The Pet Community Steps Up for Lucky Dog Rescue

I'm happy to report that everyone who shared Lucky Dog Rescue's story helped get the charity the prize they deserved and then some. Even though 1800Flowers spent Sunday deleting all the comments being posted to their Facebook page, there was no way for them to hold their stance under the pressure of thousands from the pet community. Today they announced that they would honor the prize and up it from 1 year of dog food to 2 years. They sent emails to those who emailed them on Sunday questioning their behavior that basically mimicked their Facebook statement posted this morning:

"At 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, we pride ourselves on offering creative and engaging contests for our customers. We apologize that there has been a misunderstanding about the prize fulfillment regarding our recent There's a New Bunny In Town. We are looking into the matter immediately and we promise to follow up with the winner to ensure the prize is fulfilled appropriately."

I believe they have learned who we are.

Wag.com stepped up after being made aware of what was going on and agreed to honor the prize. It's unclear if they planned to honor it regardless of what stance 1800Flowers.com took because they wouldn't officially confirm anything until after contacting 1800Flowers.com, but they definitely handled the situation much better than 1800Flowers did. Ashley, Founder of Lucky Dog Rescue, even commented on her page that wag.com was "amazingly helpful" to her. Wag.com has confirmed this on their Facebook page, "Wag your tail—food is on its way to the Lucky Dog Rescue Blog! Wag.com has contacted Ashley and we have added credits for food to Lucky Dog’s Wag.com account. Thank you for your support—your passion inspires us." 

While the "communication" about the contest was happening a few other people and companies stepped up to make good on Lucky Dog Rescue's prize winnings. Mr. Chewy posted this on Lucky Dog's Facebook page before any confirmation from 1800 or Wag was officially announced: 

Dear Ashely & Lucky Dog,

Just to show that not all e-commerce companies are driven by brain dead corporate clowns, MrChewy.com would love the honor of donating a year's worth of pet food to your charity just because we think what you're doing is awesome. Please call us at 1-800-MR-CHEWY and ask for Kelli Durkin or email us at service@mrchewy.com.

Lots of Pet Love and Happiness,

Mr. Chewy

And, Pets Adviser is personally delivering some food and goodies to the rescue tomorrow. Other people offered their support and mentioned sending donations. It was a wonderful outcry from the community. A community I'm proud to be a part of.

I would like to say that I do not beleive 1800Flowers had any other choice than to retract their initial stance and make good on the prize. They had many chances to fix this before it got as far as it did and they decided to stick their head in the sand until they were buried so deep there was no choice but to make good on it. From what Ashley has posted they never became a pleasant company to deal with, which makes me believe they still don't really see the error of their ways. Instead, they are just doing damage control now.

As for Lucky Dog Rescue, they are still a rescue in need. Even with the show of support and the food they will now receive, there are more mouths to feed than the food that was won. There is a much larger job to be done. Please don't feel like this means the rescue has been saved and is no longer in need. EVERY rescue is in need. One of my favorite quotes, and I'm not sure where it came from to offer credit, but it always sticks with me:

I know I will continue to support Lucky Dog Rescue and my local rescues. I'll share their photos, give what I can, inform anyone who is thinking about getting a pet to seek a rescue. Whatever it is that I can do, I will do. Forever.