Children's Book Author Dayna Hilton

Fire Safety Dog Survey

2011-11-28T15:47:00.000-06:00

The fire safety dogs would like to invite their friends and fans Please take the survey titled "Fire Safety Dogs". Your feedback is important and will help us with our fire safety programming!

When you enter and fill out the survey in its entirety by December 2, 2011, your name will go into a drawing to win some prizes from our friends at First Alert and the Fire Safety Dogs. The drawing will be held by random.org on December 3rd.

Grand prize winner will receive these First Alert products: A two-story escape ladder, Onelink Wireless Talking Battery Operated Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Alarm and Tundra Fire Extinguishing Spray and from the fire safety dogs, the first edition of the award winning book, "Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog" and a "Pawtographed" picture from Tango the Fire Safety Dog and Siren the Fire Safety Dog.

Four runner-up winners will receive a First Alert Onelink Wireless Talking Battery Operated Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Alarm, Tundra and a copy of the first edition of "Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog" from the fire safety dogs. We really need your input to help us know if we are making a difference! Thank you!

Please be sure to include your name and email in the survey somewhere to have your name put into the drawing. Click on the button below to begin!

parkles' Safety Spot Streaming Live from National Night Out!

2011-08-02T14:19:00.001-05:00

We have a BIG safety show this evening! We will be streaming LIVE from National Night out in Clarksville. Meet members of the Clarksville Police Department, Clarksville Fire Department, Johnson County Dive Team and many, many more special guests! Sponsored by First Alert and the Keep Kids Fire Safe Foundation.

Firefighter Dayna, Tango and Siren on Fire Engineering Talk Radio August 4th!

2011-07-31T09:14:00.001-05:00

Firefighter Dayna, Tango and Siren on Fire Engineering Talk Radio August 4th!

Join Dayna, Tango and Siren live on Fireengineering.com Radio to learn all the latest about the adventures of the fire safety dogs and about Sparkles' Kids Zone, only on firelife.com! 7:30 ET

New Column on Firelife.com!

2011-07-26T14:12:00.000-05:00

The fire safety dogs have so much fun writing their column, Sparkles' Kids Zone, for Firelife.com! Join the fun and see what the spotted friends have been up to!

Click HERE to join the fun! Until next time, stay safe!

Tango the Fire Safety Dog has a New Facebook Page!

2011-07-18T12:52:00.001-05:00

Tango is excited to announce his very own Facebook page!

Here's the LINK!

Wingo the Therapy Dog Next Guest on "Sparkles' Safety Spot!"

2011-07-02T22:08:00.000-05:00

Our next guest on Sparkles' Safety Spot, will be Wingo the Therapy Dog. Wingo helps the Morgan Nick Foundation and is one amazing dog! Please join us Tuesday, July 5th at 7 P.M. CST.

Sparkles' Safety Spot is brought to you by First Alert and the Keep Kids Fire Safe Foundation.

Floral Design by Mike Koch Completed for Sparkles' Memorial Service

2011-06-24T08:53:00.001-05:00

Mike Koch (from Floral Creations By Mike Koch) just completed the floral arrangement for Sparkles' memorial service. According to Mike, the floral design took 33 hours and 1500 silk rose petals. Mike pulled an all-nighter last night to finish this in time for our trip to Sparkles' memorial service on Wednesday. Thank you Mike, from the bottom of our hearts, for donating your time and talents for Sparkles and her memorial service.

For more information on Sparkles and her memorial service, please visit http://www.sparklesthefiresafetydog.com/sparklesmemorialpathway.html. To watch the live stream of Sparkles' memorial service, visit http://www.sparklesthefiresafetydog.com/sparklesmemorialservice.html.

To learn more about Mike and his work, visit https://www.facebook.com/sirenthefiresafetydog?ref=ts#!/pages/Floral-Creations-By-Mike-Koch/122902027744466

Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog Memorial Service Update

2011-06-22T18:31:00.002-05:00

One week from today, Sparkles' memorial service will be held at the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Walk of Honor at the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The memorial service has taken over 7 months of planning and live streaming will begin at 11:00 A.M. ET June 29th at http://www.sparklesthefiresafetydog.com/sparklesmemorialservice.html

To read about Sparkles' Pathway on the Walk of Honor, visit http://www.sparklesthefiresafetydog.com/sparklesmemorialpathway.html

Firefighter Dayna, Tango and Siren on Fire Engineering Talk Radio June 9th!

2011-06-08T22:51:00.000-05:00

Join Dayna, Tango and Siren live on Fireengineering.com Radio to learn all the latest about the adventures of the fire safety dogs and about Sparkles' Kids Zone, only on firelife.com! 7:45 ET

Next Episode of Sparkles' Safety Spot Streamed Live from the Vigilant Hose Company in Emmitsburg, Maryland!

2011-05-14T23:30:00.002-05:00

The next episode of Sparkles' Safety Spot will be broadcast live on the web from the Vigilant Hose Company in Emmitsburg, Maryland!

Join Host Dayna Hilton as she visits with firefighters from the Vigilant Hose Company. You'll see a real firefighter dress out in their gear, learn fire safety tips on how firefighters are your friends, and even get a tour of the station during Sparkles' Safety Spot!

Thank you to everyone at the Vigilant Hose Company for letting us stream live on Tuesday!

Sponsored by First Alert and the Keep Kids Fire Safe Foundation. 7-7:30 P.M. CST.

New Episode of Sparkles' Safety Spot Tuesday!

2011-04-30T16:42:00.001-05:00

Join Host Dayna Hilton and her fire safety dogs as they share fun and educational ways to stay safe on Sparkles' Safety Spot! During this live stream we will be sharing the importance for children to tell a grown-up of they find matches or lighters. Don’t miss out on free downloadable safety materials after each safety spot. Sponsored by First Alert and the Keep Kids Fire Safe Foundation. 7-7:30 P.M. CST

Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog in upcoming book!

2011-04-28T22:36:00.000-05:00

You can pre-order the book that Sparkles is going to be in on Amazon.com, "Animals and the Kids Who Love Them". Thank you to Allen and Linda Anderson for electing and sharing Sparkles' story!

Sparkles' 'Safety Spot April 19, 2011

2011-04-19T21:11:00.001-05:00

The recording of Sparkles' Safety Spot that was live streamed this evening is now up.

Here's the link: http://www.stickam.com/viewMedia.do?mId=191301574.

Enjoy!

New fire safety video by Siren the Fire Safety Dog

2011-04-07T23:05:00.002-05:00

An inside look at the filming of Sparkles' Safety Spot

2011-04-06T21:08:00.003-05:00

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Thank you to our sponsors, First Alert and the Keep Kids Fire Safe Foundation.

New Video on Sparkles' Memorial Pathway

2011-04-02T15:07:00.004-05:00

#1 Sparkles Drive is Finished!

2011-03-17T20:59:00.012-05:00

After spending nearly 400 hours, #1 Sparkles Drive is now complete, thanks to the wonderful craftmanship of Susan Heikkila of the Ward Fire Department (AR)! #1 Sparkles Drive is a 1/12th scale model of an old fashioned two story firehouse, complete with pole.

According to Susan, this little firehouse is "big on love and craftsmanship." And no wonder! Susan's passion for this project, along with her friend Suzanne Schwabb of Suzanne’s Dollhouses in O’Fallon, MO, was fueled to help Firefighter Dayna and the fire safety dogs and Friends of Sparkles raise funds* for Sparkles’ Pathway, a section of the Walk of Honor® at the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation®.

The walkway will honor Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog and her work with children and fire safety, and will help keep her memory alive in all the hearts that loved and knew her.

This firehouse will be raffled off in July. Stay tuned for upcoming information regarding the raffle.

To learn more about Sparkles’ pathway, visit http://www.sparklesthefiresafetydog.com/sparklesmemorialpathway.html and the National Fallen Firefighter’s Foundation, visit http://www.firehero.org/.

#1 Sparkles Drive Under Construction

Breaking ground #1 Sparkles Drive permit Beautiful furniture by Susan!

The firehouse bay area
Sparkles' Dressing Table

Thank you Susan and Suzanne for this amazing gift!

*Please note that this fundraising effort is not sponsored by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. It is sponsored by the Friends of Sparkles to help support the work of NFFF.

Congratulations, Siren!

2011-03-11T00:34:00.004-06:00

Congratulations to Siren for passing his AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy test!

Siren took several weeks of training at SMART DOGS Dog Training and grew up before my very eyes to become a well mannered dog! Siren loved attending and loved being around the other dogs. He learned many wonderful things from Mary, owner of SMART DOGS Dog Training, as did I. I'm not sure who learned more!

Below is Siren receiving his certificate from Mary:

Way to go, Siren! You're a good boy!

BlogPaws 2011

2011-03-10T23:58:00.001-06:00

Hope to see you there!

Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog's Fire Safety Tips on Sprout's Webpage

2011-03-06T09:39:00.001-06:00

Sparkles' fire safety site on the PBS Kids Sprout webpage. Fun videos, games and activity sheets for the pre-schooler in your life! To go the page, click HERE.

Invitation to Sparkles' Memorial Service

2011-03-04T22:50:00.001-06:00

Our sponsor, First Alert

2011-03-04T16:57:00.001-06:00

It's official!

First Alert has been supporting our fire safety efforts since 2006. We are excited that they are the official sponsor of our program! If you look on Sparkles' blog, you will notice that we now have First Alert's logo on the page! Thank you to First Alert for sponsoring our fire safety efforts and for helping us keep children and their caregivers fire safe.

Sparkles and Sparkles' Pathway in National Fallen Firefighter Foundation's Survivor Newsletter

2011-03-04T12:40:00.005-06:00

The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation publishes a newsletter for survivors of fallen firefighters and others interested in issues that relate to line-of-duty death. The newsletter focuses on survivor issues, benefits, and Foundation programs.

We are very honored that Sparkles and Sparkles' Pathway is featured in their Winter 2011 issue. To view the article, click on the picture below. Sparkles' story is on page 6.

To learn more about Sparkles' Pathway and how you can help support the work of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, click HERE.

Surf Dog Ricochet and Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog Raise over $5,000 for Target's Bunker

2011-02-05T13:04:00.001-06:00

Our latest press release!

SURF DOG RICOCHET & SPARKLES THE FIRE SAFETY DOG RAISE $5074 FOR TARGET THE HERO DOG EUTHANIZED AFTER SAVING LIVES IN AFGHANISTAN

SAN DIEGO, CA, January 31, 2011… More than $5000 has been raised for Target's Bunker in a fundraiser that came out of USA Today's Most Heroic dog of 2010. Surf Dog Ricochet, the SURFice dog, and Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog were among the five nominees, along with Target, the Afghanistan dog who saved many soldiers lives, only to lose hers to an erroneous euthanization. Ricochet & Sparkles turned their votes into voices for Target, and began raising funds and awareness for her.On January 7th, Ricochet and Sparkles asked their supporters to turn their votes into voices during USA Today's Most Heroic Dog of 2010. In addition, they started a fundraiser to help Target's Bunker, an organization founded by Target's family. Donations came in from all over the country. Thanks to their generous donors, $5074 has been raised.

Target saved the lives of many soldiers in Afghanistan when a suicide bomber walked into a Border Patrol compound. Target, along with two other stray dogs, attacked the bomber. Despite the bombing... she survived. SGT Terry Young adopted Target, and brought her back to live with him in Arizona. One Friday afternoon, Target got out of the yard, and ended up in a shelter. Tragically, by Monday morning, she was erroneously euthanized. Target's Bunker has been formed with the hope of keeping another tragedy like Target's from happening ever again.

As this fundraiser comes to a close, a check for $5074 will be presented to SGT Terry Young in the name of Target's Bunker. Since Target's Bunker is in it's infancy stages of development, both Ricochet and Sparkles will continue their support of Target's Bunker through their individual non profit organizations. They encourage you to make tax deductible donations through either of their pages:

Puppy Prodigies/Surf Dog Ricochet, a 501(c)3 non profit organization, "A Tidal Wave for Target's Bunker" Fundraiser

Ricochet and Sparkles believe thousands and thousands of dollars can be raised for hero dog, Target, and ask folks around the world to join their quest by making a donation, and/or help raise awareness by getting the word out about their initiatives... which will ultimately save lives.
For more information, contact Judy Fridono/SurfDog Ricochet at pawinspired@aol.com, 707-228-0679 or Dayna Hilton/Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog at sparkles@sparklesthefiresafetydog.com, 479-979-7328 http://www.sparklesthefiresafetydog.com

Helping out Emma Zen

2011-02-05T12:38:00.001-06:00

Our good friend, Emma Zen is trying to raise money to purchase oxygen masks for fire departments. The dogs and I wanted to help out, so we are sent Emma Zen 5 copies of Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog books and 5 audio books. This book has been credited with helping save the lives of 9 people and we are so happy to help support a good cause!

We help out with many causes, including helping Target's Bunker along with Surf Dog Richochet, the Keep Kids Fire Safe Foundation, and supporting the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.