Holiday Song Singers, you are all so clever & brave.  Thank you so much for the joy that you have brought to us this season.

We have cackled & cried listening to your songs & watching your special videos*, like this song, for Marble:

Marble’s Xmas Song

and this one

that came with lyrics & a bio:

By the way, ALL of that is true. My dog is a rambunctious, squirrely little monster who would seriously play fetch until she dropped dead of exhaustion if I let her. And she is close to four years old and doesn’t show any signs of stopping. She also thinks she is a 65 pound lap dog. Which makes for some very interesting moments around the house.

We love the way that you worked Fetching Tags into the songs, like Capone The Fetching Tag Doberman,

Capone

and this 12 Days from Abby

Even some kids got in on the action

In the end, we had no idea which song to choose. So we called in a guest judge. She said the problem was that we had a tie for Almost the Best Holiday Song between Fetching Tag Ride by Nicki**

and Deck the Collar, sung by Danica

So congratulations, Almost the Best, Nicki & Danica, you each get a $30 gift certificate from Fetching Tags.

We love the fact that the dog in Nicki’s song can safely run away since she’s wearing a Fetching Tag, and the dog in Danica’s song is sad & kinda screwed cause she doesn’t have one (but her brother does!):

My brother has one but I don’t – If I get lost I won’t find home

And Jenny, for this little Doggy 12 Day gem,

you win the $60 certificate.

* And this begs the question:  Why haven’t our pack members & customers been making our commercials all along?!
2012 Resolution: They will be!

**Our favorite lyric from the contest starts at 0:14 in Nicki’s Fetching Tag Ride. . .

Thanks so much to all who entered our latest giveaway – it was so much fun to meet so many new BIG dogs & catch up with some old friends.

and the winners are. . .

Mister Nice Guy

Woodrow Campanella – Woodrow Mommie’s Prince – Always here to take care to Mommy – always there whether it’s to be someone for mommy to cry on – or to take care of his sister when mommy is working. He has raised kittens when the mommy cat and his bratty sister wouldn’t – he is a true angel. . .

Journey, despite being a service dog in training, is a rabble-rouser and a troublemaker. He’s always into SOMETHING. And when you catch him? He shows you his tummy and tries to tell you ‘It Wasn’t Me’. That’s his tagline – I’m sure you’ll all agree!

Here’s my “gentle giant” Duke. 100 lbs of doberman loving on his baby sister Annabel this spring. He’s so good with her, it still amazes me!

This is Lola, 7 months old and as sassy as they come! She’s vocal, naughty and very confident. She’s very happy pushing all bounderies and quite frankly doing just as she pleases but she can melt your heart in a nano second ….clever puppy! The ‘Sassy Pants’ tag could well have been made for her ;0)

Welcome to shopping season.  For your dog id tagging pleasure, some new Fetching Tags will soon be available on our website.  (Yes, they’ll be up in plenty of time for gifting this year.)

We made a few extra Fat Brass* tags for product photos & just had a great idea:  we could find some big dogs that match these taglines, customize the flip sides & start the giving early!

These 4 tags are available (as shown above):  Gentle Giant, Sassy Pants, Mr. Nice Guy, and It Wasn’t Me.

Is one of these perfect for your pooch?  Then enter the giveaway:

• Post a photo of your big dog on our Facebook page with his/her fitting tagline (from these 4 only!)
• Briefly describe why the tagline is such a good fit & include your email address.
• Tell your friends to like your post

On Friday, November 18 at noon EST, the post with the most likes for each of the 4 taglines wins that tag, customized with name, phone & symbol.

*a little more info about our Fat Brass tags:

This is Badger, honey,

watch it run in slow motion on the beach!

It’s gonna be pretty bad-ass wearin its new tiny Fetching Tag. . .

just crazy!  Congratulations, Badger, honey!

and Thank you all for bringing your tired, your cruddy & your blue bone tags to our 2011 Cruddy Contest!  We have really enjoyed meeting your pets & reading your excuses for stories about their cruddy tags.

When it came to most Likes on Facebook, one winner stood far, um, “above” the rest.

Well done, Snowy!  You earned yourself a tiny Fetching Tag!

Winning the Small category was no small task.  or was it?

Congrats, Nala of the golden hair!

The race to most Likes in medium was a tough one & ended with a tie!

Leo

and Bandit,

you did it!  A Fetching Tag for each of you!

And Large but not Least,

bravo, Bruno!

The Tagmaker’s Choice Category Winners

To call this contest a tough one doesn’t describe it by half.  There were some superb dogs, and a cat, and a lamb wearing cruddy or even –  gasp! – no tags entered in this year’s contest.

In addition to Badger, the following will be sporting brand new Fetching Tags real soon-like.

Molly, you and your superfast moustache streaked to the top of the tagmaker’s list for a small Fetching Tag.

Jenni, will you please stop being mad?

You can finally lose that blue bone and start wearing a medium Fetching Tag (and a smile. . .)

Buddha, we promise to spell your name right on your new Fat Brass Skinny tag.

Baxter, you’re livin large, buddy.

Porcupines are not your friends.  (This may give you some tagline ideas for your new large Fetching Tag.)

and Prince William,

welcome home, friend.   Your shiny new Fat Brass Fetching Tag should be the heaviest thing to bear from here on. . .

We wish that all of the rest of you could also win free Fetching Tags, but we just can’t afford that.  So here’s the next best thing for those of you still wearing cruddy tags:

use code       snowy

to save $10 each time you order at www.fetchingtags.net this week.

Coupon expires 7/22 midnight, tell all your friends!

Once upon a time we got an email from someone who complained  that they bought one of our tags and that the ID info had worn off  & was unreadable.  We requested that the tag be returned so that we could examine it for defects since our tags don’t really “wear out” or become illegible.

When we received the tag, we noticed right away that the customer was right about one thing -

the tag certainly was illegible (black spot added to obscure remaining ID info) -

But it wasn’t made by Fetching Tags.

Here’s the replacement that we made.

And, No, you can’t send in your cruddy tags for a free replacement from us, but you can WIN one!

Announcing the Cruddy Tags 2011 Giveaway:

Post a photo of your dog* (or other tag-wearing pet)  wearing a cruddy tag on our Facebook Page, along with a brief description of why they need &/or deserve a Fetching Tag.   Then tell all of your friends to Like your post.  Be sure to include dog’s tag size:  tiny, small, medium or large. The posts with the most likes in each size will earn that pet a fantastic Fetching Tag,

like Izzie’s!

Tagline:  Sex    Pugs    Rock N Roll

Don’t worry, it’s not just a popularity contest!  We will be awarding 4 more Fetching Tags (including the coveted Fat Brass tags) using the Tagmaker’s Choice Winner Choosing System, which includes, but is not limited to:  Hilarity, Cuteness, Awwww Factor, Extreme Bravery, Ridiculosity, Upstanding Citizenry & Tearjerker.

Deadline for entry:  Friday July 15th, midnight.  Likes will be counted at noon on the 16th, & all winners announced Monday July 18th.

*Please enter your pet only if he or she does not yet have a Fetching Tag – we host lots of giveaways and want this one to be for those of you who have not yet sampled our fine wares.

Oh, and Please don’t offer to donate your prizes to shelters or needy foster dogs.  We do that in other ways, like this and this and this.

Here are the winners from our 2010 Cruddy Tags giveaway (for inspiration).

My mom loved books.  This nut didn’t fall far from the tree – I inherited her passion and have read voraciously ever since she turned that first page for me.  As a kid, I loved to read strong passages aloud to her, especially the ones that brought tears.  I was fascinated by the fact that simply reading a few lines of writing could bring such heart-swelling,  tender feelings.

My favorite book had a couple of dog-eared (fully intended) pages marking the parts to read to mom.

The pine trees would look down forever on a lantern burning out of oil but not going out.  A harvest moon would cast shadows forever of a man walking upright, his dog bouncing after him.  And the quiet of the night would fill and echo again with the voice of Sounder, the great coon dog.

We would laugh even as the tears rolled, “Jennifer, you have to stop reading these sad parts to me!”

In my mind today, I’m rewriting this passage, and instead of a man & a coon dog, there’s  a slender, smiling lady and a cheery little Shi Tzu.  He has one eye cocked up at her and his tongue in the breeze, as they walk their morning 2 miles along the valley road of their lovely mountain home.  Flowers bloom all around them.

Happy Birthday, Mom.  I miss you like crazy.

This collaboration has been a long time in the making. It began back when Ruthie & Paco were still happily crunching chicken on this plane, our companies were young, and we discovered just how well Fetching Tags and Paco Collars complemented each other. They say good things come to those who wait, and so we present to you the first of many unique products to come:

Three handcrafted Fetching Tags mounted on a sturdy Paco Collar create a practical and beautiful solution for your safety and aesthetic needs. The tags feature your dog’s name, contact number, and a tagline that sum up your dog’s unique self. It will come in a variety of sizes to fit dogs (and cats) of any build, and all components are built to last by companies that stand by their craftsmanship. The only hitch is that we don’t know what to name this creation, but this is where you come in.

If you can come up with the perfect name for this product offering, then we will gift you with a free one, 100% customized for your dog.

We urge you to be creative in your endeavor. The name could reference the history of Fetching Tags or Paco Collars, it could refer to the quality of materials or sensible nature of the design, or it could be a made up word that makes you giggle. There is no filter on this contest, and feel free to poll others… sometimes coworkers and family members will surprise you with the depth of their creativity.

You can submit your entry any way you see fit: post on our respective Facebook walls, email us, comment on our blogs… heck, you could even phone us. We’ll combine our findings and select a winner* by Monday February 21 just so we don’t keep you in suspense forever!

* if two people come up with the winning name, we’ll be going by initial submission time, ie. whoever enters it first!

Tired of shopping?  We’ll make it easy for you to save on tags & gift certificates!

Here’s our Blackdog Friday + Small Business Saturday DEAL:

To save 15% on the purchase of a single tag (about $4.50),

use code:  1tag

To save 25% on the purchase of 2 or more tags (this is like buy one, get one 50% off, or even buy 3, get one free!),

use code:    moretags

coupons valid 11/26 – midnight 11/27, and can be used with any tag or gift certificate purchase at Fetching Tags.

Thanks to everyone who made donations to Natalie’s campaign* for a service dog.  As promised, for every $10 donated, we made a tag for a dog in rescue or foster care.  Donations totaled $735, and we got excited,

and we doubled our tag donations.

We made 146 tags to donate to rescue dogs.

Because our tags are so extremely durable, these foster tags may be handed down to the next available dog as each is adopted.  As you know, our  taglines are engaging & fun and can add that little “pick me!” spark to a dog awaiting adoption, as well as provide important contact info should they escape custody!

Below are the groups that will receive the donation tags – check out their websites (and fall in love with one of the dogs you see  & adopt her/him into your loving home!).

Pet Harmony of the Animal Compassion Network in NC,

Taysia Blue Siberian Husky Rescue in Nebraska,

Friends of Mansfield Animal Shelter in Connecticut,

Boston Buddies in California,

Mureilles’s Place in Pennsylvania,

All Breed Rescue & Training in Colorado,

Canine Adoption & Rescue League in California,

Glenmoore Small Animal Rescue in Pennsylvania,

Fresno Bully Rescue in California,

Coppell Humane Society in Texas,

A Puppy’s Voice in Colorado,

American Belgian Malinois Rescue, nationwide

Change of Heart Pit Bull Rescue, California

*for more information on Natalie’s campaign for a service dog, search for ‘blogathon’ in our posts (search in upper right sidebar)

NAME:  Frankie

TYPE/BREED:  New Age Pug

FAVORITE SCENT:  Business end of the cat

FAVORITE TREAT:  What comes out of the business end of the cat

I AM KNOWN FOR:  Shredding stuffed toys and my perfect manners (HAHAHAHA)

the letter:

Dear Jen at Fetching Tags,

My mom is writing to let you know how much I love my new Fetching Tag!  It is much quieter than the clinking of my old tag so mom can’t keep track of me, leaving me free to terrorize the cat more often.  I hope you will put my picture on your website because, as I have been told, I am quite a “looker”.

Thanks to your company for making pretty darn cool “pet-return-home” tags!  I hope I never get lost as I trail the scent of rabbits in the lower 40.

Go Buckeyes!

Your Friend,

Frankie

TAGLINE:  Spitfire (aka The Flying Frankfurter)