I am all for supporting companies that support pet causes. Last week I wrote about Toyota’s 100 cars in a 100 days giveaway to deserving organizations. Good News. Motley Zoo Rescue got the most votes on their designated day and shortly will be the proud owners of a vehicle to help them with the wonderful volunteer and rescue work they do in the Seattle area. So to all those Modern Magazine readers who voted, a very big thank you!!!

Another company who is very invested in pet causes is Bissell Homecare Inc. For starters, the animals featured on their packaging are people’s pets, which I think is such a fun way to involve pet owners and their pets into models! Apart from this they are very invested in pet adoption and ardent supporters of Petfinder.com.

Recently the company sent me the ProHeat 2X® Pet steam-cleaning machine to test.

I get to test a lot of products and very often you have to wait for the right moment to really get to see the technology at work. This is particularly true of vacuum cleaners and stain removal products – you have to literally wait for your pooch to vomit and run through your house with really muddy feet to really go into test mode!

Recently I had friends over, who will remain nameless (you probably know who you are) because their beloved pooch performed on my carpets on both counts – a vomit and a muddy paw escapade… I was more aggrieved because the pooch didn’t get an official invitation… Anyway, I couldn't wait for them to leave to haul out the steam-cleaning machine and get to work.

It was late and honestly not really the time to start reading instruction manuals. But it turned out to be really simple. Add fluid to the canister, add water, switch on and go!

Not only did the yucky mark on the carpets along with the paw prints disappear, but the machine also lifted a lot of hair from the carpets which the pooch must have shed a long the way.

I am not planning on having the pooch visit again any time soon. But at least if he does show up again, I am armed and ready. The machine really did perform.

One of the biggest reasons some people say they don't want pets is because they don't want to clean up after them and that’s why kudos to companies who are attacking and solving this issue.

Here’s more good news.  Earlier this year the company founded the Bissell Pet Foundation with the goal of assisting welfare groups and all pet adoption causes.   This month the company has pledged to double the donations they give to the foundation. Anyone who purchases a Bissell pet product on Bissell.com will automatically be giving a donation to the foundation as this donation is automatically activated at the checkout.

June is adopt a cat month and to celebrate the company doubling the donations and will be donating $20 for every pet product bought that costs $100 or more and a $10 donation for any product in the $40 - $ 99 range.

So if you have been thinking about getting a new steam cleaner or a steam mop or any other product to clean up after your pets, take advantage of this charitable generosity. It's a win-win situation.

So if you ahve to clean up in the middle of the night. It's really not that bad when you've got good help.