By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Our list of gifts that you and your pet will LOVE this Valentine’s Day!

Recently I received the Travel Blanket from Original Territory for my dog Cody – and for someone who has been in the pet industry for a while, this is something I have not seen before!  It makes such a great gift for a dog parent because it’s 2 in 1 functions, but also because it’s useful for both you and your dog.  The Travel Blanket starts out as a bag with handles and pockets where you could put items like dog treats, water, sunscreen, bug spray, water bottle, etc. and take it with you on a hike, to the beach or where ever you are going with your dog.  When you get to your location, you can take the items out, undo the velcro holding the bag together and open up and like magic you now have a soft blanket to sit on. The back side is waterproof – so if you’re on a beach that the sand may be wet or the ground on your hike is a little damp – you won’t get wet while sitting on the blanket!  How cool is that.  I can’t wait to use it this spring, summer and fall to bring with me on one of Cody’s Adventures.  The Travel Blanket is available on Target.com – and Original Territory has many other fab pet products that you can purchase for your furry valentine as well. You can see a video from Titus and Hailey about the blanket here and even a big beautiful dog like Bocker the labradoodle fits perfectly on it – check out Bocker’s pictures here.

And don’t forget to get your pup delish dog treats for Valentine’s day – they may not be in the shape of a heart but your dog will love these Made in the USA healthy treats from Kaleb’s Organics.  Your pooch will fall head over paws for Kaleb’s Organics Dog Treats!  Kaleb’s offer wholesome ingredients, great taste, and are USDA Certified Organic and you can even eat them yourself.  Available in a variety of delicious flavors, Kaleb’s are made using all natural ingredients and no preservatives. The ingredients in each treat provide numerous health benefits for our animal companions and are Non-GMO Project Verified.  Your dog may be eating better than you on Valentine’s day!

Your dog will be thirsty after crunching down those yummy treats so why not give him filtered water from the new innovative Torus water bowls by Heyrex Limited.  Pretty to look at with their modern design, these bowls are more than just a pretty face!  Use them at home as your pet’s regular water bowls, but they also have a lock, fill and drink function making it ideal for travel as well.  Holding up to 2 liters of water in their reservoir walls, filtering the water as it automatically dispenses.  Its large capacity means less filling and low profile means less spills.  These bowls come in 2 liter and 1 liter sizes perfect for big and small pets and you have to love all the colors they come in!  To get yours, you can purchase simply on Amazon.com.

After drinking all that water and maybe you’re not home in time to let your dog out – here’s the perfect solution UGODOG, the #1 indoor dog potty training system. The UGODOG is environmentally friendly, keeps paws dry, easy to use, absorbent liners are reusable and biodegradable, we love that!  Plus you purchase one you will get a free training manual with your UGODOG.  This also a perfect solution to pads laying around your house and those days when perhaps the elevator is working in your high rise apartment building.  UGODOG can change the way you think about potty training your dogs and it is also light weigth and portable so you can bring it with you.  To get yours you can simply click here or call 1-888-405-7499 for more info.

Here’s another simple, yet brilliant solution to leaving your sliding glass doors open so your pets can go in and out.  You know what I am talking about!  Treat your dog or cat to an Apartment Pet Door™ by Balcony Pets solves the problem of you having to leave your sliders open.  It is a non-permanent pet door that is adjustable and pops right into the track of your sliding glass doors.  One of those, why didn’t I think of that ideas!  Created by Nancy Carson who didn’t want to leave her doors open all the time yet give her pets the ability to go in-and-out without having to install a traditional doggie door or having to get up everytime her pet was pawing at the door to go in the yard.  It’s simple to put together, snaps together in minutes, installs without tools or expertise from a handy person, drops into the tracks of your sliders and works with any height sliding glass door.  You can take this mobile pet door with you when you move or travel.  You’ll love the convenience and also the energy you save by not leaving the door open!  Check out the video about it here, and to get your own or your sweetheart one for their pet click here.

While your pet is enjoying going in and out, make sure that they have proper ID on them and keep your dog or cat safe and sound with a Twigo LOVE Tag!  Perfect for the furry love you own, Twigo Tags are a fun way to add that ID tage to your pets collar and also not have to hear that jingling either. Pet safety should be at the top of all pet owners’ priority list. A Twigo LOVE Tag is perfect for spreading pet identification awareness in a simple and stylish way this Valentine’s Day. Twigo Tags require no engraving and are instantly personalize-able with a ballpoint pen – simply write, boil and wear. The tags self-attach and are completely silent, ideal for those who dislike the jingling noise and remove their pet’s tags while inside the house.  To get yours click here.

After all the adventures with your pup, the romping in the yard, hikes and playing in the snow – you may notice that your dog is not smelling to lovely!  Time for a bath – and to make his fur super soft and sweet smelling you will want to try ECO Dog Care Pet Products Simply Clean Dog Shampoo.  Recently I got a bottle of this dog shampoo and gave Cody a bath – and not only did he smell great, he was soft and silky and even stopped scratching! (He has some seasonal allergies).  There is also and in-between spray called Simpy Fresh that you can use – and what I love about it is it is environmentally friendly, Made in the USA and with all natural ingredients.  Simply Fresh also naturally repels pests like fleas and ticks so they stay off your dog and out of your car & house – yes, love that!

By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

The puptials of Titus & Hailey took place on Sunday, July 14, 2013 at their home in Islip Terrace, NY.  Hundreds of guests from all around LI and even as far away as Texas were in attendance to watch this dynamic duo tie the knot!

Titus sporting a tux and top hat and Hailey a beautiful wedding gown, they had bwides maids too, their 3, four legged sisters, and even a human Best Man and Maid of Honor!

All the lovely wedding decor, gifts and donations wasn’t just for pomp and circumstance, but was a fundraiser for Tuff Tails Animal Rescue group.
There were raffles, vendors, tons of human food (and treats for the pups of course) and evening a wedding cake adorned with, well a Titus & Hailey cake topper.

Titus & Hailey have a big following on faciebutts at Titus likes to say, from all over the country and world and because so many of their fans could not travel to Long Island for the ceremony – it was lived streamed on UStream and they had nearly 1,000 people watching it live!  Here is video that I shot of the ceremony:

After the ceremony, there was a reception of course, and the DJ also announced each bridal party member and of course the bwide and groom too. (It was pretty darn adorabull!)  Hearing roomers this morning that the newly married couple spent the honeymoon suite together, it is a good thing they are both fixed! BOL!! (that’s Bark Out Loud!)  For a lot more PICTURES click here.  Woof!

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Working in the pet industry you get invited to a lot of events, some promotional events like trade shows, but the majority are fundraisers for animal rescue groups. This summer, I am attending two events that, if you asked me when I was in college pursuing a degree in communications for television, I never thought I would be attending. TWO Dog weddings, that’s right I said it, TWO different dog weddings withing a couple weeks of each other!  Is it silly of me to say that I am looking forward to them more than some human weddings? (Said from a brides maid/ maid of honor 6 times over – yes people I learned to say no after a while! BOL!).

One wedding takes me to Connecticut and this is a black tie gala wedding event, where I will be getting dressed like I am going to a human wedding.   May I present the prestigious Wigglebutt Wedding held on Friday, June 28, 2013 in Stratford, CT at the Baldwin Center.  This wedding is a ‘fun’-draiser to raise money and awareness for Life’s Little Paws Cocker Spaniel rescue, who rescued the bride-to-be, Zoe who was to be euthanized the day she was rescued.  Her story went from near death, to a loving, happy life who will be wearing a couture dog bridal gown!

Dexter & Zoe! Photo Credit: Carol Bryant

The much anticipated puptials are drawing in pet professionals, pet enthusiasts, supporters, couture pet fashion designers and high end pet photographers from all over the country, I kid you not! There is even a TV crew coming to film  – and everyone is excited about it. Why? Not just to see the adorable bride and groom tie the knot – but because it is for such a wonderful animal rescue group – and I can guarentee the dog guests will be dressed to the K9’s as well!

The bride Zoe is owned by Val Sorensen and Dexter, the groom is owned by Carol Bryant of Fidose of Reality – they came up with the idea to do the wedding as a fundraiser a little over a year ago.  And all the pomp and circumstance is for a good cause, and yes us humans plan on having a great time! I mean seriously we usually like dogs better than most people….BOL (That’s Bark Out Loud in case you didn’t know!)

Carol lives in PA and Val lives in Connecticut and decided to host the wedding in Stratford, CT as it is a mid-way poing between them if you will. This event is acutually already SOLD out, with 120 two legged guests, 56 dogs and 1 cat, meow. But if you are moved enough to make a donation, there is also a bridal registry for products and donations to benefit Life’s Little Paws!

Carol Bryant with Dexter & Val Sorensen with Zoe!

If you just so happen to be in the Pet Industry and live nearby – the morning after the wedding on Saturday, June 29th, 2013 from 9am – 11am, Long Island Pet Professionals (LIPP), is hosting a Special Breakfast Networking Event at the Homewood Suites Hotel.   This is LIPP’s first out of state event for LIPP is also donating a portion of the proceeds from the networking event to Life’s Little Paws!

So if you didn’t get a chance to get a ticket to the Wigglebutt wedding, you can attend the networking breakfast event, meet the bride and groom (and their owners), network, and learn about other pet pros in your area and beyond!

The 2nd wedding is closer to home for me, and while the dogs will be dressed up it will be more casual for the guests, but yes people the dogs will be in proper wedding atire! The wedding of Titus and his Girl Hailey – two rescued Pit Bulls who are now living the life of luxury, here on Long Island!  Titus has a similar story to Zoe as he too was rescued within hours of his life ending.  Titus was at the New York City AC&C – he had a broken leg and mange and scheduled to be put to sleep when he was pulled.  His mommy and daddy agreed to foster him, and then he became their foster failure – when they adopted him 2 months after fostering him.  Titus’s love for his girl Hailey, grew so much his mom, Laura Morgillo, told me that she couldn’t imagine separating him from her – you can see how much he ruffs her in the hundreds of video’s and photo’s posted on their Facebook page.

This wedding of Titus and Hailey is to benefit Tuff Tails Rescue Group a local group who pull dogs from local municipal animal shelters here on Long Island and NYC AC&C and even help with stray dogs too.

Titus’s owner Laura  posts daily on their FB page (they have a lot of fans!), making people laugh with Titus’s antics and her ‘voice’ for him is really quite amazing how she captures what he is ‘thinking’ and ‘saying!’ I am not normally a fan of ‘dog talk’ by their owners, but Laura is a riot and that is captured by Titus’s ‘voicie.’ Fans of his page, and admittedly myself can’t get enough of his daily posts on Faciebutts.

Titus and Hailey are also two dogs who go to work with their owner, out on the family boat in the Great South Bay for many adventures and also are breed ambassador’s at many pet events too. Titus & Hailey have 3 other sisters of the furry kind, each are also rescues. Their event is taking place on Sunday, July 14, 2013 from 1pm to 7pm in Islip Terrace, N.Y. and like the Wigglebutt Wedding people from all over the country plan on attending. Laura told me recently that fans of Titus & Hailey are flying in from Texas just to attend the wedding! Laura may have too soon cap off the wedding attendee’s as this is an outdoor wedding in their very large backyard. She told me in an interview recently they are expecting 100 – 200 people and she even hired security to check people in, smart! The wedding is $10 per person and for people only, they will have a ton of human food, DJ, vendors, raffle baskets, 50/50 and much more at the event.  And of course you can get a kiss from Titus at his kissing booth!  Also the bride and groom, just like in a human wedding, will not see each other until Hailey walks down the aisle!

I was lucky enough to meet Titus & Hailey and their 3 sisters Mercedez (aka Bubba), Austin & Kiah recently and let me tell you these are five incredibly lucky dogs and they have super nice, loving pet pawents.

Titus & Hailey!

When I asked Titus, was he a bit nervous as most grooms are he said, “OMD….rite now I is bewwy excitabulls but as da day gets cwoser I is gettin butterfwies in my tummy….I can not wait to sees My Girl walkien down da isle….dat is wen I mite just faint!”

Titus, we RUFFS you too! See you at the wedding!

While these two dog weddings are different, a few themes that are the same are that all the dogs involved are rescues; both events are fundraisers for animal rescue groups; Titus was rescued 1 hour before he was scheduled to be put to sleep and the bride Zoe’s fait was also the same. If neither of the rescue groups didn’t step in to save these dogs, and they the parents ultimately taking in two sick, injured and unwanted dogs – we would not be looking forward to attending these elaborate celebrations of their puptials.

Dogs change our lives for the better and Titus & Hailey and Dexter and Zoe’s stories, huge fan base, and dedicated people who love them sure tell a tail that saving just one dog can make a huge difference in your life (and theirs).

Congratulations to the bwide and gwooms! (As Titus would say) and a big Thank you to the pawents for loving you all so much, opening their hearts to help more dogs from each of these weddings.

Titus testing the water! BOL with Kiah the water dog!