Think Pink All Year Long with a Pink Ribbon Puppies Calendar

By Suzanne Alicie

We are thrilled to share with you a wonderful and inspiring project that has been put together by a long-time member of the CANIDAE breeder program. While the Pink Ribbon Puppies website may appear to be just an adorable site with puppies on it, there is a serious and touching story behind it.

The Pink Ribbon Puppies 2011 calendar is a fundraising project for breast cancer research. It features a litter of nine beautiful lab puppies born this past September. When the co-owner of the dam of this litter was diagnosed with breast cancer, it was decided that as much as she was looking forward to the puppies and wanted to be involved, she needed to focus on her healing process and leave the whelping up to the other co-owner. So while she underwent radiation therapy for five days of each week for six weeks, her friend and “co-mommy” began her days with puppy breath as she helped get the puppies off to a great start in life.

As a tribute to their “other mother” and her battle with this frightening and often deadly disease, each puppy was adorned with a pink colored ribbon. These little furry bundles of joy were also surrounded by pink toys and pink pillows as a show of support. This litter was quickly dubbed the “Pink Ribbon Litter” by the owner and friends. 

The Pink Ribbon Puppies calendars have been made possible by the dedication of this breeder to her friend, to her puppies and to the future of the fight against breast cancer. Elizabeth Arellano donated her photography skills to create the pink puppy images featured in the calendar, and CANIDAE Natural Pet Foods donated towards the cost of printing the calendars. All proceeds – yes, you read that right – 100% of the proceeds from the sale of these calendars will be donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®.

If you would like one of these Pink Ribbon Puppies calendars, simply visit their website and order as many as you’d like. In addition to the 12 x 9 wall calendar, they offer mini calendars, bookmarks and notecards. This is a worthy cause that has likely touched all of us at some time in our lives. October may have been breast cancer prevention month, but together we can help make sure that people “THINK PINK All Year Long.” This slogan is on each page of the Pink Ribbon Puppies calendar to remind us that every day of every year, our friends, mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmothers and all women are fighting against breast cancer.

The calendars feature the touching story of this litter of puppies and also this loving statement by the creator of the project:

“This project is in honor of my friend, all the women who have fought before her, and for those who will take the same path in years to come.”

Show your support by ordering a Pink Ribbon Puppies 2011 calendar for yourself and for those you love. If you would like to help spread the word about this wonderful project, be sure to visit and “like” the Pink Ribbon Puppies Facebook page.

Photos by Elizabeth Arellano 

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Meet One of the Very First CANIDAE “Consumers”

By Julia Williams

This is a true story about Scout, a 15-year old chocolate Lab who has been eating CANIDAE dog food since the company started about 14-1/2 years ago. Scout began eating the All Life Stages formula as a 6-month old puppy, which makes him one of the company’s very first customers!

Considering that the average lifespan of Labrador Retrievers is estimated to be about 10-12 years, Scout is doing quite well. Moreover, Scout’s longevity is a testament to CANIDAE and their commitment to offering consumers premium quality pet food. Scout thrived on his all-CANIDAE diet as a young strapping pup, and as he grew and aged, his good health continued.

Scout now eats the CANIDAE Platinum formula for seniors and is still very healthy. Although he does have some arthritis in his legs, this is to be expected for such an old dog. As you can see from these recent photos, Scout is an energetic happy boy, still loving life and going strong at the age of 15.

Scout belongs to Duncan Reid, whose mother Debbie is a longtime friend of CANIDAE customer service rep Diane Matsuura. Debbie bought Scout from a breeder who was also one of the first sales reps for CANIDAE, back in the mid 1990s when the company was just getting started. Duncan said Scout was born in March of 1995, and was his 8th grade graduation present.

“My parents saw a ‘Labrador Puppies Available’ ad on the bulletin board at San Dimas Grain Company in California and decided it was time for me to have a dog of my own. When it came time to choose, there were so many cute puppies that I had the hardest time picking one. I remember looking over the group of puppies and seeing a small shy puppy amongst all the other strong energetic puppies. He was getting pushed around and most people would have overlooked this shy puppy, but I fell in love with him. I don't know what it was; I just could not leave without him. We named him Windy River Scout after his mother, Marilyn's Windy City, and his father, Mad River Burt.”

Duncan said he has so many fond memories of growing up with Scout. He remembers sleeping with him on the floor of the laundry room when he was a puppy so he wouldn’t whine in the middle of the night. He also remembers playing with him in the backyard every day after school. “One game we played was hide and seek. I would sneak into the bushes and be very quiet. When I was properly hidden, I would call Scout's name and wait for him to find me. It was our own little game and he always won.”

Scout is a beautiful chocolate Lab with a “golden” heart. In addition to being Duncan’s faithful companion for all these years, Scout earned his American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen certification many years ago, and attained his Rally Novice title at 11 years of age. “It is amazing how long he has lived, and I cherish every memory,” said Duncan.

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Great Movies for Dog Lovers

By Julia Williams

A few weeks ago I gave you some suggestions for good cat movies to watch, so it’s only fair that I recommend some good dog movies too. I thought selecting a few of my favorites would be far easier than it was for the cat movies. Upon further reflection, I realized there were so many really great dog movies to choose from, it was hard to pick just a handful. But I couldn’t include them all, or this article would stretch into next week! After much wrangling, I whittled my list down to five. Gather the family, pop some corn and curl up with your favorite canine to enjoy one of these delightful dog movies.

My Dog Skip (2000) is a heartwarming coming-of-age tale about the special friendship between a shy boy and his extraordinary canine companion. Young Willie isn’t good at sports, he has trouble making friends and his relationship with his Dad is problematic. Willie’s Mom gives him a dog for his ninth birthday, and his life changes for the better, largely because Skip becomes well loved by everyone and even helps the boy make friends. Set in the 1940s in the small, sleepy town of Yazoo City, Mississippi, My Dog Skip was loosely based on the best-selling memoir by the late Willie Morris, and stars Frankie Muniz, Diane Lane, Luke Wilson and Kevin Bacon.

Trivia: Six different Jack Russell terriers played Skip. One of those was Moose, the dog best known for his role as Eddie on the TV sitcom “Frasier.”

Because of Winn-Dixie (2005) is another “dog changes lonely child’s life” story, only this time it’s a girl. Though not nearly as endearing as My Dog Skip, it’s still a feel-good family film that’s enjoyable to watch, especially for children. Ten-year-old Opal adopts a stray dog and names him after the local supermarket where she found him. The two become constant companions, and the mischievous Winn-Dixie helps Opal make friends and meet all sorts of eccentric characters in their small Florida town. The movie was based on Kate DiCamillo’s children’s book by the same name, and stars Jeff Daniels and Cicely Tyson.

Trivia: Five different Picardy Shepherd dogs played Winn-Dixie. The Picardy Shepherd is a rare breed that’s also known as the Berger Picard.

Best in Show (2000), starring Eugene Levy and Parker Posy, is a hilarious comedy about dog shows that will have you howling with laughter, from the opening scene to the end. It’s presented as a mock-documentary of the obsessive owners (and handlers) of five show dogs—a Norwich Terrier, Weimaraner, Bloodhound, Standard Poodle and Shih Tzu—as they prepare to compete at the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show in Philadelphia. A film crew interviews the comical characters as they prepare for the trip, arrive at the hotel, and backstage during a national dog show. Best in Show was nominated for a Golden Globe, and in 2006 the movie magazine Premiere voted it one of “The 50 Greatest Comedies Of All Time.”

Trivia: According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), filming for the scenes with numerous dogs went remarkably well, with only one unscripted bark. The bloodhound in the movie is named Hubert. Bloodhounds are also known as St. Hubert hounds.

Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993) is a remake of a classic 1963 Disney film which was based on the best-selling novel, The Incredible Journey, by Sheila Burnford. The movie chronicles the epic adventures of two dogs and a cat as they trek across the Sierras on a quest to find their family. Chance (voiced by Michael J. Fox) is an American bulldog pup with energy to spare; Shadow (voiced by Don Ameche) is an old, wise Golden Retriever; Sassy (voiced by Sally Field) is a snooty Himalayan cat who lives up to her name.

Trivia: in the original book, the animals’ names and breeds were all different. It featured a Labrador Retriever (Luath), a Bull Terrier (Bodger), and a Siamese cat (Tao).

Marley and Me (2008) is based on the best-selling autobiographical book by John Grogan, and stars Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson and Kathleen Turner. This touching tale presents dog ownership in a true-to-life way that many people can relate to. When a young couple adopts a yellow lab puppy (named after reggae singer Bob Marley), the rambunctious dog wreaks havoc on their household. Despite his naughty nature, Marley becomes an important member of their family.

Trivia: Marley and Me is the second highest-grossing live-action dog movie of all time (movies starring real dogs, not animated films) behind only Scooby Doo released in 2002. There were 22 different dogs that played Marley.

Although this list is by no means inclusive of all the great dog movies available on DVD, it should give you some ideas for what to watch on family movie night.

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