm totally stealing this from Erin Vey's blog but here it goes. Erin Vey specializes in awesome contemporary, fine art photography of dogs. In a nod to Michael Phelps and his tremendous success at the Olympics, she has photographed "Oscar" in a pair of Doggles. Please stop by her website and check out her fantastic work and while your at it, see the Doggles...very cute!
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Fetching Tags

For all of you out there that are looking for a good tag, I found an online site that offers some of the funniest options I've seen. One of my favorites "Fleas Suck" only wins out by an inch considering the number of choices one has to embellish these tags. Check out their site at: www.fetchingtags.net .
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Killing Fields? Save America's Wild Horses

Apparently, wild horses are overrunning the West. To combat this problem, the government would like to trim the estimated 33,000 wild horses that freely roam public lands in 10 Western states to around 27,000. And how will they accomplish this little reduction? Well, euthanasia appears to be at the top of the list, according to articles that appeared in numerous newspapers on Sunday, August 10.

To say I was disgusted about this most recent proposal put out by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is putting it mildly. According to the article I read in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the BLM can no longer afford to care for the mustangs they have rounded up. Since adoption is a costly alternative, they've decided that killing several thousand horses may be a viable solution.

If you've never seen a wild horse up close and in person (i.e. not on Animal Planet), I urge you to put it on that list of things to do before you die. About 10 years ago when I lived in Wyoming, my dad came out for a visit and we decided to search for the wild horse herds who roam the White Mountain Management Area, just north of our Rock Springs home.We headed for the Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Loop Tour, which winds through approximately 25 miles of primarily gravel roads. After an hour or so of bumping along, we saw cowboys rounding up cattle and a few pronghorn antelope, but no horses. With clouds of dust from the road billowing around our car, we'd just about given up spotting a horse when a beautiful white stallion appeared, no more than five feet away. It was incredible.

Sure, I'd seen horses on the side of the road before. But this was different. This horse—and the other eight or nine horses clustered behind him—didn't belong to anyone. They were free. And, for me, their freedom represented a tangible symbol of our natural heritage.

Luckily, there are many animal lovers out there who oppose this "reduction" of wild horses, including celebs like Sheryl Crowe and Willie Nelson. So stand up for our wild horses by sending a letter (it takes no more than two minutes) to the BLM now, before they make a final decision on the future of America's wild horses. Ellen BestFriendsStudios

Photo by Bureau of Land Management/Rock Springs WY Office

Merlot Over and Play Dead

Today while trolling through my numerous favorite blogs, I came across the Mutt Lynch Winery. Moira, from Dog Art Today, mentioned this winery in her blog and I can't resist mentioning it in ours. What a FUN company. Probably even more fun with a glass of their wine in hand! Check out the play on words and the great art. Happy Friday! Mary Ann
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Dog Days of Summer...Yawn

Yesterday while fighting that familiar mid-afternoon slump, I heard a story on PRI's The World about recent research on dogs and infectious yawning. Apparently, British researchers studied a group of dogs to see if they would yawn when placed in a room with a yawning man (72% yawned on cue). I'm not surprised. We engage in mutual yawn fests with our yellow lab, Jasmine, every morning. She'll even do a combination yawn/groan if we prompt her. Check out the stories here...dog lovers will relate! Ellen
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We're Back!

OK, so we took a break from blogging. Granted, four months without posting is probably more of a hiatus, but we're newbies so we hope all is forgiven. In the time that's elapsed since our last post, we've both been busy refining Best Friends Studios and are looking forward to sharing our thoughts and ideas with you. Since our studios are in different states—two time zones apart—we thought it might be fun to give you a peek into how we communicate on a day-to-day basis.

MARY ANN: The day usually starts out with at least 3 emails from Ellen waiting in my inbox. Since she's the creative genius behind the website, she's the one stuck fixing/changing/creating it. She's also up 2 hours ahead of me, so her day is well under way by the time I roll myself out of bed.

ELLEN: Creative genius may be stretching it a bit...I have a lot of help from my tech-savvy brother, Larry, who keeps me in line, telling me what I can and can't do with the website. But I do agree that our email system of communication works quite well, despite the time difference. It's always nice to arrive at the computer, cup of coffee in hand, and hear the notification bing that Mary Ann has emailed me the night before (usually at midnight when I'm dead to the world!).

MARY ANN: Yeah, sometimes I'm bad and won't get back to her until she's no longer awake. But I have my excuses! I sometimes (ok, usually!) turn my speakers off when I work on my projects. Otherwise I get way too distracted by wanting to see what's arrived in my mailbox. Sometimes mail is so much more fun than my sewing projects when they aren't cooperating with me.

ELLEN: Hmmm...so you're tuning me out, eh? Jokes aside, email works great for us not only from a business stance, but creatively, as well. I've always been one of those tweakers who can fiddle away on a design for days. Now when I need a little feedback, I just email Mary Ann my design to see what she thinks. It really cuts down on designer's block!

MARY ANN: I'm not just tuning you out, I'm tuning everyone out! But I couldn't live without email because it does keep the lines open between us and allows us both to get through those designer's blocks when they pop up. It's so much less lonely working from home knowing that I'm sharing this experience with my friend....whose ideas are always welcome :)

ELLEN: So that's how we run our studios together, despite a 2,000-mile distance. Yes, there are times when we wish we lived in the same city, but this is definitely the next best thing! Ellen & Mary Ann
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