What’s Tavish all excited about? Intrepid Pup is now an AWARD-WINNING blog!

There’s rarely a dull moment where Tavish is involved. The latest case in point: Intrepid Pup has been honored by BlogPaws as Best New Blog. Wow!

BlogPaws was founded in 2009 by Caroline Golon, Yvonne DiVita, and Tom Collins. It’s the go-to resource for pet enthusiasts, pet bloggers, shelters, rescues, and the brands who serve them. BlogPaws offers online and offline opportunities to partner on projects and campaigns, be educated on social media, and meet people all over the country. Its annual conference unites hundreds of attendees from around the globe for professional development, networking, and cause marketing. Introduced with this year’s BlogPaws conference was the first annual Nose-to-Nose Pet Blogging and Social Media Awards, officially sponsored by Halo, Purely for Pets and Freekibble.com.

As BlogPaws states, “This is the only awards program where pet bloggers (and pet people who “microblog” on Twitter and Facebook) are being judged by a panel of distinguished professionals on their expertise, creativity, and performance.” Team Tavish was notified back in mid-May that the Intrepid Pup had been nominated and was among the finalists for 2 of the 12 possible awards! Intrepid Pup was humbled to be with such talented company in the categories of Best Blog Writing (“judged on overall writing skill”) and Best New Blog (for blogs “less than one year old, with good content and engagement”).

Then came the waiting.

Unfortunately we couldn’t make it out to Salt Lake City to be on hand for the red carpet gala on June 23, 2012, so we were really grateful that BlogPaws was live-streaming the awards ceremony on UStream. Leading pet lifestyle expert, endangered animal and rescue advocate, best-selling author, and TV personality Wendy Diamond was the emcee, and the ballroom was filled with two- and four-footed guests!

We had just returned from an exhaustingly fun Conestoga Vizsla Club event, and Tavish was getting  comfy on the living room sofa while we were frantically tuning in to the live video feed and concurrent “BlogPawty” on Twitter…all seamlessly orchestrated.  And shortly after 8PM EST, here’s what we saw:

Amazing. When we first launched the Intrepid Pup’s interactive website at the end of January 2012 and then the blog—a mere 5 months ago…what a blur!—we were prepared for the journey but uncertain where it would lead. In inviting you to “Come! Adventures Await”, we combine imagery and narrative to promote lifelong learning and an active lifestyle with one’s pet by chronicling Tavish’s own adventures at national parks, natural wonders, museums, historical sites, events, and attractions throughout the country. From time to time, the blog also reflects upon Tavish’s inspirational experiences as a certified therapy dog working with children and the elderly in a variety of settings. It’s pure enjoyment: part wonderment, part educational, and all about being out and about in the world with one intrepid pup.

So, it’s an extremely special combination to be new to the pet blogging community and to be recognized in BlogPaws’ inaugural awards as the “Best New Blog.” Making it all the sweeter is the fact that the award comes with an opportunity to give back. Sponsors Freekibble.com and Halo, Purely for Pets have teamed up to allow the BlogPaws award winners to donate 5,000-meals apiece to the organizations of our choice.

If you’re not already familiar with these two companies, you should be! Since 2008 Freekibble has donated more than 7.7 million meals to dogs and cats at shelters, rescues, and foodbanks by featuring  daily trivia questions on its websites Freekibble.com and Freekibblekat.com. Visitors to the sites submit their online answers and—right or wrong!—automatically contribute 10 pieces of kibble to homeless pets. Halo, Purely for Pets has been Freekibble’s official pet food sponsor since 2010 and annually donates upwards of one million meals of Halo Spot’s Stew that Freekibble then distributes to shelters and rescues throughout the United States. What a winning combination! Halo, co-owned by animal advocate (and comedian/television host/actress) Ellen DeGeneres, has been making all-natural pet food since 1986.

So, what is the Intrepid Pup’s charity of choice to receive the 5,000 meals?

The Animal Welfare Society (AWS) – West Kennebunk, Maine.
Although Tavish didn’t come from a shelter, we at Team Tavish truly believe that Tavish owes a good deal of his sociability, confidence, and training to the many classes— puppy, obedience, agility, rally—that we took at AWS, our local shelter while we were living in Maine. It’s for this reason that we want to award 5,000 meals to AWS and give a special shout-out and thank-you to our former AWS trainers Kim, Amy, Maryjane, and SaShell. It’s especially important for folks to realize that through various outreach programs, quality shelters like AWS can and do play a vital, continuing role in fostering a positive human-pet bond beyond initial adoption services.

About AWS
AWS is a private, non-profit humane society. Begun in the early 1960s by a group of caring individuals, the AWS incorporated in 1967 and today is a vibrant 13,000 s.f. facility which in 2011 added its own in-house spay and neuter clinic. AWS currently provides municipal shelter services to 21 contracted towns representing a population of nearly 150,000 people throughout southern Maine. AWS is an open-admission facility and accepts every animal—strays, transfers, and surrenders—regardless of health, age, or perceived “adoptability.” Through its day camps, school and museum visits, classes, presentations and other community-based initiatives, AWS actively promotes kindness, the elimination of cruelty to and neglect of all animals, and the lifelong commitment of people to their pets.

As Nose-to-Nose winners, we were given one final opportunity to “pay it forward.”  Collectively the awardees from all 12 categories were asked to vote on which pet-related organization should receive one of BlogPaws’ traditional closing ceremony donations. Happily, a $2,000 donation is going to World Vets, a non-government organization founded in 2006, which provides veterinary aid in developing countries and veterinary disaster relief worldwide. Its primary focus is to make veterinary care accessible to the 99 percent of animals in developing countries that never see a veterinarian. This North Dakota-based non-profit has deployed more than 3,600 volunteers to 36 countries on six continents and collaborates with animal advocacy groups, foreign governments, US and foreign military groups and veterinary professionals abroad.

Many thanks to BlogPaws, Freekibble, and Halo for their generosity and support of these awards and animals the world over. We’re truly honored. And finally, thanks to the Intrepid Pup’s friends old and new. As many faithful followers of the Intrepid Pup already know, one hallmark of Tavish’s adventure-related blog posts is a “Dogging the Details” section with a Intrepid Pup wag-a-meter reading…and this one definitely tops out at a 3!

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