Prevent Animal Abuse and Stop Dog Fighting Fundraiser

I am new to blogs, but thought this might be the way to get the word out
I have two dear passions in life, my "girls" and Stampin' UP.

My "Girls" are Rosie and "Stinker". Rosie a Lab/Rottweiler mix has been a part of our family for 7 years, since she was 8 weeks old. She is a wonderful dog, sweet and kind with nothing but love to give. We adopted our "grandpuppy" Stinker about 2 years ago. Stinker was a back door bred pitbull in one of the roughest neighborhoods in Madison, WI. Unfortunately her first couple of years, had no stability and she was subjected to abuse and neglect. While she spent some weekends with us, I knew little of her true up bringing. She had very little supervision, little exercise and no consistant discipline. The abuse came from untrustworthy "friends" of my daughter and was often neglected at times. I promised her I would never let her go through that again. I risked my marriage bringing her home, but it wasn't long before that sweet little girl won over my husbands heart as well. We are continuing to work with her as she proves she can be a good girl with proper training. ( Although I am sure Ceasar Millan would say I am the one in need of the training :)

I help our local humane society with yearly wish list drive and poptop collections from the students at my elementary where I work. The kids Really get involved and I enjoy doing it.

But when disasters hit (like Katrina ) I dig a little deeper. However after seeing and hearing more than I needed about the Michael Vick story, I became outragged. I know this is going on in our country, but often think I am one person and how can I possibly help.

But the more I hear, the more I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!! They are innocent, it is the PEOPLE who raise them, abuse them and kill them! THE PEOPLE need to be punished!

This is where my passion for Stampin Up comes in. I thought maybe I could do a fundraiser. But it needs to be a big one!! My goal is $1,000 by Jan. 1 2008. And I hope to continue beyond that. I need it to spread,please share with everyone you know.

Paypal,Visa and Master CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED!
I am donating all 20% of the total price from stamp sets sold below. Direct shipping to your door. Plus I hope to get cards made and start selling those with all proceeds going into the folded hugs fund in the near future. I am in contact with the United States Humane Society, as they presecute offenders and protect animals in need.
I know not all of them can't be saved, but believe there is always hope to save as many as we can.

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO ALL FAMILY, FRIENDS, CO-WORKERS,Everyone who loves animals, and or Stampin and Scrap Boking! Your orders will help!!

WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!

Catalog can be viewed at http://www.teri.stampinup.net/

Prefect for all dog , cat, aquatic and horse lovers as holiday gifts for yourself!!



109465 Yappy Dog pg.75 $18.95 ($3.79 donation)

109681 Good dog wheel pg. 75 $6.50 ($1.30 donation)


109509 Here Kitty, Kitty pg. 75 $17.95 ($3.59 donation)

109680 Meow wheel pg. 75 $6.50 ($1.30 donation)

109395 Wanted pg. 88 $22.95 ($4.59 donation)

109529 Bronc Buster pg.89 $18.95 ($3.79 donation)

109672 Bronco wheel $6.50 ($1.30 donation)



107441 Silly Sealife pg. 92 $20.95 ( $4.19 donation)

104065 wheel pg. 92 $6.50 ( $1.30)

All items will be shipped directly to your house. Tax and shipping not included.
Shipping charges are $3.95 unless order is larger than $39.95, then they are 10% of order.

Bonus $15 donated for $150 order, plus You get the hostess stamp set!
Bonus$50 donated for joining stampin up with the starter kit and 12 FREE classic ink pads
ASk me for more details foldedhugs@charter.net or hot4mk@charter.net


"a handmade card is a hug with a fold in the middle"
Teri Klawitter ~ Stampin UP Senior Supervisor
608-332-2392
http://www.teri.stampinup.com/

For updates, I have moved, please visit....

For updates, I have moved, please visit....
http://foldedhugs@googlepages.com
Hope to see you there!

In addition to helping raise money for abused animals, YOU can also save money on these stamps sets....

Fall Frenzy
September 1-September 30, 2007
Join the frenzy this month with our Fall Frenzy promotion! Spend $30 in regular priced merchandise and qualify to purchase one of each of the six promotional stamp sets at 30 percent off!
Item Page # Description Discounted Price
105355 26 Bitty Boos Too $12.57
109284 29 Haunting Halloween $13.27
107383 30 Thoroughly Thankful $16.07
109373 108 Autumn Fest $16.77
109421 91 Elementary Essentials $19.57
110366 17 Stem Silhouettes* $22.37
*Holiday Mini Collection 2007

Below are current cards for sale:
$2.75 ea or 4/10 in clear gift box w/ gold cord and fundraiser business card:
For update cards check out http://foldedhugs.googlepages.com

A Nation in the Ring (Part 3: Pit Bulls as Currency)

September 7, 2007


©Michelle Riley/The HSUS
Leslie Harris and The HSUS's Ann Chynoweth greet a puppy rescued by violence interrupter Antonio Pickett.
By Nancy Lawson

From Part 2 of the series: Dogfighters know no boundaries—as Conlan says, "it is international, it is interracial, it is intereconomic"—so police need to form networks of their own to catch them.

While professional fighters in organized rings enjoy middle class lifestyles and gamble thousands of dollars on their animals, streetfighters often grow up in a world of poverty, guns and drugs. Role models are few, save the gang members whose dogfighting activities are glorified by hip-hop artists like Jay-Z and DMX.

Under such dire circumstances, many children don't envision living past their 20s, says Elliott Serrano, a community outreach specialist for the Anti-Cruelty Society in Chicago. One participant in Serrano's anti-dogfighting workshop at a youth correctional facility was killed by a gang member the day he was released on parole.

"You're talking about kids who have very few options in life," says Serrano. "They don't know that there's something beyond this. They are being brought up in an environment where they can be killed any time."

Dogfighting: A National Epidemic

1. The Dogs and the Territory
2. The Costs of Dogfighting
3. Pit Bulls as Currency

An Anti-Cruelty Society survey found that one in five children in Chicago has seen a dogfight. Other estimates put that number at four out of five. The figures seem impossibly high—until you see battle-scarred pit bulls cruising the streets at the heels of 10-year-old boys.

Pit bulls are a kind of currency in the dogfighting world, their value assessed by how much cash their jaws or genes will earn. Peddling puppies can prove as lucrative as dealing drugs; one Ohio dogfighter traded selling cocaine for breeding pit bulls, recalls Franklin County deputy dog warden Rob Lambert, because the profits were higher. A symbol of strength and status, the dogs become accessories, forced to wear heavy chains because, as one young Columbus man with a scarred pit bull puts it, "it's the kind of collar you would put on a bully dog. It looks good."

It's an attitude Antonio Pickett knows well. Recently hired by HSUS consultant and community advocate Tio Hardiman, Pickett grew up on Chicago's northwest side and once had his own share of troubles with the law. Working as a "violence interrupter" who tries to wean kids away from dogfighting, he has already piqued children's interests in dog behavior training and other humane alternatives to fighting. "They [need] something else to do with their dogs..." Pickett says. "They're always asking, 'When are you going to bring the trainer?' "

Stopping the Violence

Working with police and ministers, the Dog Advisory Working Group (D.A.W.G.) is providing an answer to that question, holding sessions that teach kids about humane treatment and demonstrate dog agility. Initially scared, children clamor to pet the dogs by session's end, says Cynthia Bathurst, executive director and court advocacy chair of the Chicago nonprofit.

Help The HSUS Fight Back

Donate today to our Animal Cruelty Response and Reward Fund.

Ending dogfighting requires not just strong penalties but social remedies. In a nation of haves and have-nots where Americans spend billions each year on their pets, many children languish in the streets without help or hope. Pit bulls represent status, style and instant gratification. It is too easy to look away, but humane officers, police, community activists and organizations like The HSUS are confronting the problem head-on.

"This is about stopping the violence," says Bathurst. "When you understand how all of this violence is interconnected and how it has to do with respect in some ways for oneself and for other living beings, then you can get the whole community engaged."

A Nation in the Ring (Part 2: The Costs of Dogfighting)

September 7, 2007


©Michelle Riley/The HSUS
Franklin County spent more than $500,000 since 2002 to house this scarred dog and others seized from dogfighters.
By Nancy Lawson

From Part 1 of the series: While some 40,000 people participate in organized rings with high-stakes betting, The HSUS estimates that at least another 100,000 people fight dogs informally for the chance to win a few bucks and bragging rights.

For animal shelters, the consequences are staggering. Nationwide, pit bulls and pit bull mixes comprise up to a third of dog intake; in city facilities, that figure can be as high as 70 percent.

Although most animal welfare organizations agree that euthanasia is the safest and most humane option for dogs bred and raised to fight, many shelters must hold them for months until owners lose legal custody.

Doing so safely and humanely comes at a high price: Last year, the Houston Humane Society in Texas spent $133,000 to care for pit bulls seized from a single property. Taxpayers in Franklin County have footed a nearly $520,000 bill to house dogfighting victims since 2002. And the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center in nearby Dayton has spent $120,000 on dogs seized in 2006.

Dogfighting: A National Epidemic

1. The Dogs and the Territory
2. The Costs of Dogfighting
3. Pit Bulls as Currency

A year later, 36 of those dogs—along with 10 more from a neighboring shelter stretched to capacity—still fill a third of the kennels in Dayton.

"Welcome to the other side of the world," says director Mark Kumpf as he enters the pit-bull housing area. Vinyl window coverings thwart dogfighters searching for their own confiscated dogs or new prospects to adopt. Vision-restriction panels adorn kennels to prevent next-door neighbors from attacking each other. Hard plastic beds are frayed like the yarn of a scarf, and a wire that once operated a door pulley has been gnawed in two.

Costly Care

"We had to go back and re-engineer our housing because the dogs were able to literally pull apart the cages," Kumpf says. "They were able to get through the stainless steel guillotine doors because the doors were not large enough and heavy enough to prevent it. They were able to fence-fight by jumping four-plus feet in the air to fight with the dog on the other side of the bars...They eat the resting mats, they eat the fiberglass panels, they eat the water bowls off the wall."

Help The HSUS Fight Back

Donate today to our Animal Cruelty Response and Reward Fund.

Compounding the financial burden are expenses for 24-hour security, overtime and loss of labor due to injuries. "I have witnessed...the friendliest dog in there actually turn around and attack two employees," says Elizabeth Loikoc, a crew leader for the shelter's animal care providers. One employee, she reports, was bitten repeatedly.

Before the conclusion of its 2006 cases, Montgomery County will spend more than $300,000, Kumpf predicts. The emotional toll can be just as costly, he says: "More often than not, the dogs end up being euthanized by the very same people who have dedicated a year or more of their lives to taking care of them."

"Treading New Ground"

Atop Kumpf's desk sits a copy of the "The Final Round," an HSUS video used to educate prosecutors, judges, and police about dogfighting. Nationwide, HSUS experts train thousands of law enforcement personnel, advocate for stronger laws and penalties, and assist local, state and federal investigators.

"A lot of what we do, we’re treading new ground," says Jim Conlan of Chicago’s recently expanded Animal Crimes Unit, which works closely with The HSUS. Dogfighters know no boundaries—as Conlan says, "it is international, it is interracial, it is intereconomic"—so police need to form networks of their own to catch them.