Wordless Wednesday: Two of Us

The BlogPaws Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop...

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Havanese!

Cosmo smiles not so sheepishly after herding up a few sheep recently. The smudge between his eyes comes from kicking up his heels in the sheep ring. Check him out here!

Pet Blogger Hop: The Week That Was

What a week it's been! From devastating tornadoes near our neck of the woods to The Wedding (need I say more!) it's been a week filled with news, both good and bad.

So first, turning some bad news to good... we received a note from VCA Animal Hospitals that may help some of the victims of the severe weather in Georgia. The VCA Catoosa Animal Hospital in Ringgold, Ga., is providing free boarding assistance for companion animals whose families have lost homes or have been evacuated. Owners can call VCA Catoosa at 706-937-4171 to ensure the facility has space available to accept additional pets.

We loved watching The Wedding, but wondered, 'Where were the Corgis?'  Apparently they all were watching on high def. Check out this fun Corgi advert  over at I Still Want More Puppies!

We had a fun time meeting other pet bloggers this week at CatTipper's Meet and Greet. (Our Meet and Greet chit chat here.) And tomorrow we're headed to the Atlanta Braves' Bark in the Park. Let us know if you'll be there too!

And with all that activity, Cosmo sure was happy to have his new bed from P.L.A.Y.  for some much-needed naps!

Cosmo, with his favorite big green bone, relaxing on a stylish, new dog bed from P.L.A.Y.

Now let's go to the Saturday Pet Blogger's Hop!

Pet Blogger Hop / Buckle-Down Collar and Lead Winner

It's been a busy week in To Dog With Love land... with Paws for Japan Day, Petfinder's Birthday and Dog Bless You, among other things. And, today's the day we announce the winner of the Buckle-Down Collar and Lead giveaway.

Drum roll please...


The winner, picked at random, is Wrigley Schnauzer! Wrigley left the comment, "I like the Born to Raise Hell collar because that is my motto!"

Congrats to you Wrigley. And for some reason, your comment makes me want to break out in this song... Straighten Up and Fly Right my Schnauzee pal!

First, a little jam with Natalie Cole and the late, great Ella Fitzgerald. Their jam starts at :40.

Want to listen to the whole song! Warning: you'll be snapping your fingers to this the rest of the day! Here's the Natalie Cole version in honor of her father, the amazing Nat King Cole.

Now, let's go to the hop, oh baby!

Wordless Wednesday: Simply Buckhead Shopping Style

Cosmo and I recently took a tour of Buckhead Atlanta area pet boutiques to research a story for Simply Buckhead magazine's Pets and Kids issue. One of our favorite finds was this bed from Bessie and Barnie sold at both Glamour Paws and CityDog Market.

I think this may have been Cosmo's favorite assignment so far. He got to eat his way through four of our favorite pet shops before finding a comfy place for a nap! Check out four of our favorite local shops below.

The Pet Blogger Challenge

One of the things I love most about the pet blogging community is the support, camaraderie and the many opportunities to come together as a group. This time, Edie Jarolim of Will My Dog Hate Me and Amy Burkert at GoPetFriendly.com created a way for us to share our deepest -- and sometimes not so deep -- thoughts and goals for our blogs. Click on the button to the right to read all about The Pet Blogger Challenge and head to the blog list at the bottom of this post to hear from everyone else!


Here we go!


1. When did you begin your blog? 

My first post went up on July 15, 2010 and was inspired by Blog the Change Day. I spent months before that obsessing about the look and name of my blog, which blogging platform to use, and whether it would come from my voice or Cosmo's. Blog the Change helped me take the plunge and quit worrying if To Dog With Love was perfect enough to publish. Ha!

Cosmo at the first St. Pawtricks
Day Twitter  #PawPawty 

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

To give me more than 140 characters to work with. I started my social media "experiment" by putting Cosmo Havanese on Twitter, where I thought Cosmo would be the only animal. Boy, was I wrong! Soon I wanted more space to tell stories about what we were doing with the pet community on Twitter. Cosmo was one of the first anipals to help raise funds for animal rescue.

3. Is your current purpose the same?

Yes and no.  We do support animal causes and tell stories about Cosmo's activities on Twitter. I also use To Dog With Love as a learning "lab" of sorts and creative outlet... to experiment with video and photography and learn how to tell stories in a way that is far different than what I have done during my professional life as a journalist, copywriter and PR/marketing communications consultant.


I created the tagline -- a celebration of the fluffier side of life -- with idea that To Dog With Love would be all about the special relationship people have with their pets and all the types of things you can do to enjoy that relationship together. My goal was, and still is, to provide a balance of what I call the lighter, fluffier topics --  like shopping, dining out  and traveling with your pet --- with education and cause-related topics like pet safety, dog agility and of course animal rescue. We've also done product reviews and giveaways and partnered with some great companies to raise awareness for pet adoption and food drives. 


I've learned an awful lot in the past six months, and expect there's lots more good things to come!


4. Do you blog on a schedule or as the spirit moves you?
My goal is three posts a week, two at a minimum. That's about as close to a schedule as I can get to at this point. I understand the value of blogging on a schedule but I refuse to be bullied by the blog! (And trying really hard not to feel guilty about it.)


5. Are you generating income from your blog?
Not really, although I think there is a lot of value in generating some of the professional relationships that have come out of blogging. 


6. What do you like most about blogging in general and your blog in particular

Pals at BlogPaws East in Columbus, Ohio

• The amazing people I've met from all over the world.
• The opportunity to meet many of these amazing people in person at conferences like BlogPaws and BarkWorld Expo.
• Providing readers with information they find useful and sometimes entertaining. I get asked lots of questions about pet travel and agility and the blog gives us a way to share that information.
• Immediate gratification when I hit "post" and readers comment.
• My inspiration, Cosmo Havanese and his ability to celebrate the fluffy side of life everyday.
• Helping the anipals who need it most.
• Partnering with some great companies who help the anipals who need it most.
• Getting to do cool stuff like radio, TV and newspaper interviews. We'd like to do more!
• Getting to review and give away cool stuff!
  
• The freedom to write whatever I want.

7. What do you like the least?

Maybe Cosmo can figure it out...

• That I haven't won the lottery yet so I can blog full time.
• The technical challenges and strange glitches that causes fonts and colors to go haywire. Typically after five hours and lots of contortions I can figure out some crazy way to fix it.
• Technical challenge part II -- trying to link my blog to my ToDogWithLove.com URL. I tried it once and thought I lost my whole blog. Still haven't figured it out.
• Still trying to figure out if I really need to switch to WordPress.
• The number of emails, requests and pitches that I haven't gotten to because there isn't enough time, and frankly because I need better focus.

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

Refining some of the basics... like a better About Me section and focusing in on To Dog With Love's purpose. More posts that provide readers with information they find valuable and can use. You can expect a series of posts from our recent trip to Italy, more on agility and more about our favorite breed, the Havanese! And, perhaps some technology enhancements if I can figure it out.


Enough about me. Here's what everyone else is up to!