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Free Money!
Gift Certificates on Sale!
I’ll be honest...this winter took it’s toll and really hurt us badly as a small business. Having two ice storms on the weekends before Christmas, only to have them continue through last week has been very challenging. We know this is also the case for many of you; whether you cut hair, own or work in a restaurant, perform acupuncture--when your customers can’t reach you, or you can’t be available for your customers, no one gets paid. Even the recession of 2008 didn’t hit us as hard as this year has.
I want to thank all of you who came out when you could. It meant so much to see you! I was really touched one recent morning when a woman walked up through the snow to see us...she said she’d been thinking of us and what our store meant to her, and had specifically hiked up to buy some treats and a toy just to support us on a slow day. And so I’m inspired to say to all of you: for the next few weeks, consider treating yourself to a coffee at Pip’s or Jim & Patty’s, buy that book you’ve been eyeing for your kids at A Children’s Place, pick up a bottle of wine from Blackbird, swing by for that special treat for a friend’s awesome dog, perhaps buy some pastured eggs at your local co-op instead of a big box store...whatever you can think of--your favorite little shops are here for you. Let them know it’s why you came, and take to heart that a few dollars can make all the difference.
To help us recoup our losses and to say thank you for your wonderful support through thick and thin, we’d like to offer you this: For the next week, Green Dog Gift Certificates will be 10% off! You can come in to purchase, or simply call us to buy one over the phone--we will happily mail it to you or the lucky gift certificate recipient!
The highlight of this weather was seeing all the happy dogs in the snow!! If there’s any living thing that loved all of this deep fluffy snow stuff and more time with their humans on their “days off”, it was the dogs. We sure would love to see your favorite dogs in the snow photos! Email them to info@greendogpetsupply.com and you might see them in a future newsletter or Facebook post.
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| | Winter coat drive for humans and dogs!
Thank you to Anna, one of our wonderful employees who felt so moved to create a coat drive for pets and people during these cold storms! We’ve set up a collection bin near the register and are accepting coats and sweaters for dogs, as well as cold weather gear for people; hats, gloves, scarves and coats. Thankfully we have some milder weather this week, but our spring is still months away.
With the help of two wonderful organizations, we will be able to place these items directly into the peoples’ hands who really need them. Winter gear will be given to the Pongo Fund and Safe Dogs By the River. Pongo Fund is a remarkable organization that provides human grade pet food, veterinary care to low income and homeless pet owners. Pongo Fund distributes food from their warehouse in Portland and to a variety of other distribution points throughout Oregon.
Safe Dogs by the River is another wonderful organization we love working with. Up to 95% of pets that are relinquished, abandoned or otherwise neglected are due to behavioral problems. Safe Dogs provides training, education and positive tools to those in greatest need. We at Green Dog donate positive training tools, treats, toys, food and other products throughout the year to this organization. They transport these items to places like Dignity Village among many other places in Portland and Salem.
Yesterday Larry from the Pongo Fund picked up a load of these donations, and bags and bags of winter gear filled up his whole SUV!
We’d like to give a special shout out to Gold Paw Fleece for their amazing donation--they sent us a big box of fleece sweaters worth over $500. Thank you Gold Paw!!!
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Musher's Secret!
Got a pup that loves to play in the snow or go for hikes on these chillier days? Protect those paws with Musher’s Secret! A waterproof wax that coats the pads and fur between their pads to prevent snowballs and irritation from road salt, Musher’s Secret is nontoxic, 100% natural wax, non-staining and long lasting. We’ve always known this was a great product, but these storms have really proven the products’ worth as indispensable in the cold and snow.
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Orbee Tough Squeaker Ball!
If there’s one thing people ask for, it’s a tough ball that actually squeaks! Typically, squeakers usually mean a weakness in the ball--the little squeaker mechanism can pop out or be pierced by a tooth. Well we’re here to tell you, Planet Dog has done it right! They’ve developed a patent pending squeaker that is an integral part of the ball so it can’t be popped out and doesn’t need any adhesives or glues to stay in.
We’ve always loved the Orbee tough material, in fact it was one of the first products we ever brought in because it’s made in the U.S., it’s nontoxic, and far tougher than it feels. In addition, Planet Dog guarantees the toys! This doesn’t mean there aren’t dogs who can chew it up, but it does mean that if they do, you can bring us back the pieces and we’ll do a one time swap for another toy. We also mail the broken pieces back to the company to be melted down into new toys! The Whole Dog Journal gave it a great review, and said, “At a suggested retail price of $15.99, this is a ball that you spend the time searching for when it goes astray in an errant throw. But you can feel good about spending your hard-earned cash on Planet Dog goods. The company gives two percent of every sale to the Planet Dog Foundation; more than $1 million has been given in the past decade to support the Foundation’s mission: promoting and supporting assistance dog organizations.”
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The Power of Bone Broth
This is the second segment in a series on our blog covering the benefits of whole food toppers. We try to source the very best dry pet foods on the market, but the truth is that all kibble diets are highly processed foods. Multiple heat processing steps damage valuable nutrients like amino acids, enzymes and vitamins, and can create chemicals like acrylamide. Adding whole foods as toppers can provide valuable nutrients that can help to support their health. It’s amazing how often adding whole foods to processed food diets can help to clear up nagging chronic health problems like itchy skin and other irritations.
Chicken soup isn’t just good for the soul: slow cooked bone broths of all kinds have legitimate healing properties for our own bodies and for our pets. These broths are staples in the traditional diets of all cultures throughout history and for good reason. Slow cooking bones in water takes the valuable parts that can’t be directly consumed and turns them into more food. They create an incredibly nutritious and very inexpensive elixir that can be eaten on its own or become the base for soups, stews, and sauces. For our pets, broths can be a handy mix to any diet for hydration and appetite stimulation, as well as helping a picky animal think their food is delicious! Many people use expensive canned foods to mix into their kibble, but broths have big advantages over this--broth is far less expensive than cans, and cans come with some downsides such as trace amounts of BPA or other hormone disrupting chemicals in their linings (regardless of what a company might claim) It also takes a great deal of energy to create and then recycle these cans, as well as fossil fuels to transport them.
What is bone broth? You can make broths with meat and water, but the real magic lies in the use of the bones. Combining bones with water and ideally some veggies (avoid onions for pets and people with chronic digestive issues), and a splash of cider vinegar. Let it all cook over low heat or in a crock pot for a long time--this extracts valuable minerals and other nutrients as well as breaking down connective tissues which releases collagen, glucosamine, chondroitin, and valuable amino acids that greatly improve the health of the joints, skin, and gut lining (where the immune system lives).
Please continue reading this article here - Has
your dog ever suffered from digestive issues? Bouts of diarrhea? Immune
challenges or allergies? Itchy skin? Inflammation? Chronic joint pain?
Ligament tears? Don't miss this article! Check out the amazing list of benefits of bone broths, how to make your own, and the three excellent bone broth products we carry in the store. Get 10% off of any of these products when you mention this newsletter.
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| | Other Recent Blog Posts
Pet Friendly Ice Melting Products are Still Problematic - an evaluation of ingredients found in common ice melting products and their risks to pets.
Whole Food Toppers Are Important! - The first article in a series, explaining the important benefits of whole foods added to your kibble (dry dog food) and how they can help or prevent many common chronic health issues. Read about one of our favorite toppers in the store!
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| | Attention Rad Cat Feeders!
Our favorite food for cats will now be available in locally sourced Pork! Rad Cat says, "We
are proud to present our newest variety, Natural Pork! Our pork is
raised without antibiotics, hormones or stimulants and is all
humanely-raised. We use shoulder and organs to produce a decadent meal
that cats love!" It should be in the freezer by Friday. Ask for a sample while supplies last.
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| | Green Tip:
Don't throw your ratty old jeans away - cut them up to make great dog toys. Strips can be braided into fantastic tugs - make them big or small to suit the size of your dog, and knot them at the ends. If you are handy with a sewing machine, you can get creative with making your own stuffed animals out of denim, or just make a pillow shaped toy and stuff with scraps from the rest of the denim that's leftover. We sell squeakers if you want to put some inside! For tough chewers, use double or triple layers of fabric and stitch the edges like crazy. |
| | Neighborhood News
Know anyone planning a wedding? A group of Beaumont Village merchants who have formed the Fremont Street Wedding Collective to provide a one-stop shopping option for neighbors.
Hollywood Farmer's Market helps neighbors put fresh produce on table - Everyone deserves access to fresh, local produce from their neighborhood farmers market. With this in mind, they created a program in 2010 that would increase the spending power of shoppers using SNAP benefits (the program formerly known as food stamps). Our local Hollywood market is awesome!
Johanna Ware returns - Smallwares chef will open casual spot on Sandy at the Zipper
Did you lose trees? Join Alameda and Beaumont-Wilshire tree teams with Patrick Key from Urban Forestry for free workshop on tree selection Jan. 28. The timing of this is good, as a Friends of Trees plantings are coming up in March and April
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| | Thanks for Your Support. See You Soon!
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| | | | Located in Beaumont Village 4327 NE Fremont Street, Portland, Oregon 97213
Telephone: 503-528-1800
© 2007 - 2015 Green Dog Pet Supply. Green Dog Pet Supply® is a Registered Trademark. |
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