Happy 2012!

Contest Giveaway: collar and tag sets

We're hosting another contest giveaway on our facebook page. It's a fun one and there are 3 chances to win! So don't miss it!

Our handmade Tri-Metal (Copper, Aluminum and Brass) dog tag.

This photo contest's theme is "Togetherness". You may enter by posting your photo to our facebook page. You photo should convey the theme of "Togetherness" and at least one of the subjects in your photo should be a dog.

Guinness and Chilly think it's better to fetch together.

There will be 3 winners and each will receive one set of handmade collar and dog tag of his/her choice.

Sirius Republic handmade collars.

Our double-disc Lucky Old tags in Aluminum and Brass.

Post your photo now. One photo per family please. Each entered photo will be put into the folder "Giveaway Contest Photos May 2011". The 3 photos (from this folder) with the most "likes" by May 20, 2011 will each win one set of handmade collar and dog tag of their choice (from www.siriusrepublic.com).
So post your photos now, the earlier you post, the more time you have to get votes (likes). Good luck!

Our Reno dog tag. Available in Aluminum (shown) and Copper.

Sirius Republic (http://www.siriusrepublic.com) offers handmade collars, leashes, dog tags and more to dogs and their people. Visit our website and connect with us on facebook and twitter.

Shorter is better: Sirius Republic 4' leashes

Recently we began offering 4' leashes in both the 3/4" and 1" widths after receiving requests for them. Ever since then we've been using and loving them!

Each leash length has its benefits. For us, a 4' leash provides more control and is more convenient.
One of my favorite things about it is that unlike with a longer leash, a 4' leash's short length prevents it from being stepped over by the dogs I'm walking and get caught behind or around their front legs. I'm always walking multiple dogs and constantly stopping to fix leashes is the last thing I want to do!

Chilly shows off her Hot Pink Zebra 1.5" martingale collar and matching 4' long 1" wide leash.

 But of course 6' leashes have their own benefits too. It all depends on your preference and use.
All our leashes are available in 4' and 6' lengths and 3/4" and 1" widths, and they match our collars. To see all our designs, visit our website at http://www.siriusrepublic.com and join us on Facebook.

Rescue Partner: Operation Education Animal Rescue

Meet our newest Rescue Partner: Operation Education Animal Rescue.
Serving the middle Tennessee area, Operation Education is a team of dedicated volunteers who work together to rescue and re-home abused, neglected, forgotten, and/or unwanted animals as well as provide education to the public regarding proper care while emphasizing the availability and importance of spaying and neutering pets.

We look forward to contributing to this awesome organization and supporting their mission.
Through our Rescue Partner program, we donate 10-20% of the proceeds from applicable sales to nonprofit animal rescue organizations.
To learn more about this program, visit our website. If you're a nonprofit rescue and interested to become our Rescue Partner, you may sign up here.
Follow our blog, join us on Facebook and Twitter for more dog rescue and product info.

Recycle for Free Collar

Besides offering dog lovers high-quality, handcrafted products, we're all about supporting animal rescue as well as responsible environmental stewardship.

We're excited to introduce our Recycle for Free Collar program, which allows us to recycle, reuse materials, reduce waste, and reward you with a FREE collar of your choice!

Here's how it works: when you send back 5 old Sirius Republic collars, we'll send you a free collar of your choice. Many of our customers have built up a collection of Sirius Republic collars for their pooches, but just like our clothes, collars get old, dirty, and/or damaged after some time. Instead of throwing them away or keeping them unused somewhere, why not send them back for a free new collar and at the same time help us recycle, reuse and reduce?! It's an awesome win-win situation, wouldn't you say?

So whenever you're ready, send your 5 old Sirius Republic collars back to us and get your next collar free:
Sirius Republic
P. O. Box 2075
Dublin, CA. 94568

Sirius Republic is a member of Bay Area Green Pets, a proactive network of professional, eco-friendly pet product and service providers. We also support various nonprofit animal rescue organizations by donating our hand-sewn collars and leashes, offering discounts, as well as donating a portion of our proceeds to our Rescue Partners. For more info, visit our website www.siriusrepublic.com, and be sure to join us on Facebook and Twitter.

Handmade goodness for your pup. Awesome like PB & J!

If you haven't seen our new items - handcrafted custom dog identification tags, you need to give them a good look-see. Sweet, aren't they?

They go with our hand-sewn collars like, well, PB&J! Well they meant to be together!

For one week only, get Free Shipping or $5 off when you order a collar AND a tag. Enter code "pbandj" when you check out. Hurry offer ends Jan. 14, 2011.

Some news and goals for 2011

Happy 2011!
2010 was an awesome year for Sirius Republic, lots of learning and growing up. We partnered with many wonderful nonprofit dog rescue organizations through our Rescue Partners program, which has allowed us to support these groups by donating our hand-sewn collars as well as a percentage of our proceeds. We look forward to expanding our program in 2011 and helping more rescue groups and dogs.

We also plan to grow our Wholesale Program for our hand-sewn collars and leashes in the new year. We're very thankful for our awesome customers who have provided feedback and recommended our products to their local pet retail stores. We're thrilled that our products are now available at various fabulous shops throughout the country. If you would like to see Sirius Republic collars and leashes at your favorite store, please let them know about us. We appreciate and thank you for your support!

We are working hard to make available more great items for dogs and their people. In the very near future, you can expect to see Big N Tall 2" Martingale collars for big dogs, and breed-specific, high-quality gift items in a variety of categories such as boxed note cards, home decorations, apparel, and treats! Be sure to visit our website for new items, sign up for our newsletter, and join us on Facebook and Twitter for all the new happenings.
Happy New Year to everyone and dog! Let's make 2011 the best year yet!

New Haven Schools Foundation

Recently we participated in Mutt Strutt, an event by the New Haven Schools Foundation to raise money for educational programs in the New Haven Unified School District serving children in Union City and south Hayword.

The Foundation was established in 1981 to provide an alternative source of funding for programs in the school district.  It awards over $70,000 each year in student scholarships, mini-grants for teachers, co-curricular and extra-curricular programs and raises money for an endowment fund.  

We're proud to help the Foundation continue to provide funding for these special programs that directly benefit students by enhancing teaching and learning in the classroom. 
Here's a video of the event (Chilly, Sirius Republic's spokesdog, makes a sweet appearance in it).

In the News: Leo the former Michael Vick dog

If you're a dog lover living in the San Francisco Bay Area, as we are, you probably have seen the news segment on KPIX the local CBS station last night about Leo the former Michael Vick dog who is now a therapy dog.
If you missed it, below is the clip telling the story of this amazing Pit Bull, rescued and adopted by Our Pack Inc., a Pit Bull rescue and advocacy group in the Bay Area. Our Pack is also one of our Rescue Partners, a program that allows us to donate a portion of our proceeds to nonprofit organizations such as Our Pack and help them save homeless animals.
I'm proud to add that Leo is wearing one of our hand-sewn martingale collars - The Chief - in the video (not the clown collar, the serious one). Way to go Leo!

Helping rescue organizations help dogs

Through our Rescue Partner program, we are able to support nonprofit animal rescue organizations financially by donating a portion of our proceeds to them.
Our newest Rescue Partner - Save a Mutt Shelter & Rescue - is a nonprofit group that works to save large dogs from high-kill shelters by providing care, training, and transportation services in the Illinois and surrounding areas.

We're excited to have Save a Mutt Shelter & Rescue as our new partner and we look forward to helping this group of dedicated volunteers save more dogs.

Our Rescue Partner program works like this: when a nonprofit group signs up and becomes our Rescue Partner, we create a unique "rescue code" for them. Anyone that shops with us and enter that rescue code will help that organization earn up to 20% of the proceeds from the order. For more info, see our website.

We recently received these handmade thank you cards from summer campers at the East Bay SPCA.

Holiday "Animal Arts" Craft Faire

On December 5 we participated in the First Annual Holiday "Animal Arts" Craft Faire, hosted by the Humane Society of Silicon Valley. It was a fantastic event!

This was our first time visiting HSSV's brand new facility in Milpitas, CA, where they have moved to from San Jose about a year ago. It's a beautiful, comfortable and modern facility. All their temporary, 4-legged residents live in spacious, comfortable habitats instead of wire kennels.

We met many people and dogs, including some familiar faces (past customers) who came out to support us. Many dogs left wearing our handcrafted collars and leashes. Helping our customers kept us busy throughout the day so we didn't get much of a chance to take many pictures as we would have liked.

This Sunday December 13 we'll be supporting Furry Friends Rescue in its PAWS, Art & Wine Holiday Faire at the Pooch Hotel in Sunnyvale. We have donated several collars, leashes and accessories for their silent auction. I have a feeling that it's going to be another fantastic event. Come and join us!

Upcoming Events

I'm so excited to announce that Sirius Republic will participate in the 12th Annual Bay to Barkers on Aug. 2, 2009 at the Golden Gate Fields. Hosted by the Berkeley East Bay Humane Society, this annual event serves as a fundraiser for the organization as well as adoption event. There will be a mile-long walk, games, contests and many vendors (including us!)
On September 19, we'll be at Bark in the Park in San Jose. Bark in the Park is the biggest dog festival in the U.S. and has been a cherished event by dogs and dog lovers for many years. There will be lots of games, contests and dog-related vendors.
If you love dogs and live in the SF Bay Area, bring your dogs and join thousands of dog lovers for these two fantastic events!

Fearing Fireworks: Dogs on this Fourth of July

Sally, our one-eyed Chihuahua mix, despises sudden, loud noises and therefore is not a fan of fireworks on Indepence Day. She's certainly no exception, as personal experience and statistics have shown that most dogs react negatively to fireworks. One sad truth is that Indepence Day is a time during which a high number of dogs become missing or separated from their families as their instinct to run and hide from the loud noises in the moment of panic take them away from their homes and some eventually lose their way back.

As we prepare to celebrate our nation's upcoming 233rd birthday, there are some precautions that we can take to prevent negative incidents and keep our dogs as happy and safe as possible. Here's my list:

1. Keep your dogs indoors. Leash and accompany them when you let them out to relieve themselves.

2. If you're not going to be home with your dogs, try to confine them in a small, secure space such as a crate, or a small area if they're not crate-trained.

3. Whether you're staying home or going out, try to provide multiple safe distractions, such as human companionship, things to chew on (my dogs' favorites are bullysticks!), their favorite toys, background sound such as music or TV.

4. Always keep an eye, ear, and all your other senses out for stray dogs. They maybe lost and need your help to find their way back home! Be a good Samaritan for animals!

Until I blog again... ♥

http://www.siriusrepublic.com/

Walking to Cure Canine Cancer

-Jennifer Zhang

Last Saturday we participated in the first ever K9K Walk to Cure Canine Cancer event at Elk Grove Regional Park, Elk Grove, CA. It was in a beautiful location on a beautiful day. Alongside many dog lovers and their beloved 4-legged companions, some living with cancer and some simply supporting the cause, we engaged in 2 walks. Some people held signs showing pictures of their beloved dogs lost to cancer. Listening to their experiences and walking with them, I was sad, encouraged, and inspired!

Altogether we raised over $18,000, all going towards canine cancer research via Morris Animal Foundation. Many people and dogs participated in teams, including Doberman United, of which we're members, the Sacramento Valley Boxer Club, Team Greyhound, and many more.