I recently purchased an Epic Specialties pillow from Facebook friend and fellow animal lover, Chirs Brenner. The pillow says “We Have A Warm (Heart) For Cold Noses.” Not only were the pillows cheap at $10, but all the proceeds go to a great cause: the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe, California. There’s only one, albeit simple catch: you have to email Chris a picture of yourself with the product.

I received the pillow in the mail about as fast as I sent Chris a check and now it sits under the tree for Ella to open on Christmas. Then, Chris will get his photo!

Epic Specialties also sells Hanes 100% cotton, tagless t-shirts that say “We Have A Warm (Heart) For Cold Noses” or “We (Heart) Pets!” The pillows, like the one I ordered, are handmade, and also come in either slogan. There is even a bone-shaped neck pillow that says “We Love Pets.” The t-shirts are being sold for $8 each and the pillows for $10, until the end of January 2010. But keep in mind, that price is being honored (in good faith) to customers who will email Chris a picture of themselves with the tee or pillow. 

Chris has been a marketing consultant for over 15 years, and started Epic Specialties – which is he is the Chief Executive – earlier this year. While in the business to make money, as a life-long animal lover and someone who is passionate about fighting animal cruelty, Chris launched the company knowing he would give a percentage of promotional product sales to the San Diego Humane Society and Helen Woodward.

Now that, is a business worth supporting!

To order your t-shirt or pillow, email Chris at chris@epicspecialties.com.

My friend Emily Tanen’s non-profit rescue group, Project Pet, is throwing a holiday party in which all proceeds go towards saving animals in city shelters – specifically pit bulls – from euthanasia.

Emily also works in the New Hope department of Manhattan Animal Care and Control and never leaves work without taking at least a few dogs out of the shelter with her to be marketed, coddled and adored by animal lovers who attend the fundraiser.

Happy’s Holiday Hour will take place at Von, a great space on Bleecker Street on Thursday, December 17th from 6 – 9 p.m. I went to Project Pet’s fundraiser at Von last month and it was a blast! I am hoping to get out of a prior engagement to come out and support Emily and the animals she works so tirelessly to save, and hope you will, too!

Below is a photo of some of my rescue friends at Project Pet’s last fundraiser. From top left going clockwise is the host of the party, Emily, followed by Christina, Jen, myself and Katherine.

Good times raising money for shelter pets.

By SHANE BARBI as told to REEDU TAHA

I have a supportive husband and a life-long companion in my twin sister, but it is a cat that I rescued from the streets that is the love of my life.

By now I think it is no secret that I love animals. Along with my sister, Sia, I have been rescuing them since I was a child. From climbing trees to breaking my car for wildlife, to wading through floods left behind by hurricanes, to navigating my way through the fire-charred brush of Southern California — it is safe to say that I would do just about anything to save an animal.

Most people remember my sister and me from Playboy, but those days are long over. In fact, today, Sia and I can be found protesting, not posing. Pet shops, anti-vivisection, the circus and zoos are just a few of the animal rights causes we have taken up over the years.

However, we can also be found walking and rehabilitating dogs at animal shelters in Los Angeles as well as participating in TNR (Trap, Neuter and Return) with Stray Cat Alliance.

That is how I met Shelly.

…TO READ MORE, CLICK HERE

With the widest circulation of any newspaper in the country, I am appalled that this story has been been considered newsworthy by USA Today. Can’t volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters or perhaps at an animal shelter be more therapeutic than hunting? Does anyone else find it disturbing that these young men are going from one kind of killing to another? http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-11-04-nature-veterans-injured_N.htm

Here’s my response to using hunting as a means of therapy: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/reedu-taha/hunting-as-a-means-of-the_b_351330.html

As many already know, the adjustment period of introducing a shelter pet to your home is not always easy, but when that period is over, what you’re left with is beyond rewarding. I have been reminded of this just recently, when I rescued Benny, and brought him home.

This is a lovely article that reminds us of some of the trials and tribulations of introducing a shelter pet to your home, and how best to handle them… http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART00560/shelter-dog-to-family-pet.html

A homeless dog at NYC Animal Care & Control's Brooklyn shelter.