9 Ways Being a Pet Blogger Makes You a Better Person
The human animal bond is alive and well at BlogPaws. We spend our days promoting and supporting it in various ways. The biggest way we support the all-important human-animal bond is by connecting to other pet people who “get it.” These are usually bloggers who include pets in their daily lives, as family.
It got me to thinking about how we, as pet people, take a lot of flack from some folks. Some folks think we care too much. Some folks think we waste time …caring for and blogging about … our pets. Some people think we could do other things with our money–cause they have a right to tell us how to spend our money. NOT!
Well, to all those people, I say, here are 9 Ways Being a Pet Blogger Makes You a Better Person:
9. Being a pet blogger fulfills me in ways cookies, cakes, and even beer cannot. I think of food in relation to how healthy it is for my pets, and thereby, for me. I’m a healthier person because I’m a pet blogger.
8. The act of blogging relaxes me. Unless I’m ranting. Sometimes a good rant is necessary, and while it’s happening I may not be relaxed, but afterwards! I’m nodding my head and pursing my lips. But blogging? Yes, I feel great!
7. Blogging improves my communication skills. You may think because I blog about pets I don’t learn or educate myself about good communication, and you would be wrong. My writing is all about communicating, especially when I can share the true value of having a pet. They do improve people’s lives in a myriad of ways. Yes, they do.
6. Giving my pets the extra attention they deserve by posting about them, or about having pets in general, exposes more people to the benefits both of blogging and of having pets. I am always happy and excited to do that.
5. Passionate pet people, but especially pet bloggers, are more forgiving. I can say this because we are often on a daily round of forgiving. Just this morning, as I turned over in my cool dark bedroom, cozy beneath the covers, glancing at the clock that pulses 6:20 at me, I smiled and felt good that the dogs were letting us sleep in. Then, I heard a soft meow…kitty hardly ever lets us sleep in…and a jingle of someone’s dog tags and I knew it was time to get up. I hurried. Because once you hear those dog tags at my house… you have limited time to get out into the family room and then to hustle those fur kids to the door… else…well, let me say I was late. Too late. And so, a rug went into the laundry, again. But, so what? It’s a dog rug. It’s meant for messes. 🙂 And, after every one, after every mess, I forgive, forget and thank the Universe that my dogs use the rugs that are meant for them.
4. I have learned, over my many years as a pet blogger, to let it go when someone offends me. My pets taught me that. It’s true, you should just kick dirt over that crap, as they say, and move on. This means I do not hold a grudge. Unlike many people who are not pet bloggers. Dogs don’t hold grudges. Cats might, but only until dinnertime. Just go with the flow, folks. It’s better for you. (And did you know that horses have long memories…but they don’t hold grudges, either)
3. Cleanliness is not next to Godliness. Don’t let anyone tell you it is. Clean is overrated. As a pet blogger, I meet a lot of people who…well, just didn’t make it to the shower that morning. So what? Or, who clean their dog/cat’s bowl every day, but leaves dishes in the sink overnight. Hey, give it up. Who cares? Yes, you have to do those dishes eventually, but it does not have to be right now. Turn on Animal Planet and chill.
2. Material things are just that, things. They can be replaced. Being a pet blogger means understanding that sofas were meant for dogs, but chocolate is not. It means not getting overly fond of a particular lamp or chair… cause, during a 5 hour stretch away from home, that lamp or that chair may become a chew toy. Shrug. Replaceable, like I said.
1. And the #1 way being a pet blogger makes you a better person…is… just in the love and loyalty and fun you have with those pets. More than anyone else, ever, in any career. We get the best of everything because we can take video and photos of our animals, and they go viral. Who doesn’t love pet videos and creatively captioned photos? Dare I say, I Can Haz Cheezburger? And, after we’re done creating that fun post, or the educational post, or that totally off the wall post (cats in tutus), we get to relax with the object of the media share…and we get to see his or her eyes tell us, “I’m glad you’re here with me. It’s way better when you’re around.” It doesn’t get better than that.
And so it is. We pet bloggers are better people by virtue of our commitment to our pets. I am saying it and it’s true. Oh, if you’re experiencing FOMO right now (Fear of Missing Out) BlogPaws has a conference where you can learn to be a pet blogger, too. Come on over.
Yvonne DiVita is a Co-Founder of BlogPaws. She is dedicated to storytelling and the human-animal bond. When not working on BlogPaws, she writes at Scratchings and Sniffings and The Lipsticking Society. You may contact her at Yvonne@blogpaws.com .
