Happy Christmas Eve! I hope you are finished shopping, wrapping, and baking—and are now ready for some merrymaking! Today I will be spending time with my husband, my basset hound, my parents, and their 2 bassets. In honour of the furry, festive fun, I thought I’d share some adorable doggie videos and photos to put a smile on your face and help you pass the time while you count down the minutes until Santa arrives 😉
As I mentioned when writing about REI and Subaru’s partnership to support the ASPCA, my basset hound is my best friend. With their long ears and droopy faces, bassets are just the cutest! So I immediately fell in love with this adorable ceramic basset hound ornament. Available with red & white or tri-colour markings, you can purchase whichever handmade ornament best matches your dog’s colouring.
Having grown up with German shepherds all my life, they are one of my favorite breeds. And since my own sweet puppy is a shepherd/lab mix, I naturally like this card. 🙂 I love the whole scene: the snow, the cottage, the stocking, and especially the dog’s festive scarf. If your favorite pup is a different breed, check out the many other Christmas cards sold in this shop, such as bichon frise, schnauzer, basset hound, and more!
Last November, the outdoor recreation and sporting goods retailer REI did something rather unheard of. On Black Friday, they closed all of their stores and paid their 12,000 employees to spend time outside. They dubbed this campaign #OptOutside, and they encouraged everyone else to join them in the great outdoors instead of at the shopping mall. What a refreshing idea!
This year I’m thrilled to report that REI has partnered with Subaru, and together they are inviting dog lovers to #OptOutside with their pups this Friday. I simply cannot think of a better way to spend a day than being outside enjoying nature with my best friend—my basset hound—so I’m all for this. If you need help deciding what to do with your pup, check out REI’s list of dog-friendly activities.
ICYMI: @REI and @Subaru_USA are teaming up to invite all dog owners to #OptOutside. https://t.co/N9LWKfVLvw #MakeADogsDay pic.twitter.com/0dPgEWplki
— REI (@REI) November 21, 2016
To make this campaign even better, if you post a photo of you and your doggie out in nature with the hashtags #OptOutside and #MakeADogsDay, Subaru will make a donation to the ASPCA.
The ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) was established 150 years ago, making it the oldest humane society in the United States. As the President & CEO of the ASPCA Matthew Bershadker said, their “focus is to get pets out of shelters and keep them in homes, while increasing the protections of animals under the law. We are helping to shape a society that continuously improves the lives of animals.”
True to their motto—“We are their voice”—the ASPCA strives to make lives better for animals in a variety of ways. They work with the government to enact and enforce animal protection laws, perform spay/neuter operations across the country, run an adoption centre in NYC, transport animals to shelters, save animals from horrible conditions, and much, much more. Working to protect those who have no voice is a noble mission indeed.
I truly hope that everyone will venture outdoors with their dogs this Friday to pause and enjoy the beauty of nature. If you do, don’t forget to post a photo on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook using the #OptOutside and #MakeADogsDay hashtags to help raise money for the ASPCA! Additionally, if you want to give more to the animals, you can always donate to the ASPCA in honour of a loved one or host a Holiday Campaign.
If you’ve been reading the Elf Blog these past four years, you may have gathered that I LOVE basset hounds, so it should come as no surprise that I’m head over heels for this basset hound table top art! In fact, I adore these pieces so much that I decided that I just had to feature both 😀 Winston [who looks a lot like my parents’ basset, Norman!] is rather festive with his Santa hat and candy cane, and Vixen is such a cutie with her reindeer antlers and harness. The artist behind Artful Hounds has done a fantastic job in capturing the chunky paws, droopy faces, and floppy ears of basset hounds. Dare I say, I’m smitten!
