Scraps & Treats
We’ll Drink to Dog House Wine
It’s not like we really need another excuse to pour a nice big glass of vino, but the folks at Dog House Winery are throwing us a bone. Now you can justify that overworked corkscrew with the comfort of knowing you are drinking for a good cause. Dog House Winery, part of California wine company Kendall-Jackson, recently released three canine-inspired labels: Maxie’s Merlot, Checker’s Cabernet, and Charlie’s Chardonnay. Fifty cents per bottle will go to support Guide Dogs for the Blind, a nonprofit charitable organization that provides and trains guide dogs for visually impaired people in the United States and Canada. The mutt behind the mission is the Jackson family dog, Robbie, who, of course, inspects each bottle and gives it his seal of approval in the form of a paw print. The wine retails for around $10 a bottle and can be found at major grocery stores and wine distributors. For details, visit www.DogHouseWine.com.
Orange You Going to Help the Animals?
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals wants you to go orange. On April 10, the oldest animal-welfare organization in the United States is turning 140 years old and it’s asking Americans to help it celebrate. As part of the festivities, skyscrapers in the group’s hometown of Manhattan (including the Empire State Building) will be lighting up orange–the official color of the ASPCA. Other big cities, including Chicago and Los Angeles, will be going orange as well. But the ASPCA also offers a number of ways for people to show their support on a local level. Suggestions include asking your local pet store to go orange and offer discounts on April 10, getting an “orange” thumb and planting an orange garden in your yard for the animals, organizing a wear-orange-for-the-animals day at school, and having a benefit for your local animal shelter by organizing a bake sale with orange cookies and cupcakes. For other ideas on how to go orange, please visit www.ASPCA.org.
What’s in a name?
Nineteen-year-old PETA staffer Chris Garnett has legally changed his name to KentuckyFriedCruelty.com to support the nonprofit’s campaign against the abuse of chickens in KFC’s supplying farms and slaughterhouses. Handing out leaflets, talking to friends and family, and even demonstrating in front of KFC restaurants wasn’t enough for this guy. “I figured this way every time I have to fill out a form or give someone my ID, I’m getting the website out there. I’m able to tell them about how KFC is cutting the beaks off of baby birds, how their suppliers are kicking and slamming chickens for fun, and how some of the birds are being scalded alive,” he says. “Ultimately, I hope this gets more people to join our boycott against KFC.” KentuckyFriedCruelty.com plans to change his name back once KFC improves the way it treats animals. Hopefully that’s sooner than later, he says. For now, the PETA activist urges people to visit the website and watch the undercover investigation. “People can help our campaign against KFC simply by not eating at the restaurant until they improve their animal-welfare standards and by encouraging your friends and families to do the same.” For details, visit www.KentuckyFriedCruelty.com.
