Did you know March 23 is National Puppy Day? It’s a very special day to celebrate the love that puppies give us but of course most importantly to help educate people about the horrors of puppy mills. National puppy day was founded in 2006 by Colleen Paige, who also founded National Dog Day and National Cat day! We all know how rewarding it is to adopt a pet into our lives and we have partnered with PetSafe® Canada to bring you a special giveaway located at the bottom of the page! A Fabulous welcome kit to help ease the transitioning process with an adopted pet full of amazing products (a few of the items Rolo has even done a pet product review for!) (Photo Credit; http://www.nationalpuppyday.com)

I want to share with you all Rolo’s adoption story and how I worked with him to make his transition easy. As soon as we purchased our first home we wanted to fill it with a dog.  We went up to the Fort McMurray SPCA almost everyday for 2+ weeks looking for a dog to adopt into our family, someone laid back and chill.  I got a text from my boyfriend at the time (now husband) that he wanted me to come up and meet a dog. When I met this dog, then named Apollo, I took him outside with the kennel attendant and the shy guy wouldn’t even come near me. He was very timid & scared.  It took at least 10 minutes for him to even walk near me. When he did come close and sat down, he awkwardly looked at me as I was petting him.  As soon as our meet & greet was over he bolted back into his kennel, sat down and waited for the attendant to close the door on him. He wanted to be in there, it was his safe haven. He was different; this boy didn’t bark, didn’t like me, didn’t like men, didn’t like kids, despised playing with toys. Along with all of his fears, he also has canine epilepsy. I was so intrigued by this dog! I wanted to make him mine, I wanted to work with him and teach him what a real loving home was like because who knows if he has ever felt that kind of love before. We put in an application. We got accepted and he was ours! It took a good few months before Rolo would even venture upstairs. We didn’t create our bond over night. It took time, patience and definitely some treats. Do you have an adopted animal? PetSafe Canada wants YOU to share your pet’s adoption story with them on Facebook; www.facebook.com/petsafecanada
I knew there was going to be a lot of work needed to be put in to get him to trust us. If you seen us in person after our bond was formed, you wouldn’t have been able to guess that he didn’t even like me at first. What did I do to help him overcome all these obstacles?
♥ Bed Blanket From Shelter; We asked to take the blanket that was on his bed at the shelter so that he had a sense of familiarity.
♥ Let Them Move at Their Own Pace; Rolo had an amazing bedroom set up in our room, no matter how hard I tried, he wouldn’t come upstairs. He wanted to be in the basement. So every night I would say goodnight and go upstairs. Eventually he migrated upstairs and found his room.
♥ Keep Up On Tricks & Commands; I asked the kennel attendant what tricks and commands he knew so I could keep up on them with him while he was transitioning into our home. We backed them up with positive reinforcement from the start (praise, key “good words” & treats)
♥ Create Key Training Words; Good words & bad words. When Rolo does something good he knows it with either a treat or I say his key words” good boy, good rolo, yay”. When he is bad he knows by me changing my voice tone, pointing my finger and saying very firmly “bad rolo”. He immediately cowers and puts his head down.
♥ Routine; Be sure to ask the kennel attendant or adoption coordinator what type of routine the animal was on so you could stick with it for a while and if need be slowly change it. for instance, when would they go for a walk(how long), what times did they eat at (how much, what type), when did they go for bathroom breaks etc.

I wanted to remind everyone that EVERY SINGLE ANIMAL in this world whether its; sick, unhealthy, shy, hyper, scared, with a disability or even just healthy needs a home and YOU could be that one to change their life around. I hope that next time you see an animal at a shelter who may need a little extra work that you remember Rolo’s Story and give that animal a second chance… you may be surprised as to what they can accomplish! Here is a little peek into the fabulous life of my Rolo and all of the media work he has done or been featured in –> Click Here

What can you Win?
BIG Fabulous Prize Pack from PetSafe Canada INCLUDING:
♥ EasySport Harness
♥ Indigo™ Triple Chews™
♥ Indigo Smokehouse Strips®
♥ Busy Buddy® Twist ‘n Treat™
♥ Busy Buddy® Waggle™
♥ Busy Buddy® Squeak ‘n Treat Ooga
♥ Busy Buddy® Ultra Sub
♥ Busy Buddy® Squeak ‘n Treat Troog
♥ Busy Buddy® Ultra Stratos

How Can You Enter??
1) You MUST be a resident of Canada
2) You can enter through the Rafflecopter site by –> Clicking Here
3) Got Facebook? You can enter through our Facebook Page www.facebook.com/rescuemomblog
You will find a giveaway tab located under our banner, click it and start entering.

Giveaway Disclaimer: No purchase necessary. Giveaway is open to Canada Residents Only, except where prohibited by law. Giveaway will run from March 23, 2016 until April 11, 2016. One(1) winner will be randomly selected and announced on our social media pages (Facebook, Twitter & Email). The winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize; failure to do so will result in forfeiture of the prize. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest do not sponsor, administer, or endorse this promotion.

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