Helen Woodward Animal Center is getting ready to celebrate the Center’s panel participation in Comic-Con International’s Comic-Con@Home with a full weekend of heroic adoptions and PAWmicon fun at the Center July 23 – 25!

Rancho Santa Fe, CA (July 6, 2021) – For the last eight years, Helen Woodward Animal Center orphan pets have celebrated the spectacular feats of superhero adopters by paying homage to Comic-Con International with a Pop Culture-themed Dog Cosplay event entitled PAWmicon. Now, for the first time ever, Comic-Con International is including the rescue facility in its virtual July programming with a Center-hosted panel entitled Animals in Graphic Novels and Games. The virtual panel discussion, set to premiere on July 25 at 11 a.m., features Chris Ryall and Keith Arem and is hosted by Robert Rice from Omniscape. To celebrate the premiere, Helen Woodward Animal Center is throwing a PAWmicon-themed Weekend including pop-culture-named orphan pets, giveaways, photo opportunities and the highly anticipated PAWSplay Costume Competition. 

Helen Woodward Animal Center initiated PAWmicon in 2012 based on an observed parallel between orphan pets and Comic-Con attendees. While comic book enthusiasts wait all year for Comic-Con International, hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite action-adventure stars, orphan dogs and cats at Helen Woodward Animal Center will wait a lifetime to meet their superheroes – individuals with one sole mission…to rescue an orphan pet. Planned as a cute adoption gimmick, the promotion drew the attention of fans and animal-lovers across the city, eventually blossoming into an annual event that has grown in pup-ularity and gained global attention with each passing year.

2019’s event surpassed all expectations set in its new location at the Comic-Con Museum. Although still in prep for its official opening, the Comic-Con Museum hosted the event in collaboration with Helen Woodward Animal Center with hundreds of attendees and 100% of its proceeds going to the Center’s pets and programs.

In 2020, PAWmicon planning was well underway when the pandemic hit. Too beloved an event to cancel, the experience went on-line, in partnership with the Comic-Con Museum, featuring a virtual schedule of on-line family-friendly events including panel discussions and interviews; access to an on-line PAWmicon vendor village; on-line book readings for kids with Center critters; access to augmented and web virtual reality experiences; on-line trivia rounds; an on-line PAWSplay Photo Contest and more.

PAWmicon 2021

This year, Comic-Con International is staying COVID-safe, once again, delaying any on-site components until later in the year. However, a July, on-line virtual experience, entitled Comic-Con @ Home, will be available for fanatics of the annual festivities, including a line-up of discussion panels featuring celebrity guests. Helen Woodward Animal Center was delighted to be accepted into the line-up with a panel focused on Animals in Graphic Novels and Games which includes Chris Ryall, Partner of Syzygy Publishing and former President & Publisher/ Chief Creative Officer at IDW Publishing. Also featured is writer/director/producer Keith Arem, CEO and president of Los Angeles-based PCB Productions. The panel is a fascinating look at the unique and special qualities that animals bring to the world of superheroes. It premieres on Sunday, July 25 at 11 a.m.

To celebrate the release of this special virtual discussion panel, Helen Woodward Animal Center is dedicating the weekend of July 23 – July 25 to PAWmicon. Pop-culture-named orphan pets, Comic-themed giveaways and adorable photo backdrops for life-saving adopters will be available all weekend long.

On Saturday, July 24 at 9:30am, the fun really ramps up as the PAWSplay Costume Competition returns in-person, to the Center’s education pavilion. Those who wish to participate can sign up here: https://my.animalcenter.org/event/pawmicon-2021/e346864. The entry fee is $10 per pup and all proceeds support the pets and programs at Helen Woodward Animal Center. Cosplayers will serve as judges and be available for photo opportunities after the contest. A Comic-themed Kid’s Craft will be available for younger attendees and a Coffee Cart and Shaved Ice will also be on site for sweets and treats.

Limited-edition PAWmicon t-shirts will also be available online soon: https://www.bonfire.com/store/helen-woodward-animal-center/. Proceeds support Helen Woodward Animal Center pets and programs.

At its core, this unique event has one life-saving mission: To inspire individuals to perform a superhero action of their own and adopt an orphan pet. Upon adoption, these furry sidekicks will quickly reveal their own superhero abilities to save us right back.

For more information about PAWmicon, visit www.animalcenter.org or https://myz.animalcenter.org/event/pawmicon-2021/e346864.

For more information about the Comic-Con Museum, visit www.Comic-Con.org/Museum.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Helen Woodward Animal Center PR Director Jessica Gercke: [email protected], cell (619) 977-0999 Helen Woodward Animal Center Communications Manager Fernanda Lopez: [email protected], cell (925) 755-6369

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About Helen Woodward Animal Center

Helen Woodward Animal Center is a private, non-profit organization where “people help animals and animals help people.” Founded in 1972 in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., the Center provides services for more than 90,000 people and more than 10,000 animals annually through adoptions, educational and therapeutic programs both onsite and throughout the community. Helen Woodward Animal Center is also the creator of the International Home 4 the Holidays pet adoption drive, the International Remember Me Thursday® campaign and The Business of Saving Lives Workshops, teaching the business of saving lives to animal welfare leaders from around the world. For more information, go to: www.animalcenter.org.

It’s been over three years since I began showing up for morning volunteer shifts with the senior dogs, and it still never gets old. Ha! These old timer jokes write themselves when both the dogs and the volunteer (ahem, that would be me) are on the older side of life. Yes, the dogs are old but helping them start their day off right is very enriching, for both of us.

Good Morning! How did you sleep?

Something I've noticed over time is that the dogs coming through the doggy loft may change but many of the conversations remain the same. I certainly have noticed a pattern to some of the morning rituals and remarks passed between dog and volunteer. It can be quite endearing to see new volunteers be surprised at how fun the morning shift can be, and how relatable the oldsters are. 

The following are the ten most common questions or exchanges, I say or overhear (!!) on my mornings at Muttville Senior Dog Rescue:

1. I don’t have anymore sweetheart.
2. Oooh, what's your story little one?
3. How’s that? Does this feel good?
4. Hmmm that’s some pretty wicked morning breath you got there buddy!
5. Ahhh, look who’s sleeping in this morning 
6. Shh don’t tell, here’s a little extra piece of chicken
7. Good morning! How did you sleep last night?
8. Do you like to be picked up? You do! Okay, let's go look outside and see what everyone is doing this morning!
9. Hey! More poop?! Didn't you just come back from a walk? Lol
10. Whoa, man! That’s a whole lotta backwash in your water bowl

I love seeing new volunteers embrace these senior sweethearts and their morning routines. For some it is their first time spending meaning moments with an older dog. I spoken to a few about the similarities between these dogs and their grandparents. We laugh together and I believe many of the younger volunteers take away experiences that reinforce compassion for the elderly, and for animals overall.

Can you guess which comments or exchanges were from me? How many of these or similar questions do you have with your own dog? 

Who doesn’t dread discovering growths on their dogs? BUT, have you ever found yourself troubled by the sudden appearance of a growth under your armpit whenever you sit down for a meal?

Sudden-Onset Dog Head

Fortunately for all of us, this growth is not considered life threatening! Lol. Our big lump came with hot stinky expectant breath too. Add to this mix her chocolate loving eyes, and you’re a goner! I’m no doctor, but I think it’s safe to say that most furry armpit growths with puppy dog eyes are benign. Wouldn’t you agree?

Pit bull dog myths have been here a long time. They are often perpetuated unintentionally. We came across this great graphic cleverly showing journalists what to look for when trying to identify what a pit bull looks like, enjoy!

National Dog Day is this weekend and if you don't (gasp!) have one already positively influencing your life, now is a good time to consider the reasons why you don't have a dog.

Below is a handy (and humorous) flowchart to help you, or a friend, with this important decision. Are you ready for a dog? Should you volunteer at a shelter or become a dog sitter instead? Sure, dogs make our lives infinity better, but before you rush out the door, consider these many responsibilities, and real costs, outlined by the clever folks at The Bold Italic:

Having a dog is wonderful, but also realizing not having one in your life because you answered no to most of these questions above...is also a good thing. Read any of my posts on my volunteering at Muttville Senior Dog Rescue and you'll see what I mean.

Some people play solitaire or Words with Friends on their phone or computer, I take dog photos on my phone and create art using popular free apps.

You should try it too! It's fun and you can use your creation as another way to promote dog adoption, or just enjoy a nice distraction on that commute.

What words come to mind when you look at a dog? How about after you spend time with one? Do you find yourself coming up with the same expressive words even if you are around different dogs?

I've spent a lot of time with different dogs over the years, and more since I've been volunteering every week at Muttville Senior Dog Rescue, and I realize now that the same words keep coming to my mind when I spend time with a dog.

Do you hear any of these words when you see a dog? 

Hopeful

Our dog saved us from being murdered by 40 mail carriers, 16 UPS drivers, and because we live in San Francisco, add 4 solar panel salesmen, 2 possum, and 1 raccoon...guess we should be more grateful. 

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This has to be one of the best dog videos ever! It's as good as this one about why we shouldn't leave dogs in cars, only funny.

There are three dogs in this car, with the Airedale in front letting their mom know that she better hurry up because they're tired of waiting.

The one in back sniffing through the open window is funny too. Do you think she laid back down because she was embarrassed by the one honking the horn?

Either way, I love the video and this resourceful dog!

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You would expect a big dog to move through your house like a bull in a china shop. I've been around noisy, gregarious Labradors who thunder from the kitchen to the yard, back through the sliding glass door until crashing onto a couch. Why? Because someone they knew drove up the driveway.

On the flip side, I grew up with Dobermans who could be light on their feet, if they wanted to. As a teenager I played a few games of hide and seek with Zorro, and lost not to his incredible sniffer but his stealth. He actually snuck around the couch from the opposite side before I heard or saw him.

After reading a new Scientific American post, "Who's Better at Sneaking Around: Dogs or Teenagers?" by Julie Hecht (@Dogspies), I got to thinking about my big Shepherd Husky girl.

Over the course of our life together, her physical presence was always large than life, but could also be quite silent. At young adult, our return home was greeted by her racing up to poke us in the stomach, followed by her jetting down the hallway to jump on our bed so hard the mattress and bedding slid two feet. She'd proceed to gallop back to the living room until her body hit the couch hard enough for it to slam into the windowsill.

She did this particular greeting for about three years, long enough that we were shocked when she ever so quietly took a piece of cheese off a plate. In front of us.

Until that moment I didn't think our dog knew the word subtle.

Our 85 lb. Shepherd Husky pawed, poked, bumped and jumped her way through the day. That afternoon when she flowed smoothly by the coffee table with the cheese and crackers on it, nipped the cheddar slice, and tiptoed her way into another room like a jewel thief, I was shocked!

I also couldn't stop laughing, at myself. Boy, did she just show me what it means to "assume" wrongly about a dog. Later that night, we added another nickname for her, kitten feet.

~ Sharon Castellanos

Is your dog a cat burglar or a stomp the yard type?

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This is the sweetest (and funniest) dog meme this week!

 

shiba or marshmallow ?

A photo posted by Karen Zack (@karenzack) on Mar 11, 2016 at 4:59pm PST

A dog in a top hat can only want one thing, to go out!! This is one of my favorite cartoons in The New Yorker's Big Book of Dogs.

Every teenager and every dog lover will recognize these silly and oh so handsome images!

Poor Linden, his dog logic makes perfect sense to us, but clearly his papa needs a more persuasive argument if he's going to share his sandwich.

Dogs are charming creatures, and I have a feeling this dog has used his charms in the past, don't you? 

Does your dog argue with you? Are they vocal Like Linden? Maybe they just throw you some stink eye, or offer up a loud sigh?

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Despite the photographic evidence of dogs sitting around a card table, they cannot play poker. Have you known a dog who can bluff without her tail giving her away? 

My dog tried looking away to hide her real feelings, but that tail thumping, even slight, was a huge tell. You knew she was excited about it being dinner hour.

Tell me you're not the only one not surprised this joke involves a cat?

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