Share your love with a furry friend this Valentine’s Day!  This adoption event is taking place at multiple shelters through out L.A.  You can enjoy discounted adoption fees, Valentine’s card making, music, refreshments and the joy of sharing your home and your heart with an animal in need.  Check out the participating shelters below and bring a friend!

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Filed under: Action Alerts, Vegan Events and Animal Adoptions ]]> http://myveganblog.com/2012/01/31/my-furry-valentine-an-adoption-event-you-wont-want-to-miss/feed/ 0 Alternative Outfitters My Furry Valentine http://myveganblog.com/2011/10/28/halloween-sale-15-off/ http://myveganblog.com/2011/10/28/halloween-sale-15-off/#comments Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:04:50 +0000 Alternative Outfitters http://myveganblog.com/?p=3752 ]]> Get ready for some spooktacular savings during our Halloween Sale! Get 15% off everything including sale, clearance & irregular items with already reduced prices. Just enter coupon code 15BOO2011 during check out.

Shop:

• Women’s Vegan Shoes

• Men’s Vegan Shoes

• Vegan Wallets

• Vegan Belts

• Cruelty Free Cosmetics

• Vegan Boots

• Sale, Clearance & Irregulars

• Vegan Outerwear

Or just head to our website, AlternativeOutfitters.com, to see our full selection of animal friendly products! Happy Halloween!

 

 Halloween can be fun for you and your pets if you keep these safety tips in mind:

• Keep any candles or jack-o-lanterns away from areas your pet frequents since they can be easily knocked over by a wagging tail.
• It’s a good idea to keep your furry friends away from the door during Halloween night.  They could easily escape with the door being opened so often or be scared by the ghouls and ghosts! Be sure your pet is micro-chipped, licensed and wearing up to date tags with your contact info in case they get loose.
• Chocolate (and other sweet treats) can be poisonous to your pet  so be sure to keep your candy stash well out of reach. Also beware of stray candy wrappers that could cause a choking hazard. This is a great time to teach your kids it’s not ok to share junk food with their furry friends and have some healthy pet treats on hand as an alternative.
• If your pet likes dressing up then be sure their costume fits comfortably and doesn’t contain any small pieces they could chew off and choke on or swallow. And if your pet isn’t a fan of dress up, than consider a decorative collar instead.

These Pet Safety Tips are brought to you by LA Animal Services.

Join Our Team for the Race For The Rescues

We’re very excited for the 6th annual Race for the Rescues at the Rose Bowl on October 23rd!  We’re putting together a team, the Alternative Outfitters Avengers, to raise money and run.  Check out our team page here to join us and if you aren’t able to run (or walk!) then please consider donating to help us reach our goal of $400.

The race will benefit 10 non profits including After The Finish Line, A Dog’s Life Rescue, Angel Dog Foundation, Best Friends Animal Society, Molly’s Mutts & Meows, The Ozzy Foundation, Pets For Vets, Stray Cat Alliance, Take Me Home Rescue & The Rescue Train.  There will be a pet costume contest, fun prizes and celebrity judges as well as face painting for kids and a pet psychic! The first 300 dogs can get a free micro chip courtesy of the Angel Dogs Foundation. You’ll be able to check out products from vendors post race and get in on the silent auction.  The race itself  is either a 5k (once around the Rose Bowl) or a 10k (twice around) and you can walk or run.

We hope you’ll join our team for a fun filled day to benefit the once forgotten animals of L.A. so that they can find their forever homes once and for all.  Please share this post with you friends and family and ask them to run with us or donate. Hope to see you there!

• Vegan Style & Activism Talks:  Join Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart, founder of Vaute Couture; Melanie Joy, author of “Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows”; Julieanna Hever, author of “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition” ; and Jessica Resnick and Hector Torres, co-founders of VegiStock, from 12-4pm in North Hollywood to discuss their books & businesses. Click here for more info.

Thursday September 1st

• Bring-a-Friend BBQ: From 7-10pm enjoy your favorite vegan foods from hotdogs to cookies at a private residence in Sherman Oaks.  Tickets are $10 or get in free when you bring a vegetarian-to-be friend!  You can RSVP and see details here.

Wednesday September 7th

• Cooking Demo & Book Signing by The Blissful Chef: At the Erewhon Market in Los Angeles from 6-8pm join Christy Morgan as she whips up some delicious vegan recipes from her newest cookbook, Blissful Bites.  You’ll get to sample the food, ask questions, buy her book and learn about plant-based eating. Click here for details.

Animal Adoptions

• Dogs in Danger:  Dogs in Danger is a website where you search for a furry friend who is at risk of euthanasia.  You can search by breed, state or zip code to find a dog near you who is in urgent need of a home.  Check them out here.

Brady is at the Van Nuys Shelter and has only 1 day to live. Please click the photo for details.

What kind of questions will we be asking?  Some will be trivia questions about our store so if you shop with us or like to browse our website you’ll have an advantage!  We will also have questions whose answers can be found in this blog and since you’re already reading that, you’ve got an even better chance to be the winner!

So let’s review…here’s what you need to do:

1. Follow us on Twitter (@VeganBoutique)
2. Read our blog and browse/shop at our Vegan Boutique
3. Tell your friends
4. Watch for our trivia question ever Wednesday
5. Be the first to answer correctly & WIN!

Did you know we offer *FREE Shipping on orders over $100?  No code is needed, just add $100 of awesome vegan products to your shopping cart!  This means you get $100 worth of your favorite vegan items for just $80 during our sale and it ships for FREE!

Shop with Compassion: CLICK HERE

*Please Note:

FREE SHIPPING applies to standard FedEx Ground/Home Delivery shipping and to U.S. delivery addresses in the 48 states only. It does not include delivery to Alaska, Hawaii or Puerto Rico.  Unfortunately we are not able to apply this discount to International Orders. Free shipping will not apply anymore when the order total becomes less than $100 due to future returns.

• Dogs and cats do not sweat through their skin. They cool themselves by rapid breathing and when the temperature outside is hot and close to their internal body temperature, it means they must work hard to stay cool. So when it’s hot for you, it’s even hotter for them.
• Too much heat can be extremely dangerous and sometimes fatal. If your buddy has a shorter nose, like Persian cats and bulldogs, he is more susceptible to heatstroke than breeds with longer noses.
• If your dog or cat begins very rapid, noisy breathing, has trouble swallowing and looks very distressed, she could be experiencing heatstroke. Other symptoms include the tongue and gums turning bright red, saliva being thicker than usual and vomiting.  In severe cases, symptoms include the animal becoming unsteady on her feet, the lips and gums turning pale blue or gray and loss of consciousness.

• Heatstroke is an emergency. Get the animal out of the heat. Apply cold, wet towels to the back of the head.  Place cold packs wrapped in towels or plain wet towels between the back legs and on the belly.  Cool off your furry friend and then take her to the vet immediately.

• Make sure that your dog or cat always has plenty of fresh water to drink. A bucket that holds a gallon or more of water will stay cool longer and is less likely to evaporate in the heat than water in a shallow pan. Some dogs love ice cubes, and you can add a few to the water bowl.
• Dogs and cats do sweat a little through the pads of their feet. The cats I know don’t volunteer to have water added to any part of their body, but dogs often enjoy having cool water on their feet to help them cool down, or you can apply rubbing alcohol to their pads. Some dogs enjoy walking through or even lying in a child’s wading pool.
• Car interiors heat very quickly in the summer, even with the windows open.  If it’s 85 degrees outside, it will climb to 102 degrees within ten minutes inside your car.  In half an hour, it will reach 120 degrees or more! If it’s 90 degrees out, temperatures can top 160 degrees faster than you can walk around the block. Therefore, it is dangerous to leave your dog or cat in a car for even a short amount of time – even just 5 minutes and it’s against the law. If he can’t go inside at every stop with you, he’s safer at home on hot days!
• If longer-coated dogs and cats are brushed regularly, and their coats are in good shape, the coat will serve as insulation from the heat. If the coat has gotten matted, a summer clip will make your buddy much more comfortable and give you a new start at keeping him brushed. Newly clipped animals are more likely to get sunburned where the hair has been cut.
• If your dog spends time in the yard, make sure she has access to shade. Dark coats absorb heat. Lighter coated animals, especially white ones, are at higher risk for skin cancer from exposure to the sun and are more susceptible to sunburn.  Shade trees, a covered patio, or a cool spot under the porch can help keep her comfortable. Local and State laws require that a dog must have access to water. The owner can be charged for animal cruelty if the dog cannot get to water.

• Don’t bring pets to fireworks displays
• Keep your pets indoors, being left outside in a yard could be dangerous if the noise of the fireworks frightens them. (She suggests not leaving them chained as they may entangle themselves if frightened but you should NEVER chain your dog!)
• Never bring your pet along and then leave them in the car.  The hot air is dangerous for them and even with the windows open it will not be enough ventilation.  It also gives people the opportunity to steal your pets.
• If you know beforehand that your pet has a very bad reaction to fireworks, visit your vet prior to the holiday.
• If your dog isn’t microchipped, now is the perfect time to do it.  Also be sure that your pet has the proper identification tags on his or her collar.
• Keep windows & curtains closed, turn on a tv or radio to distract from any loud noises and consider hiring a pet sitter fro the evening if you will be out.

The weekend before Fourth of July has the highest kill rate at shelters across the country as they make room for the dogs who will escape their homes due to fireworks.  PLEASE consider adopting, fostering and encouraging friends and family to do the same and keep your pet safe so they don’t become a statistic.