My little mess maker visits BISSELL

Thank goodness for all of our cleaning products! Rocky came to work with me for the first time yesterday and managed to make an amazing number of messes. It was just Rocky and me for the first part of the morning, so he entertained himself by pulling all the stuffing from his new toy. Plus he was a little nervous which caused him to shed a lot more hair than normal. Out came the Pet Hair Broom which handled the stuffing and fur with ease. He was very excited when his new friend Bella arrived, but Bella’s mom noticed the Pet Spot smelled a little “doggy”. Those same nerves might have brought out the funk smell... We opened the windows and sprayed Pew!™ (The new odor eliminator from our Pawsitively Clean™ line) on the carpet. Problem solved. Next Rocky and Bella started playing and had a great time chasing around squeaking tennis balls. At some point, he caught his paw on one of the desk legs and tore it a little. It didn’t hurt him at all but he left little bloody smears all over the white floor. This time it was the Steam Mop to the rescue and a time-out for Rocky to stop the bleeding. I thought it couldn’t get any messier but he still had a few tricks up his sleeve. Surprisingly, there was still some stuffing left in the toy and he pulled it out on the carpet that is under our meeting table. This carpet is like Velcro and really holds onto pet hair and cotton stuffing! We had to pull out the big machine for this mess --- the Pet Hair Eraser® vacuum. The pet hair lifter on the front did an awesome job of getting all the fuzz and hair from the carpet.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Rocky had a great time and showed off his tricks for all our visitors. Finally it was time to go home. On the way home, he gave me one more opportunity to clean. He has a little trouble with car sickness and maybe got a few too many treats for his first day… Well, he threw up twice. Luckily he was on his towel and it caught most of it, however I did pull out the carpet and upholstery cleaner once we were home to get the rest of the spots. I love the foam and built in brush head on this product. It makes clean up so fast and easy!

Rocky can’t wait to come back to work. I’m hoping his next visit is a little less messy, but if not at least I know that cleaning up isn’t hard at all when you have the right products!

By the way, did you know that today is National Dog Day? I can’t imagine life without my dogs; I celebrate them every day for their love, companionship and loyalty. I hope all the dog lovers out there have a wonderful day with their special friends.

Our new dog was paroled!

Our new dog was paroled!

We have a new furry family member who spent the last 12 weeks in an unusual location. Rocky was just released from prison. No he wasn’t naughty, he went there for training. We adopted Rocky from a very cool organization in Coldwater, Michigan called Refurbished Pets of Southern Michigan. Working with the Branch County Animal Control, they have dramatically reduced the euthanasia rates at the facility. They take adoptable, homeless dogs, carefully screen them, vaccinate and spay/neuter them, then place them in the Correctional Program at Florence Crane and Lakeland Correctional Facilities. They are assigned to inmates who are responsible for their training and day to day care. When the dogs graduate, they are paroled and available for adoption to an approved home. It’s a win-win situation for both the dogs and prisoners. The dogs are more adoptable and bonding with a dog can turn a prisoner’s life around.

Our new dog Rocky is one amazing pooch. He did exceptionally well in the program and knows all his basic commands plus a huge list of special tricks. Even more important, he bonded immediately with our family. Even his big sister Loco thinks he is ok. The picture below shows him with me as we picked him up from his temporary home after his prison release. Isn’t he adorable?!!!


He’s a mixed breed, his official papers say Spaniel Mix but we think he might be a Jack Russell Terrier mix. He certainly has the energy level of one! We’ve been going for a long walk in the early morning to help him expend some of the energy. I am really not a morning person so that tells you how much I love this little pooch already! He hasn’t been to BISSELL yet as he needs some time to adapt to his new life with us. However I am looking forward to bringing him to the Pet Spot soon.

If you have a few minutes, check out this incredible program. And while you’re there, RPSM is currently trying to give an English Pointer named Rudy a second chance. He passed all the temperament tests but failed his physical as he tested heartworm positive. RPSM is trying to raise money to cover his treatment so he can enter the program. If his story touches you as it did me, please help if you can.

Last night at polo...

Now that is a phrase that didn’t think I would ever say! However, last week our friends at Vicky’s Pet Connection had a wonderful fundraising event that included a professional polo match. It was fun to see people and their dogs all decked out to watch polo and to support homeless pets in our community. In the pictures are Erin Reed, my pet marketing right hand person and her husband DeWayne. What a unique fundraiser and a lot of fun for our pet marketing team to attend! We would like to say a very special thanks to Cathy Bissell for sponsoring the event and providing tickets to us.