the Home Sweet Home Hoedown - Come dance with us!

Five whole years ago this October, a soon-to-be famous group of dogs left Virginia and touched ground in California.

Come celebrate the five year anniversary of the Vick dogs' homecoming with us at our foot stompin' Home Sweet Home Hoedown on Sat Oct 27 from 5-10pm. Joining us will be noted author Ken Foster, with fab stories from life in New Orleans and his brand new book, 'I'm a Good Dog.' Get your autographed copy at the party.

This fundraiser will help us build our emergency rescue fund for 2013. Enjoy a BBQ, drinks, Do-Si-Do dancing, and a pack of the canine celebs ready to shake your paw - all at our beloved Rescue Barn in the Oakland Hills. Meet Jonny Justice, Teddles, Uba, Audie, Zippy and Amazing Grace and congratulate them yourself for five years of home-life and good PR deeds. 

Tickets HERE

This isn't a sit-on-the-sidelines kind of party, so come prepared to get on the dance floor and make some history of your own.

Door Prizes! Every ticket buyer gets a raffle ticket for cool prizes including paw-to-graphed photos and books. Grand Prize - A overnight stay in the cozy guest cabin at the Rescue Barn. Hang out with BADRAP dogs and members and learn how the group does the rescue thang!

Boris Orso is the official sponsor of this event. Rescue workers and Shelter staff on a tight budget can still enjoy the fun with a half-price ticket thanks to Boris' generosity. More info HERE.

Lessons from the Front Lines

Things we've learned on our way to helping the dogs. Photos below from our recent public outreach event in West Oakland, facilitated in partnership with the East Bay Rats Motorcyle Club and Well Pet Vet Clinic. Huzzah!

Lesson One: To really help some of our community's neediest dogs, it's better to go to the community rather than wonder why they aren't coming to us.

Lesson Two:

Listening gets you farther than talking. 

BADRAP team member Anita Joe is learning why this gentleman is unsure about spay/neuter as a healthy option for his dogs. 

By listening and then by helping him with what he will accept for his dogs (vaccinations, training advice, nail trim), we can get much more done than if we stood around preaching. Agree?

Lesson Three: 

Do not judge. 

Scary dog living on a chain with an insensitive owner? Wrong! 

We met this dog - named Hero - at our recent public outreach event. His owner was forced to move into Section 8 housing that does not allow dogs. His caretaker is a Good Samaritan who told us the man cried his eyes out at their good-bye. The chain leash? No big deal. We happily exchanged it for a better leash, neutered the dog and gave him his vaccinations. 

Some things are easy to fix compared to the hard stuff.

Lesson Three: 

Do not discriminate. 

We don't turn away non-pit bulls during our outreach work. This little guy (who belongs to the gentleman in the first photo) is getting a badly needed nail trim.

Lesson Four. 

Helping people help their dogs is as All American as the breed we love.

Huzzah! a Jonny Justice stuffie for every child!

Reprinted from SFWeekly Blogs Aug 27, 2012

San Francisco Pup Jonny Justice Voted Most Kick-Ass and Adorable Dog

No matter how smelly, fugly, or freakishly toy-like they may be -- all dogs are adorable if you ask us.

That said, San Francisco's Jonny Justice, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier who was rescued from Michael Vick's illegal dog-fighting ring, proved that he is in fact the prettiest, coolest, and generally most likeable pup of them all. He was crowned the winner of the GUND's Top Dog contest after thousands of votes were counted.

(Note from us: There's no way to know if Jonny's a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Although he's certainly built like one, he's your run of the mill 'pit bull' to his friends and fans.)

To honor this pick of the litter, GUND will be replicating Jonny as the next plush pooch, which means you can have your own Jonny to hug.

GUND, a manufacturer known for its stuffed animals, hosted a Top Dog photo contest on Facebook for one month this summer, hoping it would help the company find inspiration for a new plush puppy.

Jonny was no shoe-in -- he had some pretty stiff competition. More than 1,305 owners submitted photos of their pooches and more than 50,000 people cast their vote for the top dog, which included four categories: Most Beautiful Dog (Jonny won!); a Face Only a Mother Could Love (where was Mugly for that one?); Doganista; and Dog that MostResembles its Owner.

The toy company held a simultaneous competition on Pinterest, where pinners were asked to tag photos with @GUNDMostPinterestingDog and submit the pins to GUND. Finnegan, an Australian Shepherd, ousted Jonny in this contest, but that didn't stop Jonny from outscoring him in other categories. 

Aside from showcasing a slew of darling doggies, GUND's contests told emotional stories and showed how "canine companions mean so much ... to so many different people," Bruce Raiffe, the company's president said in a statement.

This alpha dog's plush toy will be available in stores in 2013. Arrf.