Scraps & Treats

Indiana-PAW Gives a Nod

It’s two paws up for a few animal-loving Indiana residents. Indiana-PAW, a fastgrowing animal-welfare education league, recently named its Volunteer of the Year and Foster Parents of the Year at an appreciation party celebrating its first year of operation. Co-Foster Parent of the Year Karen Spikes (with husband Ron) of Lafayette has fostered animals for many local shelters, including Indianapolis Animal Care and Control and the Morgan County Humane Society. Diane James of Wabash was also named co-Foster Parent of the Year for her efforts in placing special-needs animals in temporary homes. She has been a foster parent to animals for many groups, including the Marion-Grant County Humane Society and Love of Labs, IN. In addition to her work with Indiana-PAW, James also runs the Midwest Prairie Dog Rescue. Sandy Wiley of Trafalgar, dubbed the “quintessential hero to Hoosier homeless pets” by Indiana-PAW founder Amy Van Ostrand, was named Volunteer of the Year for the hundreds of hours she and her family dedicated to Indiana-PAW’s animal rescue efforts over the last year. As a volunteer and foster parent, Wiley’s contributions include attending Indiana-PAW community outreach events, fostering animals facing euthanasia at overcrowded shelters, and transporting animals from shelters to rescue groups.

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.