Pinky Swear Pets

Inspired by one of my favorite blogs, Design*Sponge (check out her pet post here) I'd thought I'd introduce you to the furry department of Pinky Swear Designs. A.J. and I are both big animal lovers and even though A.J. doesn't currently have pets (allergies & babies) she loves up on my babies whenever we're in our "workshop" together.

Meet Tammie, head of Afternoon Naps and Evening Strolls. This furry little thing bolted into our house a few years back and promptly made herself at home. Her former owners, who had neglected her terribly, called us and told us to keep her, they were moving anyways :( . I've come to embrace her for the little old lady lap dog that she is and have proudly become a buyer of dog barrettes and sweaters (she needs them!). But I still giggle a little watching my heavily tattoed husband walk a ten pound fluffy dog in an argyle sweater.

And this is Carrots, Packing and Shipping Assistant (he's great with shredded paper) and Director of Keyboard Sitting. When Carrots became a part of the family he was fresh off of "death row" in a South Central shelter and was a scrawny little thing. He's since packed on the pounds and towers over Tammie. He looks like a big tough guy but deep down he's just a big papa bear who insists on giving everyone who visits kisses and grooming sessions (especially the babies).

How about you? Do you have fuzzy officemates? We'd love to meet them! Share a link in the comments.

Also, because I feel very passionate about this and feel the need to share, if you or someone you know in the Orange County area is thinking about getting a pet, please share these links with them! These are some great rescues doing amazing work and finding forever homes for some sweet animals that really deserve it:

MeoowzResQ - (who rescued and fostered our Carrots before we adopted him) rescues cats and kittens and fosters them in loving homes.

I.C.A.R.E Dog Rescue - Rescues and fosters puppies and dogs

Barks of Love - also rescues puppies and dogs.

Kitt-In Box

While searching around the internets for a nice, modern house for my kitteh I came across this genius thing (via Modern Cat). If you have a kitty I don't think I even need to explain how genius this is. In my opinion more offices need kitties as desk accessories. Now whether or not you could actually cajole your kitty off your keyboard and into his inbox is another question...

Find the Kitt-In Box here.

*This picture alone made my day. I love the informercial-ness of it. "Oh, that darn cat!" And no way that cat didn't immediately try to eat those tulips, and spill water all over her keyboard after they snapped this pic. Just sayin'

Found My Animal - Handmade Collars and Leashes

Our little dog Tammie ran into our lives one day, literally. So I can't really say that we "adopted" her in a traditional sense. But she was a neglected dog, whose owners, I'm pretty sure, let her out without a collar in hopes that she would "go away" and so neglected her grooming that for the first few days at our house she couldn't even go to the bathroom without severe pain. Now she's a part of our family, cracking us up with her diva attitude and covert intelligence.

We lost Tammie's leash in the move. I finally broke down and bought a new one yesterday, but it reminded me of these amazing leashes I came across quite a while ago. Found My Animal makes leashes, collars and other accessories "for adopted animals and their people." Every product is handmade in the USA. Every leash has a stamped brass tag with a number that represents the number of dogs who've been adopted. I'm especially in love with the adjustable leash, which allows you to "wear" the leash around your waist, or chest, freeing up your hands. And everything they make is beautiful and obviously high quality. I would love to just hang one of these on my walls! The really amazing thing, a full 25% of every sale goes to a foundation that helps spay and neuter animals in rural areas where there is no access to services.

Find out more about Found My Animal here.