Those who love their pets tend to enjoy all animals. Our animal owners are no different. Check in on News-Herald staffers Robin Palmer and Cheryl Sadler as they share their own animal tales and announce upcoming events in Lake and Geauga counties.
Capture your pet’s most memorable travel moments on camera and enter your ‘best-in-travel’ photograph before November 30, 2012. Two winning pet photos, chosen in January 2013, will be featured on the cover and spine of the AAA PetBook, published in May 2013. The first place winner, featured on the back cover, will receive $300, a $150 Best Western Travel Card (valid at any Best Western Worldwide), pet treats and five copies of the book. The second place winner, featured on the book's spine, will receive $150, pet treats and two copies of the book.
Check out AAA's page on the PetBook Photo Contest for complete rules and information.
The Search for the Next Great Original Internet Cat Video
What is the Internet good for, if not for cat videos? Now your cute cat videos can net you some cash and help out some cat shelters:
Friskies® Presents “The Friskies:” The Search for the Next Great Original Internet Cat Video
Cat Food Brand Launches Major Award for Best New Internet Cat Videos of 2012
ST. LOUIS – September 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Many great art forms have awards for the best new work created each year. Films have the Oscars®. TV shows have the Emmys®. And now, finally, Internet cat videos have “The Friskies.”
The Friskies® cat food brand is proud to announce “The Friskies,” a national contest to find and honor the best in original Internet cat videos with significant prizes and charity donations, including a $15,000 Grand Prize.
For years, people have been creating, posting and sharing Internet cat videos – just for fun. Now, cat owners and their cats have the opportunity to earn much more than giggles and skyrocketing video view totals. They have an opportunity to be recognized for their achievements.
“We love cat videos because they showcase the imagination of both cats and their owners,” said Shaun Belongie, Friskies brand manager. “Some may say that there are too many cat videos on the Internet already. We don’t think so. We’re launching ‘The Friskies’ because we think the next great cat video is just waiting to be discovered.”
“The Friskies” formally celebrates the genre of Internet cat videos by awarding cash prizes and trophies in specific categories. The contest also rewards the online community’s participation efforts with donations of Friskies cat food to cat charity organization partners. Friskies has committed to donate 125,000 cans of cat food to cat charity organization partners. Each time someone enters the contest, votes, or likes or shares a video; five additional cans of Friskies cat food will be added to the total number of cans to be donated, up to a total of 250,000 cans. Contest Overview
The call for entries is open now through October 12 at www.TheFriskies.com. Up to Twelve finalists will be chosen for the judging and public voting phase in October, and winners will be announced in November. Each finalist will receive a one-year supply of Friskies cat food, and an original Friskies cat statue, the “Cat-uette.” The grand prize winner receives $15,000 and the honor of “Best Video,” and four category prize winners receive $2,500. The Cat-egories include:
Catness: The essence of cat behavior – moments of pure cat awesomeness
Catcom: Your cat in a humorous situation
Catventure: An indoor cat adventure
Catch All: For entries that don’t fit into one of the other categories
Entries must be original videos no longer than three minutes. Videos will be judged on originality, overall artistic impression, cinematography, technical production, audience appeal and entertainment quality, cat playfulness or quirks, sense of a story being told, and portraying cat’s perspective. Contest Judges
For a contest of this magnitude, Friskies recruited a highly-qualified panel to judge the finalists’ videos. The judges hail from acclaimed professional backgrounds in art design, various aspects of the film industry, and cat lifestyle media:
Wayne White: Iconic folk artist, original set designer for Pee Wee’s Playhouse and star of this fall’s acclaimed documentary Beauty is Embarrassing.
Michael Showalter: Actor, comedian, cat humorist, and professor at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts known for co-writing the cult hit Wet Hot American Summer and as a member of the sketch comedy trio Stella.
Tim League: Film industry trendsetter known for founding Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas, Rolling Roadshow and Fantastic Fest, the largest genre film festival in the nation.
Karen Nichols: Managing editor of award-winning online cat lifestyle magazine Mousebreath, and Internet cat video creator and aficionado.
Cat Shelters Nationwide To Benefit
The best Internet cat video stars and their directors aren’t the only winners of “The Friskies.” The contest is possible in part because many rescue cats have found happy homes…with owners who love sharing videos of their cats’ awesomeness on the Internet.
Based on numbers of entries, views and votes, Friskies will donate up to 250,000 cans of cat food to shelters and rescue organizations across the country. Twenty-five cat charity organizations each may receive 10,000 cans of Friskies cat food by the end of this year. Visit www.TheFriskies.com for more information about the charities, and the many ways to become part of “The Friskies.” Contest Rules
NO PURCHASENECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C., 18 years of age or older at the time of entry (19 years of age or older if a resident of AL or NE.) Entry period ends at 12:00:01 p.m. ET on 10/12/12. See Official Rules at www.TheFriskies.com. Sponsored by Nestlé Purina PetCare Company, Checkerboard Square, St. Louis, MO. About Friskies
The Friskies® brand offers a complete line of great-tasting cat foods, including more than 60 wet, dry and treat varieties. Friskies is manufactured by Nestlé Purina PetCare, a global leader in the pet care industry. Nestlé Purina PetCare promotes responsible pet care, humane education, community involvement and the positive bond between people and their pets. The North American headquarters for Nestlé Purina PetCare is located at Checkerboard Square in St. Louis; Mo. Nestlé Purina PetCare is part of Swiss-based Nestlé S.A. – the world’s largest food company. OSCARS® is a trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and EMMYS® is a trademark of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. All other trademarks are owned by Société des Produits Nestlé S.A. or used with permission.
Thanks to over 3,000 local animal lovers who took time to vote, Ashtabula County Animal Protective League won a spot in the 2012 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge and will now compete for a chance at more than $500,000 in grant funding, including a grand prize of $100,000.
The 2012 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge is a nationwide competition for animal shelters (and their communities) aimed at getting more animals adopted or returned to their owners than ever before. From August 1st to October 31st 2012, Ashtabula County Animal Protective League will compete to find homes for more cats and dogs than during the same period in 2011. Competing against 49 other shelters nationwide, the goal is to save at least 300 more animals.
“It's wonderful to see how the community of Ashtabula as well as the volunteers come together for a common cause—saving more lives. We have a lot of wonderful people who are working very hard preparing and planning for the months ahead—it will be tough to save 300 more lives, but we are up for the challenge,” said Tammy Dondorfer, Animal Welfare Director for the Ashtabula County APL. “Everyone who is committed to working hard to save more lives will not only help the dogs and cats of Ashtabula County, we'll also have a shot at the $100,000 grant which would fund an ICU unit at our shelter to help save more sick and injured animals who enter our facility.”
Throughout the challenge months (Aug-Oct) the ACAPL will be:
--planning events to help increase adoption rates
--running lots of promotions and discounts on adoptions
--asking for more volunteers and foster families to help us increase our adoption rates
--needing individuals or businesses to help sponsor the APL through this challenge: 300 additional saved lives will mean additional costs in vetting and spay and neuters
For more information about Ashtabula County APL, please visit www.acapl.org.
Sounds like a great cause, and something to look into if you're planning to adopt in August, September or October.
Send AAA your pet's "best-in-travel" moment, and the critter might end up on the cover of next year's AAA PetBook.
From AAA:
Two winning pet photos, chosen in January 2012, will be featured on the cover and spine of the AAA PetBook, published in May 2012. The first place winner, featured on the back cover, will receive $300, a $150 Best Western Travel Card (valid at any Best Western Worldwide), pet treats and five copies of the book. The second place winner, featured on the book's spine, will receive $150, pet treats and two copies of the book.
Entries are judged on such artistic qualities as photographic composition and ability to convey the joy of safely traveling with a pet. Candid compositions are preferred over posed, and studio photographs or those determined to be significantly altered will be disqualified.
View the photo gallery to see some of last year's entries (including the absolutely precious first-place winner) and what kind of cute competition you'd be up against. And be sure to read the photo contest official rules.
Happy travels and good luck! (And be sure to let us know if your pet wins!)
Some sweet, sorry-looking pets were entered in the World's Ugliest Dog Contest on Friday in Petaluma, Calif.
From The Associated Press:
PETALUMA, Calif. (AP) — Yoda’s short tufts of hair, protruding tongue, and long, seemingly hairless legs were enough to earn it the World’s Ugliest Dog title at a Northern California fair.
The 14-year-old Chinese crested and Chihuahua mix won the honor Friday night at the 23rd annual contest at the Sonoma Marin Fair.
Owner Terry Schumacher of Hanford, Calif., says the 2-pound dog has come a long way since she was found abandoned behind an apartment building. Schumacher says she first thought the pooch was a rat.
Yoda’s distinction comes a year after a one-eyed Chihuahua named Princess Abby claimed victory. A pedigree Chinese crested won in 2008 and another Chinese crested and Chihuahua mix was the ugliest in 2007.
In past years, the winner’s owner has received a $1,000 check.
Some of the contestants:
A judge evaluates Yoga, who won the contest. (Noah Berger/AP)
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