Watch a video. Help a dog.

It's really as easy as the title says. At Pedigree.com, they have 4 really funny "Maybe You Should Get a Dog" videos to watch and for each video watched, they will donate food to shelter dogs. As of right now, over 200,000 videos have been watched, meaning that over 200,000 meals have been donated to shelter dogs, and that's a great thing. Plus, the videos are really, really funny! My favorite is the first one about the guy who owns a bison. So, on this lovely Saturday afternoon, you can give back for free just by sitting there and watching videos on your computer. Come on, you know you were going to get on YouTube at least once today, just do this too!

The Dog Bar

One of my favorite places in Charlotte is the Dog Bar! Really, are you surprised? I love anywhere that I can spend time with my dog.  The great thing about the Dog Bar is that you can bring your dog and your dog can go off leash, a fantastic concept. All of you dog-owners out there understand how key it is that they can go off-leash. They don't sell food there, so that is how they get around the whole health code and dogs thing. They do charge a $10 membership fee that is good for 2 years, and that really just is because it is technically a private club since they serve alcohol but not food. You can, however, bring your own food so that makes it cheap, a bonus! Plus, they have a different beer special every night. 

Some friends threw a memorial party for Maddie tonight at The Dog Bar and it was just fabulous and so fun. They brought food and goodie bags and the whole thing was so sweet. I loved being able to have everyone remember my girl while having so much fun. Maddie would have wanted it that way!

How to say good-bye to a best friend...

Hi Cheap and Free-ers... I'm not going to dwell on it because this really isn't the mission of my blog, but I also think that part of this blog is you all getting to know me... So, I thought that you all should know that I lost one of my dogs yesterday. Miss Maddie Sue started to not feel well about a week ago and we never imagined that it would end this way. She ended up having to have a surgery and just didn't recover. I guess her little body was too sick... She was only 3 1/2 years old and we rescued her at 4 months (or rather she rescued us), so I would have loved to have had more time with her. You know what they say, "Only the good die young," and she wasn't just good, she was great. To all of you pet-owners out there, give them an extra little squeeze from me. Maddie would have wanted it that way.

Challenge Day 18- I have a meeting, so I'm plugging a great event!

Hi all! I have a meeting after work today, so no fun challenge event for me today, but I did want to take the time to plug a very cool event that I have been working on for Project Halo (www.projecthalo.net), an animal rescue that I work with. This Saturday, August 23rd from 5-7 come on out to the Whitewater Center (www.usnwc.org) for an evening with Jana Kohl, Bryan Harrell & Project Halo. Jana Kohl is the author of the fabulous book A Rare Breed of Love (www.ararebreedoflove.com) and is a huge advocate for animal rescue as well as being against puppy mills. She will be doing a book signing and a talk. You can also meet her adorable dog, Baby, who was rescued from a puppy mill. Bryan Harrell (www.bryanharrell.com) is a musician who has written an album titled A Rare Breed of Love inspired by the book and by Baby's story. He will be performing an acoustic set. Last, but certainly not least, there will be Project Halo dogs available for adoption along with a raffle to benefit Project Halo. Come on out for a kid and dog-friendly event!!