Worry Less About Pet Messes. Enjoy More. #ShedHappens

This post is sponsored by Swiffer® and the BlogPaws Professional Pet Blogger Network. I am helping spread the word about Swiffer but My Brown Newfies only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Swiffer is not responsible for the content of this article.

The day that we brought Sherman home to our family was one of the happiest, stressful, scariest and rewarding days of my adult life.

It was the first time my husband and I would spend the night away from our children. The drive was filled with darkness, sleet, snow and speedy Michigan drivers. The conditions that night were so bad that we considered turning around but we couldn’t because this was going to be our children’s first puppy.

Besides my life flashing before my eyes on more than one occasion, my mind was filled with questions. Was the house safe for a new puppy? Would the puppy like the kids? Would the kids like the puppy? How am I going to handle a puppy and two small children? What if the kids are allergic? What if the puppy hates us? What if he gets sick? Do we have everything we need?

I had all the emotions of a new puppy owner but the one thing that never worried me was the mess that a puppy could bring to an already bustling household. Sure I knew potty training was going to be involved and we were going to get  little accidents all over the house for an undetermined amount of time but I never, ever worried about that or all the stray pet hairs and slobber that were in our future.

Sherman was going to be my children’s childhood pet and my dream dog, nothing was going to deter that, not treacherous driving conditions or the mess that comes with having a Newfoundland.

The mess that a new puppy could bring to our home was never a deal breaker for me but it is for some people and that is understandable.

Did you know that, according to the second annual Swiffer® Cleaning Index, while 93% of American parents feel that having a pet is one of the most rewarding experiences a child can have, 75% of those that do not already have a pet agree that concerns over pet-related messes could prevent them from getting one.

This holiday season, Swiffer and Bark & Co. want to help more families and pets experience the love through pet adoption – and have more time for play and less time for clean-up. Swiffer and Bark & Co. are providing 10,000 Welcome Home Kits to participating shelters across the country and Swiffer is making a $50,000 total donation to select shelters to support their needs this holiday season.

The Welcome Home Kit includes the following trademark BarkBox goodies and Swiffer products: Coupon for a free Swiffer Sweeper Starter Kit, Swiffer Sweeper Dry Refill Kit, Swiffer Duster, coupon for a free Febreze product, Bark Toy, Bark Treat, Fresh Chicken Recipe Food Sample and Food Coupon, and a Welcome Home Guide featuring information from child development expert, Dr. Aubrey Fine, on the benefits of a pet for children and info from the Bark folks to make the adoption transition easier for pets.

We were lucky enough this holiday season to spread some Swiffer holiday cheer with a Swifer Barkbox and donate it to a local shelter.

I chose to go to our favorite pet store that has a Giving Tree every year for a local shelter. This year it was Berea Animal Rescue (ARF). The tree has ornaments of some of the pets that are currently in that shelter awaiting forever homes. On the back of each ornament is a wishlist with 4 items that the pet is wishing for Christmas. It’s such an adorable idea and we donate each year to one of the pets.

Here’s a little peak at what the giving tree is all about.

I didn’t designate which pet this would go to, I’ll leave that up to the shelter, but I think Louie’s future forever home might get some use out of the Swiffer BarkBox! They can spend more time with him and worry less about any messes that might come with him. 🙂