Pet Blogger Challenge

Edie from Will My Dog Hate me told me about this Pet Blogger Challenge with Amy, so I decided to jump on in. Why not? I have been following various pet bloggers on Twitter who all seem to know one another. And I think since I have been kind of a loner pet blogger, looking from the outside in what the crowd is doing and decided to join in. So these are the questions I am to answer and this is only my third pet blog hop, and don’t have all the techie details down. With code, it either comes out right or it doesn’t. And I don’t know whether it will or not come out right nor how to fix it if it doesn’t.  In other words, either I get a blobby bunch of weird symbols or I get what I am supposed to have on the page. Please bear with me as I learn.

 

1. When did you begin your blog?

In October 2007. My dog Cici was recovering from three surgeries on her leg after being hit by a car. She was required to be confined for several months and I was living in Gardnerville, Nevada, staying home taking care of my dog. People kept telling me, you’re a writer, you should have a blog. I had no idea what a blog was at the time. But I’m adventurous so I jumped right on into the blog pool.

2. What was your original purpose for starting a blog?

it was a lark, did not know what a blog was at the time, people kept telling me to write one, so i did. Was not sure what to write about but since I was taking care of Cici and she was not well I started writing about her. And I also wrote about our previous travels, since I am also a travel writer and co-author of five romantic travel guides. Thought it would be fun to write about traveling when we were confined. Dreaming of greener pastures and beaches.

3. Is your current purpose the same?

No, am not confined any longer, and after starting the blog, we did travel for almost two years.

If not, what’s different?

now I blog for fun. It is a good writing practice to write every day and enjoyable to write about my dog, dog travel and other topics near and dear to my heart. Writers write.

If so, how do you feel you’ve met your goals?

what goals?

4. Do you blog on a schedule or as the spirit moves you?

If the former, how often — and what techniques do you use to stick to it?

i write every day usually except while traveling, sometimes 2-3 times a day depending upon what’s going on. Writers write so I don’t need techniques to stick to it. I am pretty passionate about my dog and constantly find things to talk about. Health, food, travel, as well as controversial issues. Since she is Dalmatian/pit bull mix, that is a whole other arena to express my opinion about and try to raise awareness and educate people about the breed. Before I rescued Cici I knew nothing about pit bulls. I just knew that this sweet, loving dog was in a very bad situation and I had to do something so that she would not get hurt. So I rescued her and all I knew at the time was that she was part Dalmatian. Then people started telling me that she looked like a pit bull. Like everything else in my life, I learned step by step by reading and research including talking to other people.

If the latter, do you worry about… well, whatever you might worry about (e.g. losing traffic, losing momentum)?

No, i consistently from the beginning have obtained an ok amount of traffic over 3 years, usually 200 visitors or more a day. At first, I did some publicity, got published in newspapers and that led to a lot of traffic. One time there was more than 800 in one day. I just go with the flow and don’t worry about traffic. I have tried other people’s ideas and sometimes they work and sometimes not. I know how to promote and obtain publicity and usually am MUCH better doing that for others than I am for myself. You know, doctor heal thyself.

5. Are you generating income from your blog?

Not really. I have to switch over to the other word press to do ads to generate income… maybe, we shall see… don’t like ads cluttering up the place, i do product reviews, closest thing to monetizing and i accept donations for pet food, etc. I am currently talking with someone else about the possibility of a joint venture to generate income. That would be great. I have also considered doing an online magazine. I love writing and being an editor, too. I would need a terrific graphic designer and ad salespeople to get that up and running. I also would like to do a cross country trip with Cici in the spring/summer. If I am up to it healthwise. I have fibromyalgia and arthrits and am in a lot of pain, am not on disability. All of the government programs I’ve ever applied for tell you to apply and then tell you the reason you are applying is why they are denying you benefits. Grrrrr… I’ve got all sorts of ideas for other blogs, and started them but have not been consistent at all with any of them except this one.

6. What do you like most about blogging in general and your blog in particular (bragging is good!)?

No one tells me what to write, how to write, when to write, etc. am my own boss, except when cici my polka dot princess tells me what to do/say… I enjoy the opportunity to express myself creatively, in words, graphics, etc. and reach an audience directly without having to go through the whole publishing process (writing query letters, getting accepted by an editor/publication, waiting for pub. date, etc).   Have gotten a lot of good feedback from readers how they find my blog useful, funny, heartwarming, valuable, so that’s really nice. As a journalist/reporter and travel writer, you don’t often get that feedback unless you did something wrong.

7. What do you like least?

Lately, spammers commenting on my blog, wasting my time, having to delete them. I got my first two hate comments, too due to the Lost Dogs project yesterday. Ignorant people spewing garbage. What was most terrible, I thought, was this is what they choose to do/say  after the terrible thing that happened in Tucson. I don’t understand people who say that pit bulls are just dogs, or that pit bulls are vicious so it’s ok to kill and torture them. Dogs are dogs and pit bulls are just dogs. Cici gets a lot of positive attention usually so this type of dog discrimination and banning of a breed is baffling to me.  Pit bulls were trained to be nanny dogs. They love kids and people so much. It is sad because these dogs are singled out and put into such bad situations and end up damaged (dog fighting) and/or euthanized in shelters. It’s a people problem, not a dog problem.

8. How do you see your blog changing or growing in 2011?

Am thinking of taking a cross country road trip this spring/summer with cici, to broaden the travel aspect, but we shall see… right now, my health would not allow it, and would have to obtain sponsors to do it.  love to be able to educate/raise awareness about pit bulls to eradicate prejudice against dogs in general and pit bulls in particular.   Cici wants more treats, as always and she loves the open road.  She is always up for new adventures, new dogs to meet and greet and especially new people to lick their feet and to show off her belly.  There are places I’d love to visit back east, where I am from (New York) and in the northwest and south. I’d love to do a million dog march, hah. Cici has played with more than 600 dogs of all different sizes and breeds so she’d like to get that number up to 1,000 or more.

Now here am supposed to have code but where do I get it from???  Did not see that… oh help…  I copied this from Doggie Stylish, maybe it will work???

8 entries so far… you’re next!

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Bolder Dog: Pet Blogger-Challenged Life With Dogs The Doggie Stylish Blog Something Wagging This Way Comes

Bunnys Blog My Pet Savings Kenzo the Hovawart: Bad, bad blog! Pet Blogger Challenge You are next… Click here to enter

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