On 11 March 2011 we anipals, along wiff our humans, watched in horror as an earthquake and tsunami struck our comrades in Japan. First we cried. Next we accounted for all our furry friends who live ‘der. Then, six days later, we kicked into fundraising mode.

Setting aside our green bacon beers, we [da online anipal community] took time out from celebrating St. Paws Day to pawticipate in a speshal blog hop. Dis blog hop, called Paws for Japan, supported WorldVets – an American organizashun currently mobilized in Japan.

WorldVets is treating and caring for injured anipals as well as delivering supplies. At da time of da disaster ‘dey had plenty of volunteers but needed various supplies and a lotta medicine. We anipals heard da calling and declared dat we were up fur da challenge!

At press time *paws for effect* $41,638.97 had been raised for WorldVets thanks to awareness da Paws for Japan blog hop brought to da organizashun. Dr. V of Pawcurious, one of da organizers of the hop, had ‘dis to say:

“As soon as the images started pouring in from Japan, I knew there would be a tremendous need for the animals. I knew Cathy King of WorldVets from BlogPaws, and I was so happy to see that she had an immediate plan to help the people and animals of Japan. I also knew that there are often many scams after these sort of things and wanted to help people find a reputable place to donate. That Sunday, the BlogPaws Be the Change team members got together and came up with a plan to help people learn about the WorldVets Japan relief efforts. We knew we had to act quickly, so we planned a blog hop for that Thursday and called it “Paws for Japan”. Over 150 people got together and blogged to get the word out. That day, WorldVet’s Japan relief Chip In fund got nearly $30,000 in contributions, and I don’t even know how much they got through their main donation site.

I was so happy to see people’s willingness to help on such short notice and the very positive response we all received. I am honored and humbled to be a part of such a great community.”

Dr. V, I fink I speak on behalf of all us anipals when I say we are honored to haff ewe be a part of dis community aswell. Thank dog fur people like ewe who are able jump into actshun so quickly when ‘dey see da need arise.

Many anipals are also helping out in other ways. Cheshire Kitten (@CheshireK), dat crafty kitteh, is having his furry own art auction wiff all proceeds benefitting Japan. His momma is furry artistic, and so are many others in our online anipal community.

Cheshire is posting one piece of artwurk per day on his bloggy [along wiff info on the art and artist] for auction. So far, da auction has lasted seven days and has raised *drum roll pawplease* $323 for WorldVets wiff another round of auctions scheduled to begin next week.

When I interviewed Cheshire about his pawsome fundraising auctions, he was so modest I cud barely get him to talk about it. After a few niptinis he began to open up a little bit, and here is what he had to say:

“We started the first auction to help the SPCA in New Zealand raise money to help displaced pets after the earthquake in February. Mai human asked me to help her raise even more money to help the animals in Japan, so I invited a few other pals to join us.

We started on March 17^th with the Paws for Japan effort and the response was great. Anipals are really generous, and they love art. It’s great to be able to help vets and relief workers carry out their important work while supporting anipal artists at the same time.

My human and I want to build up a fund to have on hand for contributions to animal relieve in natural disasters, so we won’t be so overwhelmed when the next one happens. That’s why we started the store. I love art and assess every work that goes up for auction or in the store.

In the auctions 100% of the bid goes to the organizations providing relief. In the store, some portion of a price may go to expenses or to the artist, and we always tell the buyer if that’s the case.

We want to be able to keep raising disaster relief money as disasters happen [probably a lifetime commitment]. We also want to help artists, which sometimes means helping them give more to relief, but it can also mean helping them earn some money to keep pursuing their art.

And, I did promise my human to help feed our cat family.”

Let’s all raise our niptinis for a toast to Cheshire Kitten and his human. Ameowzing work, guys! I know we hope there are no more natural disasters, but it’s nice to know that some are preparing for the next one, just in case.

In times of crises, staying informed is also very impawportant. Two Little Cavaliers has been vigilant about posting new info as it comes in – da good, da bad and da ugly. She is still updating is often with news, videos, picshures, general info and personal stories.

These are just a few examples of anipals are working to help raise money fur Japan. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of other examples. I am all warm and fuzzy inside from pride in being a part of a community dat takes the phrase “Be the Change” to heart!

If YOU want to get involved, there is no shortage of ways. Ewe can donate money, ewe can donate guds or ewe can donate your time by helping spread da word on your Twitter, Facebook or blog.

Tagged as: artists, fundraising, japan earthquake, New Zealand earthquake, tsunami