The following post comes to us from guest blogger Mimi Ausland, who has previously appeared on Ellen to discuss her pet charity work.

Hi, my name is Mimi Ausland. I’m a 12-year-old girl from Bend, OR, and I started two websites called Freekibble.com and Freekibblekat.com, to help feed homeless dogs and cats. Here’s how it works: Everyday, there is a dog and cat trivia question (Bow-Wow and Meow trivia). Each day you answer the question, right or wrong, we donate 10 pieces of kibble to homeless animals – it’s fun, you learn something, and it’s free!

I started the websites to feed our local dogs and cats at the Humane Society of Central Oregon (HSCO). It was doing that for the first couple of months, then in July, NBC Nightly News and the Today Show did a story on Freekibble, and it changed fast! Now, we’re feeding 11 shelters every month and have fed over 460,000 nutritious meals to hungry dogs and cats! And this number is changing by the minute!

In late September, I was very, very lucky and got to go on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. I had an amazing experience and not just because I got to be on a huge talk show. It was so cool to know that I was going to be feeding so many shelter animals, by spreading the word to all the people that watch the show.

Plus, Ellen DeGeneres and HALO donated $20,000 of HALO pet food, to Freekibble! It was awesome! We gave all of this healthy, natural food (you should read the ingredients!) to five different lucky shelters in NYC, Los Angeles, Central Oregon, and Las Vegas.

This is not only feeding hundreds of animals, but it’s feeding them wholesome food with real ingredients that make a big difference! It has really helped all these shelters and they are all so grateful. And the money that they would be using to buy kibble they can now use on other expenses. It was a perfect experience!

We have helped so many animals so far with the help of so many wonderful people, and you can help us feed even more! Please go onto my websites and play the game and spread the word. The more people that play, the more dogs and cats we can feed!

Enjoy reading the Halo Purely For Pets blog? Subscribe to our RSS feed so you’ll never miss an update!

The following post comes to us from guest blogger Emily El of LivingCrueltyFree.com. For the past year, Emily has been documenting her switch to supporting only 100% Cruelty Free products.

Hello! My name is Emily, and I’m very excited to be writing to you about something you probably don’t know — that Halo’s natural pet products are 100% animal-testing-free. That’s right — they have NEVER EVER been tested on animals. Halo has pledged to never commission any animal testing, and to ask its suppliers to never commission any animal testing. This way, consumers of Halo products can be 100% sure that they are cruelty-free.

How do I know this? Well, basically, I discovered a few years ago that many pocket pets (mice, rabbits, etc) suffer needlessly in animal tests for cosmetic/household products, and I was absolutely horrified. I pledged to only buy cosmetic/household products that are 100% not tested on animals from then on. I have a blog chronicling this over at LivingCrueltyFree.com –- drop by if you’re interested!

While I was switching over all my household and cosmetic products to cruelty-free ones, I discovered Halo, and was I ever glad to find them! It’s always nice to find a company that makes products I can buy for my dog that have NOT caused any pocket pets to suffer needlessly.

What can I say? I’m an animal nut –- I’ve always liked dogs AND pocket pets, and I don’t want to cause one to suffer needlessly to help the other.

Enjoy reading the Halo Purely For Pets blog? Subscribe to our RSS feed so you’ll never miss an update!

Many people are aware that diabetes is a common human disease with increasing incidence. What many people don’t realize is that their pets are at risk for developing the same disease.

Take time to read about diabetes in dogs or diabetes in cats to help raise awareness about diabetes and how to prevent serious life-threatening complications. Help your diabetic pets live a long healthy life!

Enjoy reading the Halo Purely For Pets blog? Subscribe to our RSS feed so you’ll never miss an update!

Does your dog have any of the following symptoms:

• Occasional vomiting or diarrhea with no apparent cause?
• Unexplained weight loss?
• Decreased or picky appetite?
• Blood or mucus in the stool or a soft stool?
• Dull or lusterless coat?

If your answer to any of these questions is yes — ask your veterinarian about the possibility of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in your dog.

It is best to detect this chronic inflammatory gastrointestinal condition early…before more serious symptoms begin and while dietary change may be the only treatment required. Click here to read more about Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Dogs.

Enjoy reading the Halo Purely For Pets blog? Subscribe to our RSS feed so you’ll never miss an update!

Did you know that frequent vomiting of hairballs is not normal for any cat? Although hair is indigestible, it should pass completely through the digestive system without causing vomiting. If a cat is vomiting hairballs more frequently than once each month, it may indicate the presence of a chronic inflammatory intestinal disorder such as IBD. Other signs that could indicate a digestive problem include:

• Vomiting or diarrhea with no apparent cause
• Unexplained weight loss
• Picky appetite
• Dull brittle haircoat

If your cat has any of these symptoms, ask your veterinarian about the possibility of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in your cat. It is best to detect this disorder early…before more serious symptoms begin and while dietary change may be the only treatment required. Click here to read more about Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Cats.

Enjoy reading the Halo Purely For Pets blog? Subscribe to our RSS feed so you’ll never miss an update!