My Angel... a request to vote for her in a charity photo contest

I hope this is ok to post...

Many of you know that I love Bengal cats... and for those that didn't know, I guess you will now...
There are so many Bengal cats out there that are in need of rescuing, fostering and needing forever homes so I have entered my Angel in a Bissell Photo Contest. The winner of the 12 weeks of finalist will win $10,000 for the charity of their choice and be photographed as part of the advertising for Bissell. The grand prize to the winner is minimal of a $500 "Perfect for you and your pet" shopping spree... my main concern is winning the donation to the Bengal Rescue Network.

I really want Angel to win, so please, I am asking everyone I know to register and vote for her. I am trying to get the most votes ever for my little Angel and I am hoping everyone here will not only vote for her, but will ask all your friends and family to do the same... and they, in turn, will pass this info on to other also. An fyi... you will not be spammed after you register and vote! And, you can only vote one vote (per email address... hint hint).

I am hoping for a minimum of 2000 votes but my real goal is 3000 votes for Angel! So far she has 61 votes, a ways to go, but, she is in 9th place! The contest ends next Thursday so please, help Angel win this for the Bengal Rescue Network so they can continue to help the ever mounting Bengal cats in need!

Please pass this information and link around to everyone! A big thanks!
http://mvp.bissell.com/mvp_PetDetail.aspx?id=8590117589


Here is how Angel entered my life...
A few months ago, in December, I got a call that there was another Bengal cat in our local kill shelter. I was told she was abandoned by her owner in an area I know to be a rather wild territory (with bobcats, coyotes, etc). A neighbor ended up turning her in, paying the $10 to do so, the original owner didn't even want to spend the money. *sigh*

I went to see her a few days later. This poor little girl had ear-mites, a scar on her eye and a torn ear. On top of all that, she is very cross-eyed. I could tell she was real scared by her wide eyes and the way she was cowering in the corner of her cage... I just couldn't allow her to stay there another day, much less over a weekend. The place was loud with dogs barking constantly in the next room and all the cages around her was full of cats.

Before I went to see her, I tried to get a rescue group to help me out so I could foster her but my request was either ignored or I was told she was not in there long enough and other cats had priority. So I bailed her out of there myself. I took her to a local vet the next day and found out she also had a grade 1 heart murmur. She was definitely not a good candidate for someone to want to take home.

I was hoping I could work with her to socialize her and then find her a forever home. Meanwhile, I fell in love with her myself and she now has her forever home. She is the sweetest Bengal kitty and a joy to have around. I am still working with her socialization and introductions to the rest of the kitties... she looked and acted like she had been thru some really hard times so it is slow going but she has made great progress considering.

Angel sleeps with me every night, is now is great friends with Buddy, another recent rescue... but it is going to take longer, however, with the other two kitties that have lived with me 8 to 10 years. She now loves to explore and had finally learned to play with some of the toys... her favorite is a sparkly wand toy. She has become a very special kitty!

So again... please pass this information and the link around to everyone! Another big thanks!

Well, she now has 75 votes!

Oh cool!

Only 2925 more to go!!

she is a pretty kitty. lol. i hope ya win!

edie... I am bound and determined!

She actually is a beautiful cat if you look at her from her side.... but wanted to post the best of the worst photo of her to get the sympathy. lol Hope it works! Unfortunately tho, cats like her, with the problems and scars she has, do not easily find their forever homes. And that is why I am doing this... to help other Bengal cats, like her, that are in need of rescuing, fostering and forever homes. And, Bengals in need is becoming an ever increasing number due to the economy and people loosing their income and homes.

I will try to post more photos of Angel later... right now I am trying to find people that twitter to help in her cause. Anyone out there? Please, twitter away!

btw edie... I hope you voted! She now has 85 votes but has slipped from 9th to 10th place... even so, I am going to continue trying to find people who will take a minute and vote for her!

A thank you to everyone who votes and spreads the word!
Hugs!

I was number 144...

Angel looks hilarious too!

Grasshopper wrote:I was number 144...

Angel looks hilarious too!

Thanks Grasshopper!
After seeing all those beautiful graceful Bengal posted by breeders.... I figured this photo of Angel would catch everyone's eye!

i did vote and plus.......... sent out an email of your kitty and breff paragraph for your cause of the charity. maybe youll get a few more votes. hehe. good luck!!!!

I voted for adorable Angel.
I will send the link to other animal lovers. (I know a few, lol )

Thanks edie and BlueTopaz!
Every vote is one more towards Angel's goal!

btw... You are all also welcome to vote for all of these other Bengals... actually one is a Siamese... but they are all trying to win the Bissell charity prize for the Bengal Rescue Network (BRN) too. If Angel can't quite get all the needed votes... maybe these cats will. There are six other cats beside Angel trying to help the same cause and all but one are ahead of Angel in votes right now. If you set it up to view "Most Votes" in the little pulled down menu, you will see all seven cats in the top 11 places.

Otherwise, here are the links of all seven cats (Angel included):
Zoe (Siamese), Tachee, Bela, Nisha, Kimbo, Laci and my Angel:
http://mvp.bissell.com/mvp_PetDetail.aspx?id=8590117589
http://mvp.bissell.com/mvp_PetDetail.aspx?id=8590117430
http://mvp.bissell.com/mvp_PetDetail.aspx?id=8590117434
http://mvp.bissell.com/mvp_PetDetail.aspx?id=8590117442
http://mvp.bissell.com/mvp_PetDetail.aspx?id=8590117519
http://mvp.bissell.com/mvp_PetDetail.aspx?id=8590118279
http://mvp.bissell.com/mvp_PetDetail.aspx?id=8590118091

One way or another, Angel and the other cats will hopefully win this for BRN! There are only two dogs in the way of our cats for BRN taking 1st thru 5th place in this round! (sorry dogs) Angel is still in 8th place with 164 votes so far.

Thanks everyone!

Hi Everyone...
We need your help one more time!

My Angel did really well in Week 11 of the Bissell Photo Contest, 573 votes! However, it was not enough to place her in the top 5 to be one of the finalists. There is one more week to this contest so I have entered Angel again in this final week. This is her last chance and I am so hoping that you can help us place her in the top 5 of Week 12 this time.

Voting Angel and her friends into the top 5 will give us a better chance of one of them winning the $10,000 for the Bengal Rescue Network. After Week 12, Bissell will then pick the winner out of 60 finalist so we are trying to get as many cats supporting Bengal Rescue in amongst the 60 finalist as we can.

So please... (again, or for the first time) vote for Angel and her friends!
http://www.bissell.com/mvp_PetDetail.aspx?id=8590149021

Angel is also supporting Kimba, Lewis, Zilla, Lilly and Chester, so please vote for them too. They are all supporting the Bengal Rescue! Here are their links:
http://www.bissell.com/mvp_PetDetail.aspx?id=8590138912
http://www.bissell.com/mvp_PetDetail.aspx?id=8590141192
http://www.bissell.com/mvp_PetDetail.aspx?id=8590138882
http://www.bissell.com/mvp_PetDetail.aspx?id=8590138279
http://www.bissell.com/mvp_PetDetail.aspx?id=8590140025

If you haven't registered yet please do so and vote so Angel can be amongst the top finalist to win this for the Bengal Rescue! Again, Angel needs to be in the top 5 to do so. Week 12 has started and will end, Thursday, April 1st at 9PM PST! 6 days to spread the word!

Again... you will not be spammed after you register to vote. You do have to take a couple minutes to sign up with a password, when you do that, you can click on the button that says you do not want emails from Bissell. Not much to ask for a very good cause!

Please help me spread the word by twittering, talking to, emailing, posting to everyone you know! And please, feel free to forward or repost this information! We so appreciate you helping Angel, and her friends, help the Bengal Rescue by voting for them!

Hugs to you all and thank you sooo much again!
Angel's Mom =^..^=

If you are curious, here are those links showing a lot Bengals in need of forever homes, the Bengal Rescue Network website, the Bissell contest details and information about Bengals:

California & Mid-Pacific Bengal Cat Rescue (the links just show the California and Oregon Bengal rescues, there are so many more Bengals in need all over the US and Canada... and internationally)
http://home.pacifier.com/~ltdltd/CAavailcats.html
http://home.pacifier.com/~ltdltd/CALancaster.html
http://home.pacifier.com/~ltdltd/oregonrescue.html
Bengal Rescue Network "The Bengal Rescue Network is a national organization of volunteers. All of its members are active Bengal cat enthusiasts who truly care about these cats' health, welfare and happiness."
http://bengalrescuenetwork.org/
Bissell Contest details
http://mvp.bissell.com/mvp_detail.aspx?id=7472
History of the Bengal cat:
http://www.hdw-inc.com/ourcats.htm
International Bengal Cat Society
The Bengal Cat: http://www.bengalcat.com/whatis.php
Bengal cats - photos and articles:
http://www.hdw-inc.com/bengalhome5.htm

Well, you have my vote a 2nd time.

Cool!! Thanks MC!!

Angel's votes are off to a really slow start this time (21 so far)! It's her last chance to get into the top 5! She would really appreciate all the votes she can get!

(hint hint) I hope to hear from everyone else that you voted? And, that you sent it around to all your other animal loving friends too?

Thanks and hugs from Angel and me!

Please...
This is my Angel's last chance to place in the Bissell contest... This is week 12, the last leg of the contest. If she doesn't place in the top 5 this time, she won't go to the Finals. I really want her to help win this for the Bengal Rescue. I have never been involved in trying to win anything like this before... this is for an excellent charity and it is really important to me.

Angel is starting to slip behind now, so would you please help me spread the word about her and her crusade? It does not matter where you live, anyone can vote for her. All you have to have is an email address. It's one vote per email address, you have to register for each email tho.

Again... you will not be spammed after you register to vote. You do have to take a couple minutes to sign up with a password, when you do that, you can click on the button that says you do not want emails from Bissell. Not much to ask for a very good cause!

You can read about the contest on my FB photo gallery page. Click on the first photo and you can also read about how Angel came into my life. https://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050586&id=1077996618
All of this should be open to anyone to read so you can forward it or repost it anywhere.

I need some cheering on or some good news right now, so I would really love to hear if any of you voted in this last round and if you spread the word to others. Thanks

I voted again, BE.

Thanks Safari

My apologies, BE - tried to vote for Angel, but have
not been able to do so - only have access to 'Net via
an iPod Touch at the moment. Bissell site says it finds
my email, but it isn't approved yet, even though I've
sent the acceptance link three different times now!
Grrrrrrrr! Don't know if it's an issue with the iPod or
not - will still be a couple days, if not longer, until having
access to my computer again.

Contest ends Thursday, April 1st at 9pm PST... you have a little time. Thank you for your effort if you can't do it... maybe you know others that you can contact and will vote? That would help too! Thanks! Hugs!

I voted!

BlueEyes wrote:Contest ends Thursday, April 1st at 9pm PST... you have a little time. Thank you for your effort if you can't do it... maybe you know others that you can contact and will vote? That would help too! Thanks! Hugs!

Home again, and site stated my vote for Angel had been added. Tried to leave a brief comment on the site, though, and it did not work. Once again, not sure why. Will pass your link along to a former supervisor of mine when I worked elsewhere about six years ago - he had three cats when he was still single. Now he has a wife and teenage daughter instead.

Thanks BlueTopaz! Angel appreciate the vote!
You too, Waterdragon7... and I really appreciate your efforts.

The Bissell contest site is having problem, I don't think they were prepared for it to have as much traffic as it is having, so it is not handling it all very well. Last week's round, the count froze for a couple days... was not good. Couldn't tell how many votes the entrants had.

Angel is still 8th place and the votes are coming in veeerrry slowly. There is only two more days (Thursday @9pm PST) and I am still hoping (but not holding my breath) that she will make the top 5. The 1st place dog very obviously cheated (around 300 votes all at the same time) so that may bump us all up a place.... but we will see what happens in the end. We still don't know who is the 1st thru 5th place winner from week 11... they are /till checking all first 5 placed animals to see if any of them cheated.

Anyway, thanks again to everyone that voted for my Angel. And if you haven't voted, there is still time.

Angel's got my vote . . . again.

another one from me for your precious angel...

Oh cool! Thanks Nucky, Alethia! We really appreciate it!

I just got home from my caregiving shift and was pleased to see that Angel is now in 6th place out of 1,831 pets! Wow! 60 votes while I was gone this morning! Yes! It actually looks like she may have a chance to place in the top 5... time will tell tho. If the dog that obviously cheated is disqualified or has those votes taken away, Angel will make it... as long as she stays where she is or moves up.

I know a lot of you are on multiple forums so would you please spread the word with posts... and also twitter, email, etc!?! Sure would help a lot! Thanks!

Thanks to everyone that voted for my Angel. And again, if you haven't voted, there is still time.

Thanks Reamsie!

There is less than an hour left to the contest... it is really tight. 3rd thru 6th are so close that anyone one of them could make a dash and pass up Angel. I find myself holding my breath when I refresh the voting page. Angel has been going back and forth between 5th, 4th and 3rd all night. She is currently in 3rd place with 664 votes! If anyone has not voted, please, now is the time to do it. Every votes literally counts!

It will be all over soon! I just hope Angel makes it!
Thanks to everyone that voted for my Angel.

Hi Everyone....

Angel placed 3rd in the Week 12 Bissell contest!! Yeah! With 691 votes! It was real close tho!

This was the last week of the contest. Now we have to wait for Bissell to make sure none of the top 5 cheated... this may take up to five days. After that they will post the official top 5 winners of Week 12. Then, the top five of each of the 12 weekly winners will go to the semi-finals... a total of 60 pets. The Bissell judges will pick the Grand Prize winner and 2nd thru 5th finalists from them.

Preliminary top 5 winners of Week 12 can be seen here.
http://www.bissell.com/mvp_PetIndex.aspx?id=7477&period=12&sort=Votes

There is still a chance that Angel could move up to second place! How cool is that! Third is really great too tho! I am so jazzed! Anything could still happen tho!

We now have a 13% chance that one of our cats will win the Grand Prize for the Bengal Rescue!! Thanks everyone for voting for Angel and her friends and helping them help the Bengal Rescue!!

Congrats, BE!

That's great! I'm happy your efforts are paying off for you.