Feeding Homeless Pets One Postcard At A Time!

In this busy & expensive world we all live in, fewer of us are finding the time & money to help animals in need.  It's sad, but all too true.  However, Nikki Moustaki, creater of The Pet Postcard Project, has found a creative way to feed & help homeless pets.  It takes no more than a picture of your favorite pet, some creative thinking, 44 cents, and a trip to your mailbox!

I was lucky enough to have the exclusive opportunity to interview Nikki.  Here's what she has to say about the project!

1. What is Pet Postcard Project?

The Pet Postcard Project (http://www.petpostcardproject.com/) is a creative way to raise food and funds for shelter animals. People create hand-made postcards featuring their pets’ photos, along with captions, and snail-mail them into the address on the site. Each card received earns one pound of food for shelter animals from a pet food sponsor. Companies that don’t make pet food can also sponsor cards by offering a monetary amount per card, usually a dollar or two. As of 2010, The Pet Postcard Project has raised over 26,000 lbs. of food and $18,000 for shelter animals – and counting! There are also really great monthly prizes on the site for people who send in the cards, including a Bolt toy and a Scoop Free Litter Box!

The postcards are easy to make. Of course, people who love to scrapbook make elaborate cards with ribbons, stickers, and embellishments, but making a postcard is as easy as printing out a photo, cutting it to postcard size, and writing a caption on it. Hundreds of postcards from kids have come in – full of glitter and amazing drawings! There’s no right or wrong way to create a postcard for the project. They do come in five categories, however: Dogvice and Catvice (advice FROM dogs or cats), True Dog Confessions and True Cat Confessions; Dog Wishes and Cat Wishes; Dog Excuses and Cat Excuses, and "You know you love your dog/cat when . . ." Ninety-nine percent of the cards that come in are posted on the site.

2. Where did you get the idea for Pet Postcard Project? How did you start it?

I got the idea for the Pet Postcard Project when a local shelter in my hometown, Miami, Florida, needed some money (as shelters always do). Fundraising is very difficult, and I don’t have a background in it, so asking people for money is awkward. What I thought was this: What if I create something where people can help shelter animals without putting their hands into their wallets, while at the same time helping companies to get some exposure for giving to a good cause? Hence, The Pet Postcard Project was born. I don’t make any money from the site – it’s all for the shelter animals.

I launched the project with a website and 10,000 postcards scattered all over Madison Square Garden at the 2007 Westminster Kennel Club show. I didn’t know what would happen, but it worked! The postcards came trickling in, then pouring in, and now the site has a regular “fan base” and is still gaining momentum. I even have volunteers!

3. Tell us a little bit about yourself. What else are you involved in and where were you before Pet Postcard Project?

I am a dog trainer and pet expert. I have been writing for pet magazines for more than ten years, including Dog Fancy, Cat Fancy, and Pet Product News. I have more than forty books published, most of them on the care and training of pets, and I have a children’s book forthcoming about a naughty puppy. Needless to say, my life is all about animals! I currently have three shelter dogs and three parrots. I have webisodes on MSN called The Celebrity Pet Dish, and I currently have a TV show running on The Beach Channel, which is a local cable channel in Miami Beach – those shows can be found online too.

My pet “expertise” comes from having worked in pet stores from the time I was a teenager, and being involved in bird breeding and servicing fish tanks. I have had just about every kind of pet there is to have! I tend to want to know everything about the subjects that interest me, so I make it my business to read, ask questions, find mentors, attend club meetings, and carefully observe the animals in my care. No stone goes unturned! All of that has led me to where I am today, surrounded by the most wonderful people in the world – those who love animals.

4. Have you found any other websites or projects that work towards helping pets that you’d like to share with us?

I think that Operation Blankets of Love is really great! (http://www.operationblanketsoflove.com/)


***On behalf of Brilliant Pet, I'd like to thank Nikki for this wonderful interview!  Visit The Pet Postcard Project and help an animal in need!  We did!  Check out our postcards below.***