By Ginger Geoffery
Story Published: May 6, 2009 at 7:11 PM EDT
Story Updated: May 6, 2009 at 7:11 PM EDT
In seven years he's gone from unwanted border collie to star of his own line of products.
"A vet came in and told me about the Pet Emergency Fund and I thought 'we can help you out with that maybe'," says Blou's owner Jay Monti. Monti is a photographer and he thought putting Blou's picture on note cards might raise a few bucks for the Pet Emergency Fund and much to his surprise before he knew it Blou's cards had raised thousands of dollars. So, the line of products grew and so did the charitable giving.
"Hurricane Katrina, he sent $3,000 to them," says Monti, "And one fall when they were having the wildfires in California we sent a check to buy masks for the horses to protect their eyes."
A television producer in New York City saw Blou's picture on his website and thought Blou was the best-looking border collie he's ever seen and got permission to animate the dog for the part of the sheepdog in the Nickelodeon television series "Wonderpets". The local newspapers did stories on Blou and that led to his involvement with the Letters From Home organization. Blou now has penpals in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Then, just recently someone anonymously nominated Blou for an unsung hero in the national show dog magazine "Front and Finish", and he not only was featured as an unsung hero, he also ended up on the cover. It's quite a feat for a non-show dog. "I thought he might be a thumbnail on the front saying there's a story inside but when the magazine came and he had the whole cover, I was surprised," says Monti.
Blou and Monti are hoping the national exposure will help them get a book published and they'll donate the proceeds from that to charity too.
Blou has a couple of websites where you can learn more about him and his causes:
www.bloudog.com and
www.lettersfromhome.org.
http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/44496942.html
Local Dog Raises Thousands for Charity
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