I really cannot believe that I had forgotten all about the minor miracle that is Amazon Smile: if you shop on Amazon (is there anyone who does not?) you can have a life-saving, life-changing impact on any animal welfare group simply by shopping online!
I had signed up years ago and designated Doctors Without Borders as my charity of choice to receive the benefit of my shopping- but honestly I’d forgotten all about it. In the meantime, I wanted to align my personal philanthropic efforts with the mission of the NY Dog Film Festival, which partners at all our nationwide destinations with a local animal welfare group as our beneficiary. Just then I was corresponding with my dear friend Aimee Sadler, shelter dog advocate extraordinaire, whose non-profit Dogs Playing for Life is changing the landscape for dogs cooped up in shelters. And the signature on her email suggests choosing DPFL as your Amazon Smile charity. Perfect timing!
The Founding Sponsor of the NY Dog Film Festival is the non-profit Petco Foundation, which continues to support the Festival because of our commitment to pet charities across the country. In lovely synchrony, the Foundation has also given grants to Dogs Playing for Life, which has brought Aimee’s innovative concept that “Every dog, every day” should get out of its cage and be free to run and play with the other dogs. DPFL has been invited to shelters nationwide and shown eager staff and volunteers how to get thousands of dogs into playgroups as a new part of their daily schedule. In many shelters some dogs had not been out of their cages for weeks or months, but once allowed to play freely in groups they become happier, healthier and more adoptable. I’m very proud that the NY Dog Film Festival supports their work in spreading the word cross-country as we travel.
I urge you to pick whichever animal welfare charity you like best and sign them up on your Amazon account as your Amazon Smile choice. For example, Halo Purely for Pets works closely with the Humane Society of the Untied States (as do I!) so that would be a wonderful choice, too. Just remember that from then on, you need to log into Amazon through a different portal for your purchases to benefit the charity. Start each shopping session at the URL http://smile.amazon.com, and they will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchases.
AmazonSmile: You shop. Amazon gives. It’s a beautiful thing.
Tracie Hotchner is a nationally acclaimed pet wellness advocate, who wrote THE DOG BIBLE: Everything Your Dog Wants You to Know and THE CAT BIBLE: Everything Your Cat Expects You to Know. She is recognized as the premiere voice for pets and their people on pet talk radio. She continues to produce and host her own Gracie® Award winning NPR show DOG TALK® (and Kitties, Too!) from Peconic Public Broadcasting in the Hamptons after 9 consecutive years and over 500 shows. She produced and hosted her own live, call-in show CAT CHAT® on the Martha Stewart channel of Sirius/XM for over 7 years until the channel was canceled, when Tracie created her own Radio Pet Lady Network where she produces and co-hosts CAT CHAT® along with 10 other pet talk radio podcasts with top veterinarians and pet experts.
Tracie also is the Founder and Director of the annual NY Dog Film Festival, a philanthropic celebration of the love between dogs and their people. Short canine-themed documentary, animated and narrative films from around the world create a shared audience experience that inspires, educates and entertains. With a New York City premiere every October, the Festival then travels around the country, partnering in each location with an outstanding animal welfare organization that brings adoptable dogs to the theater and receives half the proceeds of the ticket sales. Halo was a Founding Sponsor in 2015 and donated 10,000 meals to the beneficiary shelters in every destination around the country in 2016.
Tracie lives in Bennington, Vermont – where the Radio Pet Lady Network studio is based – and where her 12 acres are well-used by her 2-girl pack of lovely, lively rescued Weimaraners, Maisie and Wanda.