On July 27, Brittani Hemmingson’s pit bull puppy Calee was stolen from her. A student at Paul Mitchell The School Costa Mesa and member of the school’s John Paul Pet Club, Brittani would not rest until she found Calee. She created a Facebook page, hopeful that people would keep an eye out for her missing friend.

Six months later, a Facebook follower posted a photo on Brittani’s page: a dog at the Orange County animal shelter looked a lot like Calee. Only the day before, Brittani had posted a note saying she was moving back to Northern California. By the time she got the message, she was five and a half hours away. A friend went to the shelter for her, looking for the telltale mark that could identify Calee: a “C” on her back. Sure enough, Calee was there – but she was not the dog in the picture!

That dog was Kalia, a nine-month-old pit bull that looks almost exactly like Calee. If Kalia’s picture had not been posted online, Calee would not have been found.

When she heard the good news, Brittani turned right around and drove back to Orange County. Though months had passed, Calee remembered her family and their reunion was wonderful. Sadly, Kalia did not have a family waiting for her and was at risk of being killed. Brittani quickly turned Calee’s Facebook page into a platform to save Kalia. Donations poured in to pay her vet bills and stop her from being euthanized, and an adopter soon appeared. The Facebook page (www.facebook.com/helpfindcalee) has now become a forum for animal lovers, filled with questions and answers about pet care, advice for finding lost cats and dogs, and much more.

For the ninth consecutive year, the nationwide network of Paul Mitchell beauty schools are holding their three-month “FUNraising” campaign, having fun and raising money for nine spectacular charities. Their goal: An all-time high of $2 million. Their partners: A host of superstar celebrities representing the charities, which include two dedicated to animal health and welfare.

Emmy-award winning TV star and animal activist Betty White has served on the Morris Animal Foundation board of trustees since 1971. Since its inception in 1948, the foundation has funded more than 1,600 humane animal health studies. Today, its funding supports more than 200 animal health and welfare research studies each year at the world’s most respected research institutions, colleges of veterinary medicine, and zoos. Betty is the organization’s president emeritus and she has sponsored nearly 30 health studies for the foundation.

Morris Animal Foundation reports that funds from this year’s campaign will sponsor three groundbreaking health studies related to dogs and cats. The first study is evaluating a developed vaccine’s effectiveness at curing asthma in cats. The second study is helping to finalize a treatment for bone tumors caused by osteosarcoma, one of the most common cancers in dogs. The third program will sponsor students through a three-year residency training program in veterinary medicine at the University of Minnesota.

Represented by actress Kristin Bauer, also known as Pam in the HBO series True Blood, the Best Friends Animal Society helps with animal rescue, disaster response, and public education, working with humane groups, individuals, and communities to set up spay/neuter, shelter, foster, and adoption programs.


CLICK HERE to learn more about the Paul Mitchell Schools 2012 FUNraising campaign.

CLICK HERE for a special message from Betty White and Winn Claybaugh.

“One of the most important things we can do to help our local shelters is to get our community involved,” says Shane Lockman of the Los Angeles Animal Alliance. Shane encourages animal lovers to partner with their local shelters and invite schools, churches, community groups, and businesses to events that will get them in the door and raise awareness.

One such event was the Fall 5000 Adoption Campaign. With a goal of finding forever homes and saving the lives of as many shelter animals as possible, the Fall 5000 campaign utilized various forms of media to encourage the public to explore shelters as a first option when considering the addition of a new pet into their family.


In November 2011, Paul Mitchell The School Sherman Oaks, John Paul Pet, the Los Angeles Animal Alliance, and Best Friends Animal Society joined forces to raise money and awareness for their local animal shelter, the East Valley Animal Care Center. Students and staff from the school provided haircuts and face painting, and John Paul Pet provided pet products, with all proceeds going to the animal shelter. As a result of their efforts, many animals were spared from being euthanized because enough space was freed up from adoptions to give the animals left in the shelter a second chance.

CLICK HERE to see Behind the Paw – Fall 5000 Adoption Campaign.

To attract and keep good workers, some companies offer an unusual fringe benefit: welcoming pets to the workplace. Clinical psychologist Suzanne B. Phillips of Long Island University says, “In a work world that can be isolating despite the number of people working in the same room, office pets can offer people a sense of shared attachment.” She adds that petting a dog for just 15 minutes releases the “feel-good hormones” and lowers the stress hormone cortisol.

Some companies allow pets one day a week, while others limit visits to emergencies. Still others, such as the Greensboro, North Carolina-based Replacements, Ltd., welcome well-behaved dogs any time.

Replacements, Ltd. claims to have the world’s largest selection of old and new dinnerware, including china, crystal, glassware, and collectibles. Their 500,000-square-foot facilities (the size of eight football fields) house an incredible inventory of 13 million pieces, some over 100 years old. In such a fragile and delicate environment, the company’s owner and founder, Bob Page, has been bringing his two dachshunds to work every day for years, and he encourages his employees and customers to do the same.

Ground Rules for Pets at Work

Before inviting pets to your workplace, be sure to set some ground rules. The following list comes from the Partnership for Animal Welfare:

• Bring only well-behaved pets who are comfortable and safe around strangers. Don’t bring pets who show aggressive tendencies toward people or other animals. Supervise pets closely.
  
• Make sure your dog understands the basic commands, such as SIT, STAY, and DOWN.
  
• Make sure pet vaccinations are up to date and that you have a current rabies certificate at hand (keep a copy at work, just in case). Also, it is best if your pet is spayed or neutered. Do not bring a pet who is in heat.
  
• Use flea preventive and brush and clip nails before office visits.
  
• Be respectful of people with allergies and those who are uncomfortable around pets. Avoid surprises by posting a note at your door indicating that you have a pet in your office.
  
• Make sure your workspace can comfortably accommodate your pet. Bring chew toys and a water bowl. But do not bring squeaky toys or items that will distract or annoy coworkers.
  
• Designate pet-free zones such as conference rooms, restrooms, and cafeterias.
  

After suffering a massive stroke, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a 37-year-old Harvard-educated brain scientist, couldn't speak or remember her own mother, but when doctors and nurses walked into her room, she knew who was on her side because she could feel their energy. After recovering and writing a book, Dr. Taylor sent Oprah Winfrey a sign that Oprah hung in her makeup room. It says: “Please take responsibility for the energy you bring into this space.” Oprah says, “I ask the same thing in my home and at my companies. . . . We are all beaming little signals like radio frequencies, and the world is responding in kind.”


Put your niceness on display with our newest downloadable BE NICE Poster!
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• You could volunteer as Kristin Bauer from HBO’s hot series, True Blood, does. She drives animals from shelters in “kill zones” (where animals are euthanized) to a non-kill zone, to buy them more time.
  
• Lots of communities organize pet adoption days that you can volunteer for.
  
• Many commonly used products, plants, and pesticides are dangerous for animals. Find out what poses dangers in your area and make sure you don’t contribute to the problem.
  
• Shelters often need donations of blankets, towels, pet food, and other supplies. Contact yours to see how you can help.
  
• Use your social networking site as a source of animal outreach. Share relevant information about animal health and welfare.
  
• You can do something as simple as volunteering to pick up poop, as you discovered in our People Profile about Tom Kirshbaum. For some people, even the smallest contributions can be life-changing events.