2008 Animal Hero Award

The Animal Miracle Network names child actor, Dominic Scott Kay, recipient of the “2008 Animal Hero Award” for his efforts to bring public awareness to the plight of homeless animals.

Kay has starred in films such as “Minority Report” (2002) as Tom Cruise’s son – as young Will Turner in “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (2007) starring Johnny Depp, Keira Knightly and Orlando Bloom – the voice of Wilbur in Paramount/ Nickolodeon’s “Charlotte’s Web” (2007) – and most recently his own film “Saving Angelo” (2007), a story based on the true events of a White Boxer that he and his family rescued in 2003, which makes him the youngest director in Hollywood.

Friends, Kevin Bacon, Eric Close and Julie Gonzalo co-starred in the film as well and it is the first of many he plans to write and direct. Part of the event in Maryland this year will include the “Animal Miracle Film Festival” in a nearly 200 seat air conditioned theater, which will run several of Kay’s films with a photo and autograph session to follow. Kay is the son of Scott Kay, the drummer for the famed band, The Commodores and son of Cindy Kay, also a writer and producer.

National Dog Day 2008

The 4th Annual National Dog Day celebration August 26, 2008.

It was National Dog Day’s founder, Colleen Paige, whose dog Spike gave her the motivation to walk herself back to health after a near-death car accident which left her scarred and battling to recover from severe head and back injuries at the age of eighteen. Due to circumstances beyond her control however, she had to re-home Spike. A year later, upon discovering he had become the victim of abuse and neglect under new owners, she attempted to rescue him from the torture he was suffering. The new owners refused to give him back and after exhausting every possible legal remedy, she was forced to walk away. Spike spent his last days under the most horrid conditions. Paige vowed that day to do whatever she could to educate dog owners about responsible pet ownership and to help prevent this from happening again to any other dog. Hence, she pursued a career in animal science.

After years of working with many different kinds of animals from dogs to wolves, elephants to dolphins, Paige blossomed as an animal behaviorist, highly respected writer, author and in 2004 became the founder of the Animal Miracle Foundation. Paige has stayed true to her loving memory of Spike and commitment to animal welfare with the inception of National Dog Day in 2004, which saved the lives of over 12,000 homeless dogs nationwide in it’s first year – inspiring a special holiday for them annually. Because of her love for all animals, Paige did not stop there – as she is also the “go getter” behind National Cat Day, National Puppy Day, National Mutt Day, National Horse Protection Day, National Wildlife Day, National Farm Animals Day and a good sized handful of other life saving pet holidays to soon be launched.

National Dog Day serves to help galvanize the public to recognize not only the number of dogs that need to be rescued each year, but to also acknowledge the dogs that work selflessly each day to save lives, keep us safe and bring comfort,” explains Paige. “Particularly after 9/11, I really felt it was time to honor dogs more than we currently do. Over 300 dogs assisted with that rescue effort and some gave their lives,” she notes. “I felt compelled to give them ‘a day,’ to show deep appreciation for our long connection to each other – for their endearing patience, unquestioning loyalty, for their work and their capacity for unconditional love. Animals have the ability to impact our lives everyday in the most miraculous ways. National Dog Day wishes to encourage responsible dog ownership of all breeds, mixed and pure – and embraces the opportunity for all dogs to live a happy, safe and “abuse-free life”.

Celebrated by dog lovers nationwide, National Dog Day is the day shelters, cities, businesses and humane organizations host adoption events, parties and celebrations around the country to encourage not only canine adoptions, but also donations made to local animal shelters in an effort to save displaced pets. Over 300 National Dog Day events took place across the nation in 2007, facilitating the adoption of over 14,000 dogs.

Who is Tom Sadowski?

Tom Sadowski is a veritable chamelon when it comes to the camera. From commercial photography for long time clients such as Target, Marshal Fields, Kohl’s, Coldwater Creek, Bon Marche, Martin Williams, Warner Bros. and Sears {just to name a few}…to animal/pet photography for the Animal Miracle Foundation, National Dog Day, Pfizer Animal Health, the Minneapolis Animal Shelter {who has framed Sadowski prints in their lobby}, Tom Sadowski is on his way to becoming a household name as a behind the lens personality.

Donating his time as the photographer for the Animal Miracle Network, Tom is gearing up for another busy year with AMN, which includes being the Director of Photography for Colleen Paige’s Pet Home magazine  and documenting National Dog Day and other adoption events. Other projects with Colleen Paige include a coffee table book and special interest photographic project.

Tom and AMN will also be teaming up with local shelters and organizations in his hometown of Minneapolis, to promote adoption and to help educate the public about the importance of spaying and neutering. For more information on Tom, please visit www.SadowskiPhoto.com

Pit Bull Awarded as Hero Dog!

The Animal Miracle Network awards Maya, a San Jose Pit Bull with its National Dog Day “Hero Dog of 2008” award. “We chose Maya for this award, not only because she saved her human mommy’s life from an attacker, but because the organization behind National Dog Day, the Animal Miracle Network, loves and supports ALL dog breeds. We don’t believe in breed bans and Maya is a testament to the fact that the Pit Bull breed can be hero dogs just like any other breed” said Colleen Paige, animal behaviorist, author and founder of AMN.

Angela Marcelino, caretaker of Maya recalls “”I opened my front door and was about to walk inside when I saw someone’s shadow out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head just as a man pushed me into my house. I screamed as loud as I could, but the man had slammed the door shut behind him.

Shut up’ were the only words he said to me. He was choking me with one hand. I was able to scream one last time. After I did, his grip tightened around my neck. That is when I saw a white streak run in from the other room. His grip was so tight that I could only gurgle the words ‘Maya, get him.’ He still had a grip on my throat, as his other hand was busy trying to fight off my angry dog.

I don’t know how, but I managed to get on my feet. His attention turned away from Maya for a second so that he could push my front door open and she followed. At that point I grabbed him in the groin as hard as I could. He doubled over and released the grip around my neck. I pushed him away and grabbed Maya by the collar. I like to think, at that moment, he told himself he had picked the wrong woman to mess with. He looked at me one last time, only for a second, and then simply walked away.”

A drop of blood above Maya’s right eye was later tested for DNA by investigators, which led to the arrest of Anthony Easley. His preliminary hearing is pending.

“All dogs are capable of biting and even attacking, but it’s my firm belief that humans are to blame behind the dogs who get a bad rap. Sadly, so many dogs suffer a tragic fate simply because of their breed. Not only is Maya our Hero Dog of 2008, she is what we’re calling our AmbassaBULL to all bull breeds. I was very excited to have a reason to show the world the good side of Pit Bulls” said Paige, “it’s clear, in this situation, as is the case in many life-threatening situations that involve attacks on women, that Angela Marcelino, Maya’s caretaker, was fortunate to have a Pit Bull as her protector. But the most heartwarming aspect of this story is that Angela rescued Maya from the Santa Clara County Animal Shelter….and on June 17th, 2007, Maya returned the favor” said Paige.

WELCOME!

Thanks for stopping by our new blog! Here you will find, (amongst the dog drool, hairballs, bird fluggers, horse hair and few slimy tennis balls) relevant news about our lifesaving animal holidays and adoption events, welfare programs, wildlife conservation, Pet Home magazine, our founder, celebrity behaviorist and author Colleen Paige and her myriad projects and tid bits on the joyous relationships we are priveleged to experience with our furry and not so furry friends.