Mimi Ausland, the tween rescue star and founder of Freekibble.com wrote about the wonderful Halo-sponsored Kibble Krusader Kontest on Petco’s blog.

Get the Scoop here (you have to read 12-year-old Keith Webster’s winning entry, one of five to win $1,000 worth of Halo Dinner Party for their favorite animal shelter).

Eight year old Spencer Paige and his shelter dog Cuddles made the news after the boy’s entry was selected among five winners in the Halo-sponsored Kibble Krusaders Kontest run by Freekibble.com. We think there’s no better news to report than a young person working to help protect animals! His essay secured a $1,000 Halo donation for the Glynn County Animal Services in Florida.

See the whole story from our News page.

Thirteen year old Mimi Ausland of Freekibble.com has been at it again – inspiring young people to make a difference for animals! This time, she created a “Kontest” for kids to nominate their local animal shelters for a donation of Halo Dinner Party. “I think this contest is a great way for kids to get involved with making a difference for their local animal shelter and it shows that kids really care!”, says Mimi.

We thought Halo Dinner Party was a perfect prize for a shelter because homeless animals are often in a state of stress, with highly variable or mediocre diets. And nothing improves a pet’s meal more than a sprinkle of pure chicken, salmon or beef protein!

Well, 335 kids from 44 states and Canada wrote in with amazing stories about hundreds of very special animal shelters. As you can imagine, it was very difficult for our friends at Freekibble to choose! But I think you’ll agree that the winners are just wonderful. We’re very proud to support these five great shelters based on the kids’ testimonials:

Humane Society of Tacoma, Tacoma, Washington
Nominated by Keith Webster, Age 12

St. Tammany Parish Humane Society. Covington, Louisiana
Nominated by Emma Foster, Age 13

SafeHaven Humane Society. Albany, Oregon
Nominated by Alexa Wirfs, Age 14

Glynn County Animal Services. Brunswick, Georgia
Nominated by Spencer Paige, Age 8

Homeless Animal Rescue Team (H.A.R.T.). Cumberland, Maine
Nominated by Max Christian, Age 13

We’ll post one of the winners’ stories here every week for the next five weeks. Of course, you are welcome to peek at all of them on the Freekibble Kibble Krusaders page.

First up, here is our youngest winner, Spencer Paige, age 8, writing about Glynn County Animal Services in Brunswick, Georgia:

I found my first dog there. His name is Cuddles. I named him Cuddles because he was a furball when he was a baby. If it had not been for our Animal Shelter I would not have Cuddles. He makes me feel good when I come home from school.

I think Cuddles is a lifesaver for me. Sometimes when I come home from school, I feel kinda sad and tired. Cuddles is there to greet me with slobbery kisses and a happy wagging tail.

My shelter is special to me because they keep dogs like Cuddles safe and feed them until they get adopted to families like mine. The people there keep their kennels clean and dry in the dog area. In the cat area of the shelter they keep the cats warm and safe until they get adopted. All the shelter people wear nice clean uniforms all the time and make sure all the animals get fed the perfect amount of food to be happy while they’re staying for their short stay in the shelter.

Maybe more people need to visit their animal shelter to find a lifesaver like Cuddles. I think shelter animals know they are special and that they can give love and kindness to a person as much as a person can give food and shelter and love to them.

Thank you and I hope I win food for the animals at my shelter.

Watch Ellen every day in August and you could win a VIP trip to Hollywood or a one-year supply of Halo pet food!

Starting today, August 3, Halo co-owner Ellen DeGeneres will have pets on her show. Name the pet correctly and you will be entered in a random drawing for the two big prizes and for daily prizes — a $50 Halo gift certificate and a special Ellen prize pack.

The grand prize trip to Hollywood is for you and a human friend, and includes VIP tickets to a taping of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, top-notch pampering while you are in town, and a $100 gift card so your pet can be pampered, too!

Click here for more information and to play.

My dogs favorite is Salmon Adult dry food. I do occasionally mix in different flavors of the canned varieties for a change. I haven’t tried any of the treats, but I’m sure any of them would be LOVED, as I have 3 Labrador Retrievers that will eat just about anything. I’ve used the daily greens which I like and have been meaning to try hip & joint since we have one dog with knee injuries and one with a hip issue, as well as the healing salve. Since I’m a groomer I thought that the healing salve may be good to try on hot spots or the occasional razor irritation.

I will graciously accept anything that you send my way! And if it’s something that I may not use, I always donate products to the Humane Society at Lollypop farm which is around the corner from my house (even if it is something I use, I will likely share with the Humane Society anyway).

Thank you again, I absolutely love your products and started using them a couple years ago, just prior to the package changes/Ellen purchase/PetCo selling time period for my late Border Collie that had issues with seizures. Your food was the only thing she could eat that helped reduce the amount of seizures she had. She was a changed dog with Halo. Sadly we lost her his past Feb 09, but are so glad that she helped us find Halo and discover the great health benefits it has to offer all of our pets.