On Sunday we packed up our tent and headed down to Marietta, Georgia for Boxerstock 2012. We were greeted with live music, the tempting smell of BBQ, an unbelievably yummy treat from a cupcake food truck, and hundreds of festival goers showing off their proud pets.  The Boxerstock committee announced this week over $35,000 was raised during this event to support the Atlanta Boxer Rescue. Did we mention the awesome cupcakes?

During this past week we restocked our inventory and stuffed hundreds of doggie goodie bags with dog treats to get ready for the Atlanta Pet Expo at the Gwinnett Arena. Saturday was an incredible day for ScanMyPetPls! with a fantastic turnout and response from our home state and the opportunity to add several amazing organizations to our Donation Program and the Million Dollar Mission. Shout outs to BullyWag, Inc, Project Whiskers, Georgia Canine Rescue & Rehab, and Claws N Paws Animal Rescue. You can read more about these great organizations on our donation page (https://www.scanmypetpls.com /donations.php).

And a big milestone reached . . . we finally reached our 500^th “like” on Facebook this week! Ange Bulpin was the magic number and we gave her a free ScanMyPetPls! QR Code ID Tag to thank her. In talking to her through email, we found out the small fuchsia heart tag she won will be for her little pride and joy, Snooki.  Returning home from work, Ange found Snooki on the side of the road, dirty and hungry. After a bath and a good meal, Ange posted found pet signs but no one called.  So Ange and her family adopted Snooki into their loving home and we are proud to have them as a family member of ScanMyPetPls!. 

 Myth #1: My pet is always with me and doesn’t need a tag.

***Even pets that are always indoors or with their owner, can get separated. According to Wikipedia, over 6,000 pets were rescued after Hurricane Katrina. Of those 6,000, only 400 were reunited with their owners. 

***What would you do if you were on vacation, and your pet runs away? They are in unfamiliar territory and may react differently than if they are in their own backyard. Also, you are in an unfamiliar area, which make is more difficult to look for and find your pet as quickly. A tag will allow anyone who finds your pet instant access to your contact info.

 Myth #2: My pet is micro-chipped and doesn’t need a tag.

***Myth-buster: Micro-chipping is a great way to give yourself peace-of-mind when it comes to the security of your pet. Micro-chips, however, can only be read with special scanners, typically at either animal shelters or vet offices. What if your pet goes missing late in the evening or on a weekend? If someone finds him, they will have to wait until the following business day to have the micro-chip read, which lengthens the time until your pet is safely back home.

 ***Myth-buster: In the event your lost pet wanders into a stranger’s yard, would you like for them to feel comfortable enough to care for your pet, load them into their car, and take them to the vet or animal shelter to scan the micro-chip? If a pet has on an ID tag, the finder may be more willing to approach the animal. Also, if the finder doesn’t know that the pet has a micro-chip, they may not be willing to put a strange animal in their car to take it to the vet or shelter. An ID tag gives the finder instant access to needed information to help bring your pet home faster.

 Coincidentally, our booth in the vendor market was set up next to an animal rescue group called Road Trip Home. Of course, with tables right next to each other for the entire day, we learned a lot about each other. We were extremely impressed with their mission and their dedication to find homes for pets, no matter how far they have to go. This is an organization that rescues dogs from Atlanta area shelters that are within a few days of being euthanized. These dogs are taken to a local veterinarian office for check-ups and quarantine, then 20-30 dogs are loaded into kennels of the  air-conditioned Road Trip Home van and driven to shelters in other states that have room to take them. They become close to each and every sweet dog they rescue, and told us about how they watch the shelter’s websites after delivery of the dogs to monitor them as they are adopted, and celebrate each time they see the number of adoptable dogs go down. Since the start of the organization in December 2010, Road Trip Home as rescued and relocated over 791 dogs. What an incredible group of people!

 With their motto being “Helping pets find a way home, no matter how far the journey,” and our’s being “Where lost pets are as good as found,” it seemed like a match made in heaven. Road Trip Home Animal Rescue has become the newest non-profit group to Scan My Pet Pls’ Donation Program, with up to half of sales proceeds going back as a donation to them. We are happy to add this organization to our Million Dollar Mission!

 For more information about Road Trip Home, visit their website at http://www.roadtriphome.org. For any Scan My Pet Pls! QR Code ID tags sold using promo code RTH on our website (www.scanmypetpls.com), we will donate 50% ($10 per tag) back to Road Trip Home.

The menu for the July 19th Winemaker’s Dinner at Tusca.

With still two weeks to go, San Francisco’s Million Dollar Mission is blazing new trails when comes to bringing together a city and an industry around a central cause (just in case you missed it, that’s LLS).

Everyone involved in this campaign is so enthusiastic and supportive. And it’s from all sides – the hotel associates, the general managers, the hospitality industry vendors and partners and the guests. Just yesterday, a work lunch took me to one of the participating hotels, where I met Lowell, a 32-year tenured staff member; he was proudly wearing his “Ask me about the Million Dollar Mission” pin and thanked me for the work that I do. I was caught off guard for a moment – he was thanking me? Hopefully, my outpouring of thanks to him in return wasn’t overwhelming.

So, here we are at the halfway point and I would like to share some examples of how the wonderful City of San Francisco and its guests are helping create a world without cancer.

• Super Sightseeing Tours has pledged $.50 for every tour ticket they sell in July, up to $10,000.
• Hotels.com and Expedia are running special offers to encourage guests who book SF hotel stays in July to support the Million Dollar Mission. Upon arrival, guests can redeem the coupon they receive directly at the front desk along with their contribution to receive a special promotional offer.
• The Palace Hotel raised more than $4,000 last week (a combination of the Auction & Tag sale and a bake sale)
• The Fairmont San Francisco’s employee Steward Sale raised $6,300 yesterday.
• More than $35,000 has been raised via www.donatesfmission.org, the portal for general donations in support of SF’s Million Dollar Mission.

And more to come:

• This Thursday, July 19, Hyatt Regency Santa Clara’s Tusca will hold a special Winemaker Dinner, visit www.santaclara.tusca.com for reservations.
• The Westin San Francisco Market Street is hosting an associate book sale also on July 19.
• Cocktails for a Cure July 22-27: A simultaneous happy hour (5-7pm) at Hyatt Regency San Francisco, Hyatt at Fisherman’s Wharf, Grand Hyatt San Francisco and Hyatt Regency Santa Clara with 25% of the bar sales going to LLS.
• The City (and beyond) continues to be on the auction block at prices up to 70% off and new packages have recently been added. www.biddingforgood.com/milliondollarmission. Bidding closes July 29.

There are multiple layers to the Million Dollar Mission fundraising effort - there’s the online auction with more than 130 unique San Francisco (and beyond) experiences up for bid, direct guest outreach throughout the month of July and employee drives.

Associates at the Westin San Francisco Market Street are collecting spare change throughout the month.

Yesterday marked the “first business day” of the employee or “heart of the house” initiatives and the response has been incredible.  Both the San Francisco Fairmont and the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara employees collected spare change and yielded over $1,000 and $2,000 respectively in a single day! And the Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco hosted an employee garage sale and raised $1,500!

And that’s just a snapshot. There are rummage sales, bake sales, steward sales, employee raffles and more planned all across the City during July. The outpouring of support is beyond anything we could have imagined and we are just so proud and grateful to be part of this tremendous City-wide effort.

To learn more about SF’s Million Dollar Mission and how you can be part of this incredible campaign, visit www.lls.org/mission2012.

The Million Dollar Mission online auction opened this  morning with more than 80 unique San Francisco (and beyond) “travel experiences” up for bid. And new packages will be added throughout the month until the auction closes on July 27.

So if you are thinking of taking a vacation in the next year, be sure to visit biddingforgood.com/milliondollarmission, as you may find a one-of-a-kind opportunity to spark a new adventure or add to your existing travel plans.

Here’s a snapshot of what’s available to stir your “inner travel bug.”

• Luxury at the St. Regis san Francisco. Enjoy a two-night stay in a St. Regis Suite at the St. Regis San Francisco Hotel with Signature St. Regis Butler service, daily breakfast for two in Vitrine Restaurant, Chef’s Tasting Menu for Two with Wine Pairings at Michelin Star-rated Ame Restaurant, two Remede Spa treatments (one 30 minute massage, and Remede Pedicure) and a premium welcome amenity upon arrival.
• Escape to the Westin St. Francis on Union Square. Your escape includes two nights in a one bedroom specialty suite for two persons. Includes buffet breakfast for both mornings in our Oak Room restaurant. Dinner for two in the Oak Room on one evening (up to $250). Two 50-minute Swedish massage treatments at the on site Westin Workout and full service spa. Overnight valet parking both nights for one vehicle.
• Enjoy the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu. Between sea and mountains, this world-class resort never fails to capture the imagination of its unique location in the heart of an enchanting,scenic region, and its own distinctive beauty. Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu in the beautiful region of Charlevoix, Quebec is pleased to offer two nights in a River View Suite. Including golf for two persons with a cart and access to the driving range.

Gotta have it? You have the option to bid or “buy it now.”

So check it out at biddingforgood.com/milliondollarmission – you could get an amazing deal on a one-of-a-kind experience supporting a cause close to your heart.

To learn more about San Francisco’s Million Dollar Mission, visit lls.org/mission2012. Or follow the campaign on Facebook.

LLS thanks the San Francisco Hotel Council, the entire San Francisco Hospitality Industry and all of the Million Dollar Mission partners and supporters for helping make this unprecedented fundraising and awareness campaign come alive.

It’s an unprecedented, month-long, City-wide partnership with the Hotel Council of San Francisco and LLS, uniting thousands of hoteliers behind a single cause.

We are just so honored and excited to be the beneficiary of this incredible effort to raise funds and awareness in our community. Thanks to the many talented and passionate individuals involved, Million Dollar Mission is poised to be a smashing success.

We will keep you posted as the campaign unveils in more detail. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek of what’s to come (click the image below).

LLS Honoree, Mina Olson, is just one of several familiar faces in the Million Dollar Mission video.

For more information about SF’s Million Dollar Mission, visit www.lls.org/mission2012, or follow the campaign on Facebook.

We both know what it’s like to lose a pet and the hopeless feeling that comes with it. Unfortunately ours are not happy stories of reunion.  But thanks to the tens of thousands across the US, most of them volunteers, who pledge their time and efforts to either reunite a lost pet or find a caring home for those abandoned, there is hope. After only two months of visiting shelters and rescue groups, hearing the passion in their voices, seeing the pets waiting to be adopted, we knew we had to become more than a simple pet protection company with a fancy tag.  We want to give back to those in the one need most are lacking, money.

So we are proud to announce our MILLION DOLLAR PLEDGE. Our pledge is simple.  With every purchase of a membership and tag we will donate up to $10 to a participating charity of your choice.  Every participating humane society, pet rescue, and pet shelter will be assigned a PROMO code.  When an order is processed with the promo code, a check will be sent to the assigned charity. We know we have set a lofty goal, prompting one of our children to say “that is ridiculous mommy, there’s not even a million thousand dollars in the whole world”.  Hopefully we will prove her wrong.

We are adding a page to our website tracking our progress. This page will also be a showcase to those we are trying to help.  Stories of their heroics, articles outlining their struggles, pictures of the animals helped.  This will be a truly special page that we hope you will visit often.

We wish you all could have gone on the tours, talked to the volunteers, seen the homeless pets we have seen in the last two months.  Amazing how quickly a business plan can be completely thrown out when looking into the eyes of a homesick puppy.  We know what it’s like to lose a pet.  We do not want to experience that again.

Bethany Weightman and Lara Jeanneret

Co-Owners of ScanMyPetPls!

It’s called the Million Dollar Mission where the right seven-digit combination inputted by Rivers customers could unlock the money, but so far nobody has the right touch.

“Nobody knows the code. It’s safe and secure. It’s all the way out in Texas right now,” says Rivers Casino spokesperson Matt Stewart. “I have no idea what the code is.”

Any new member of the Rivers Edge Players Club gets one free shot at the combination, along with regular casino customers who play the slots or tables a lot.

Now, the Rivers is giving customers a hint about the combination.

“We’re releasing one of the numbers. The number 9 has been revealed. The number 9 is somewhere in that seven digit code,” says Stewart. “We’re also going to be revealing another number in June as well.”

[worldnow id=5891757 width=385 height=255 type=video]

To help remember this first hint, every player got a number nine cookie.

All a player has to do is take his player’s card and swipe it. Then they have 20 seconds to enter the winning number which we now know includes a nine.

But even if a player doesn’t win a million dollars, no one leaves empty-handed.

Free slot play, meal coupons and even free t-shirts are all possible prizes, if not a million bucks.

“I won $25 free play, so it was good,” says Margie Budai of West Mifflin, “It’s fun.”

And players keep dreaming of hitting the right numbers.

“I think it’s great, and least it gives you a chance,” says Lil Davis of East Liberty. “I might win it. I might win it, so that’s good.”

Lil Davis didn’t win, but she’s not discouraged.

“I didn’t today, but I’ll be back tomorrow.”

RELATED LINKS
More Business News
More Rivers Casino News
More Reports By Jon Delano
Rivers Casino

Finally got something that is just absolutely ready for the warmer seasons. Sent to me on a day when it’s in the upper 60′s here in the DMV “Million Dolla Mission” by Dugee F. Buller is absolutely fitting for the new season. Find more on Dugee F. Buller at OurStage.com/dugeefbuller. Follow Dugee on Twitter @StupidHeavyBong. Listen & Download after the jump.

Dugee F. Buller – Million Dolla Baby
http://illprophet.tumblr.com/swf/audio_player.swf?audio_file=http://www.tumblr.com/audio_file/353005177/tumblr_kwtjpazA5N1qz8b05&color=FFFFFF
Download “Million Dolla Mission” Here

Peace*Love&Spaceships
iLL ORANGE ProPhet

Twitter
@ILLPROPHET
Facebook Personal Profile
Illyus Prophet
Ill Prophet Music Page -
www.ILLPROPHETMUSIC.com
Ill Prophet Facebook Group
Ill Prophet