We love it when readers come together to give us a great suggestion.

On our Facebook Page, we were discussing Typhoon’s penchant for acquiring envelopes from the hu-dad’s office.  Someone suggested that it was because he didn’t get mail of his own; therefore, we needed to open a PO Box so they could send Typhoon a valentine’s card.  If we did that, which dog would receive the most Valentines?  What a fun contest to have!

Typhoon loves racing – wonder if he can collect the most Valentines!

But wait, another reader suggested, what if you opened that PO Box for Valentines and also asked reader’s to donate to help homeless dogs at the same time?  The last time we did something like this for Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation, the readers raised $1,110! And what a great organization that adopted 775 animals (309 cats, 465 dogs, yes, and 1 pig) into new homes in 2013 and transported another 329 animals to other organizations that could adopt them out.

And so, we present the Valentines Hearts for The Herd Contest!

The rules are very simple.  Pick your favorite member of The Herd and mail them a Valentine’s Day card.  The address is:

Dog’s Name
c/o The Thundering Herd
PO Box 1835
Maggie Valley, NC  28751-1835

We will count the number of cards received and announce the winner on February 14.

Queen Natasha says she wins every race, even if it is a race for most Valentines.

But wait!  There’s more!  We will also see which dog can raise the most money to help homeless dogs and cats (Yes, yes, yes – and cats).  You are welcome to just mail a Valentine, but you may also enclose a check or money order in your Valentine made payable to Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation.   Your donation can be of any size.  We will make sure that Sarge’s receives all of your checks and we will add up to see which member of The Herd raises the most money!  (Sarge’s is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, so your donation is tax deductible!).

And the race is on!

And now for the real cool part – everyone who mails a Valentine to us will have their name entered into a drawing.  One name will be drawn and the winner will receive . . . a really great prize which we can’t announce yet because we are hammering out the details. Bummer, we know, but we will let you know as soon as we have the deal done.

And fellow Bloggers and Facebookers and Tweeters – Please share this post or link to it. A fun contest and homeless animals will be helped!