Have you ever wondered what goes into your dog or cat’s food? What about the freshness of it? Do you buy their food based on a cute animal on the front of the bag or the recommendation of your vet? There’s so much to consider when deciding on food for your fur kids. It can feel a bit overwhelming! Here are some ideas that will hopefully move you toward selecting the food that best fits both your pet’s and your needs.
As the tax deadline looms, don’t forget about write-offs that could literally go to the dogs! Whether your adorable pup is on patrol or your cat exploits her gorgeous looks, you may want to read this. Although pets cannot be reported as dependents to the IRS, there are a number of deduction possibilities.
New year, new m…err, fur kid! You know how it goes this time of year, everyone’s starting their new year's resolutions. Common ones include trying to get back on track with your health, trying new things, saving money, etc. But what about your four-legged family members? Have you ever thought about setting some resolutions for them? How about with them? There’s no time like the present to start How many of these can you embrace?
AMAZING NEWS!
A huge shout out goes to the AMAZINGLY GENEROUS students at Fairmont High School who raised $10,000 for Ellie’s Rainy Day Fund during Spirit Chain, an annual competition against Centerville High to raise funds for local nonprofits. This year Fairmont kicked butt—and pet loving families in our communities reaped the benefits through the students’ incredible fundraising success! FULL STORY
Here at Ellie’s Rainy Day Fund we love pets of all shapes and sizes but this month we want to give some special attention to a very important group of pets—senior pets.
Your vet says your fur kid needs surgery! Does that make you nervous? That’s OK, you’re not alone.
My husband Bill and I live an environmentally-friendly life. We recycle, have two compost bins and have two rain barrels to use considerably less water so going solar was just the next step for us. Solar is Freedom, the solar company we got our solar panels from, is not only the number one solar company in Ohio, but also a corporate sponsor of Ellie’s Rainy Day Fund. FULL STORY
What’s better on a rainy afternoon than perusing your social media and stumbling on a few adorable pet photos? If only some of them were YOUR posts featuring YOUR fur family. Whether you’re using a DSLR camera or a smartphone, taking pics of one pet or several, these suggestions will up your pet photography game! Which ones have you never thought of?
13 year old Whitney had longed for a puppy to join her family for a long time. So this past Spring, she did something about it. She spent her Spring Break researching scientific evidence to back her claim that having a pet is beneficial to kids’ development and really to the health of everyone in the family.
How did you choose the name for your fur kid? Last year I adopted a dog from a rescue. They'd given him a temporary name and I knew I didn't want to keep that name, but choosing a replacement turned out to be more of a challenge than I had anticipated.
Spring has sprung and with it, flea and tick season has too. As much as we love our pets, sometimes they bring in unwelcome critters from outside that we’d rather live without.
What do you do in the midst of a pandemic when you hear that a kitty is going to be put to sleep because the family who adores her can’t afford her emergency surgery?
If you’re Tony Ranieri you ask “how much is needed?” and make the donation that saves her life! Tony thought about how often that happens and imagined what it would be like if it was his furry family member. And he said, “my corporation wants to help! Every month we want to help keep a family together by saving their pet’s life.” FULL STORY
In 2018, Kevin Lively’s family came home to find their beloved Beauceron, Cheick, disoriented and unresponsive. They were shocked to discover he had a rare calcium deficiency disorder that would have killed him, if not for the generosity of ERDF donors who made it possible for him to remain in the ICU until he was stabilized. FULL STORY
You’ve spent most of the last several months inside, staying warm, and oftentimes not around many other people. Now that Spring is just around the corner maybe you’re starting to think about all the fun activities you want to do with your fur buddies the second the weather breaks. Should you go camping? Shopping? Swimming? Work out? Go to the beach? Take a hike? Have a picnic? Go on a road trip?
If you’ve ever lived with a dog or cat or any pet, you know that blissful feeling of getting home after a stressful day at the office and being greeted by your floof purring loudly or wagging their tail so enthusiastically that their entire body is just along for the ride. Is there really anything better than coming home to your fur kid who’s been waiting for your return all day, and wants to show you nothing but love? I don’t think so!
Have you ever thought about what would happen to your furry family members if you suddenly passed? Would they be cared for by a friend or family member or end up in a shelter? In our present circumstances, it’s something more folks have started to consider.
If you’ve ever lived with a dog or cat or any pet, you know that blissful feeling of getting home after a stressful day at the office and being greeted by your floof purring loudly or wagging their tail so enthusiastically that their entire body is just along for the ride. Is there really anything better than coming home to your fur kid who’s been waiting for your return all day, and wants to show you nothing but love? I don’t think so!
It’s early on a Thursday morning and you’re drinking your coffee, reading the news, about to wake the kids, and suddenly you hear the phone ring. It’s the call you’ve been dreading, it’s the vet. They’re calling to tell you that they’ve gotten your pet’s test results back and have diagnosed Fluffy with cancer. Your heart sinks.
Although we probably don’t think about it too often, our pets can get diabetes just like us. In fact, it’s very common in cats and dogs and is even on the rise in both species. However, just because your beloved furbaby has diabetes, they can still lead a happy and long life!
You park at the grocery store to run in for some milk. You happen to look in the car next to you and you see a dog inside. It’s 80 degrees outside. The windows may or may not be cracked. The car may or may not be in the shade. The dog may or may not look in distress. What do you do?
Let’s face it, the world as we know it has changed since the onset of COVID-19. One thing that hasn’t changed is a human’s need for stress relief in the form of a vacation.
What if you were living the life of your dreams? You used to be lonely but NOW your favorite people are always around and they’re paying lots of attention to you! OR, what if your nice quiet home has been invaded and you feel like you never get your quiet time alone? Either way, in our fur kids’ lives things are about to drastically change.
Pets are known to have a sort of sixth sense for humans and illness. How many stories have you heard about a friend of a friend’s pet alerting them that something might be off with their health? When they finally decide to see a doctor, they have an actual medical ailment.
Do you have a plan for ALL of your family in the event of a fire? Have you or a loved one ever gone through a structure fire? Do you worry about what would happen if one broke out in your home?
Sometimes the way our pets give and receive love can be different than with humans. You might think that the best way to your pup’s or kitty’s heart is through their stomach (and you’re not necessarily wrong), but a little too much love in that way is going to have them packing on the pounds quickly!
We’d like to introduce you to Pat Smith, a resident of Cleveland who grew up here in Dayton. She’s a big time cat lover who knows firsthand the power of the bond we build with our furry family members.
Pat recently changed her giving status and became a supporter through our Faithful Friends program. Faithful Friends offers you the opportunity to set up monthly giving as an easy, budget-friendly way to keep families together by saving their pets. FULL STORY
Have you ever heard of a cat, or less frequently a dog, who can’t pee? It may sound funny, but it's an emergency!
It’s been a busy month for folks who enjoyed celebrating their birthdays by raising money to keep families together by saving their pets’ lives! THANK YOU to Sarah, Jean & Kris for doing Facebook Fundraisers on your birthdays. Your hearts are amazing! FULL STORY
By now many of you have already heard that the FDA is investigating the link between canine heart disease and grain-free food diets. But do you know why?
Over the last few years the popularity of essential oils and aromatherapy has exploded. People are using them for everything from enhancing sleep to treating cancer. With the increasing popularity of these oils, the use of them with our pets has increased as well. But, is that a good thing?
We’d like to give a shout out to the animal lovers who run borealispress.net.
If you’ve never seen their lines of cards, you’re missing out! To me, they strike just the right balance of simple, meaningful, and profound.
I reached out to them to let them know how much they mean to our recipients whose furry family members cross the rainbow bridge. They responded by providing us with a stock of pet sympathy cards! FULL STORY
We offer our gratitude to two amazing individuals. The first we don’t even know. But we want to say a huge thank you to the anonymous donor who gave ERDF $15,000 through the Charity Navigator website. Your generosity has resulted in keeping eight families together by saving their pets’ lives! FULL STORY
Have you noticed that your pet has been more careful getting up and down, limping, or just moving more slowly? It could be a result of a number of ailments, but one in particular could be a form of osteoarthritis.
Please join us in sharing some love for the staff at Bigger Road Veterinary Center, most of whom have chosen to designate Ellie’s Rainy Day Fund to receive the benefits of their purchases on Amazon Smile.
Beth Anticoli from Bigger Road says “I use Amazon Smile for Ellie’s Rainy Day Fund, because it is an easy, convenient way for a percentage of my purchase amount to go back to a charity that is close to my heart. Every penny makes a difference in the lives of pets that need it the most.” FULL STORY