Target employees dog-lovers club will strut their stuff at the Walk for Animals

suggested that his dog Marty could entertain his coworkers at its summer barbeque, and Marty sure was a hit! At the event, people connected with Marty and then with each other as they swapped stories about their own “four-legged children.” Seeing how his dog brought people together, Jake was encouraged by his manager to start a group for fellow dog-lovers at Target Corporation. Within just a few years, The Bow Wows grew to become a networking group of 600 Target team members with a passion for dogs.

The club is a resource for dog owners, dog lovers and anyone interested in getting a dog.

The Bow Wows organize indoor and outdoor doggie play dates throughout the year—including Howl-O-Ween and Howl-Days parties for their four-legged friends. Target also emphasizes the importance of giving back to the community and The Bow Wows are enthusiastic supporters of Animal Humane Society’s Walk for Animals. “I love all the energy and buzz at the event,” Jake explains, “and I think it’s a great representation of how many people are behind taking care of our animals.”

The Walk for Animals also demonstrates how animals bring people together, something The Bow Wows see at all their gatherings. Connections happen naturally where there is a mutual love of animals, and those connections make for better working relationships.

In good company businesses supporting the Animal Humane Society

Spring 2012

The Bow Wows are the cat’s meow

of Animal Humane Society, for their Howl-Days indoor doggie play group with Santa Paws.

“Animals add so much value to our lives, and the Walk is a great day for us all to celebrate animals and the people who care for them.”

– Jake Turner of The Bow Wows, a networking group for Target team members

GOLDEN VALLEY, MN

Forming a walk team is easy

It’s fun and easy to form a fundraising team!

There are three team categories: family/friends, corporate, and veterinary clinic. Teams

compete for team trophies!

• Visit www.animalhu-manesociety.org/walk and create your team fundraising page.

• Begin fundraising!

• Gather your team on May 5th for a fun day at the Walk for Animals!

Subaru vehicles have gone to the dogs

Board of Directors Scott Aebischer Jeff Ament (Treasurer) Barb Colombo Kerry D’Amato Janelle Dixon Lisa Goodman Tom HochDon JacobsenSheila KennedyJim LaneCyndi Lesher (Chair)Maureen McDonoughLia MelroseTeresa Morrow Dr. Ned PattersonNic Pifer Boyd Ratchye (Secretary)Damon SchrammScott SchroepferKristi SkordahlCarolyn Smith (Vice Chair)

Our mission is to engage the hearts, hands and minds of the community to help more animals.

A message from Janelle Dixon, President & CEO

Buffalo Coon Rapids Golden Valley

St. Paul Woodbury

www.animalhumanesociety.org (763) 522-4325

If your dog were going to buy a vehicle, he might ask for features like a rear cargo area with enough space to stand up, or rubber mats that are easy for his people to clean – features Subaru is known for. Subaru supports animals in other ways too – the business is a loyal contributor to Animal Humane Society.

Subaru is a sponsor of Animal Humane Society’s Whisker Whirl and Walk for Animals events, and they support us in other ways too. In December, customers were encouraged to bring a pet supply item to Morrie’s Subaru, and the dealership offered to match each contribution with an additional $25. When the event was over, a carload of supplies and over $1,000 was brought to Animal Humane Society. Just another reason why dogs love Subaru!

“Subaru likes to work with Animal Humane Society because animals are an important part of our lives…they’re our best friends!”

-Ryan Gilmore, Subaru Marketing Manager

Animals can senselife-changing eventsbefore they happen.

Apparently, this one’s gonna be huge.

COMING IN APRIL.

It’s that time again! The Walk for Animals is just around the corner and we are looking forward to welcoming thousands of animal-lovers and their pets for this day-long festival celebrating our shared love of animals.

The Walk for Animals is fun for the whole family and can be a great team-building activity for companies, too. Our feature on The Bows Wows in this issue is an inspiring example of how Target employees came together over a mutual love of dogs to build a club that is now 600 members strong. The team they put together for the Walk keeps getting bigger and we can’t wait to see how many of them will show up sporting Target pride this year.

One of many things we’re excited about as the big day approaches is our continued partnership with CRAVE. They will be on site as a vendor providing tasty treats for those of us on two-legs, served up with a smile by a crew that genuinely shares our love of animals, too.

It is not too late for your company to get involved with the Walk for Animals this year. Organize a fundraising team or a group of employees to volunteer, host a vendor booth or even become a corporate sponsor. If you’d like to help, let’s chat! You can reach Bobbi Morris, special events manager, at bmorris@animalhumanesociety.org to learn more.

The Walk for Animals is our largest fundraising event of the year, with thousands of supporters and their pets coming together to raise more than $1 million to help homeless animals in our community. We look forward to seeing you there!

GOLDEN VALLEY, MN

Ryan Gilmore, Mike Hokanson and Patrick Reid of Subaru lend a hand at an Animal Humane Society fundraiser

Want to help the animals at Animal Humane Society? Lend a hand at the Walk for Animals! You can volunteer as an individual, or join with your coworkers to form a volunteer team. We depend on the smiling faces of hundreds of volunteers like you each year to make the Walk for Animals a success.

To sign up a group of 6 or more, contact us at (763) 432-4834 or walkvolunteer@ volunteer assignment that meets the needs of your group.

• The deep satisfaction that comes with helping a worthy cause • Knowing you helped make the nation’s largest Walk for Animals happen • A super-stylish t-shirt • A great time with thousands of animal lovers just like you!

Lend a hand at the walk

a vendor at the Walk for Animals, they were amazed. It wasn’t just the huge crowd of animal lovers or the 5,000 animals in attendance that surprised them. “We were absolutely blown away by everything we learned about Animal Humane Society’s mission and all of the services they provide,” said Zach Sussman, CRAVE Marketing Director.

Crave supports Animal Humane Society in many creative ways. At last year’s Walk for Animals, CRAVE

generously provided a free lunch for each Animal Humane Society staff member and volunteer – a contribution that totaled several hundred meals. And in January, they chose Animal Humane Society to be their CRAVE CARES partner. For each menu item sold off their special January menu, a portion of the proceeds was donated to help homeless animals and to support AHS’s summer camp for youth, Unleashed. CRAVE’s staff were excited about the opportunity to support Animal Humane Society and their enthusiasm was contagious. Several thousand dollars were donated as a result of their efforts!

CRAVE will be back at the Walk again this year, supporting an organization they feel strongly about. “Animal Humane Society provides a voice for the voiceless, and we applaud everything they do to support animals,” Zach said. “We look forward to working together for years to come.”

10,000 animal-lovers want to see your company at the walk!Become a vendor at the Walk for Animals! It’s a great way to reach potential customers and support Animal Humane Society, all at the same time.

Vendor spaces range from $375 for a 10 x 10 space to $1,000 for a 20 x 20 premier stand-alone space. Visit www.animalhumanesociety.org/walk/wfavendors or contact Michelle Irwin at (763) 489-2214 or walk@animalhumanesociety.org.

CRAVE paves the way to help animals

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Gap employees enjoy the Walk for Animals

845 Meadow Lane NGolden Valley, MN 55422

OrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDTwin Cities, MNPermit No. 3866

decreased by an astounding 41%, giving cats like Boots a chance for a happy new beginning.

Julia Brown and her family visited Animal Humane Society a few days after Boots arrived. They were looking to give an older cat a home, and Boots caught Julia’s eye. As they got to know each other, the family marveled at how Boots ignored all the toys in the room, choosing instead to hop on their laps to visit. The feeling was mutual, and Boots went home that day.

Boots settled right in after they brought her home, and the Brown family loves her immensely.

For Boots, age is just a number

Boots is enjoying her golden years in her new home with the Brown family.

When Boots, a 19 year-old Calico, was adopted in October, it was cause for celebration. Boots was one of the oldest animals ever to be adopted at Animal Humane Society. Staff swarmed her to say goodbye as she headed to her new home, and Facebook lit up with well wishes for Boots and her new family.

In previous years, Boots likely would not have been a candidate for adoption because of her advanced age. Animal Humane Society historically received nearly 20,000 cats each year. Sadly, there were never enough homes for all of them and we were forced to make

Animal Humane Society’s Bound for Home initiative was designed to change that, seeking to increase adoptions, provide support to help people keep their pets, and ultimately reduce eu-thanasia. The changes we have made so far have been so successful that our animal placement rate has increased to 80%, and the rate of euthanasia has

Whisker Whirl a party for people and pups

Humane SocietySaturday, February 25

“We were glad all of the staff at Animal Humane Society cared so much about her – she’s so special!”

- Julia Brown