BlogPaws and Good Cause(s)
Has it really been only five months since BlogPaws 2010, the first ever pet blogging conference? I keep counting backwards to confirm the date and then I look around my office with awe and a sense of pride. Why? Grab a cup and I'll tell you.
First of all, it was back in April that the first BlogPaws conference was held in Columbus, Ohio. It was awesome, the first of its kind and the birthplace of Be The Change For Pets. Like my new friends Felissa at Two Little Cavaliers, Neil at Life With Dogs, Deborah at Boulder Dog and Ashley at I Love Rescue Animals, I had the wonderful good fortune to be sponsored by the Mars Pedigree Adoption Drive. The sponsorship was a nice surprise and not only allowed me to make the cross country trip but it introduced me to so many inspiring people. Read the enthusiastic post on Cleo's Day.
The speakers, the sessions and even during meal times, I learned something new or met someone who motivated me to do more for pets and animals. The spirit of everyone there was incredibly encouraging to me, a newbie in fundraising [tip of the paw to Lynn and all the anipals involved in PawPawty events] and in the pet community.
Fast-forward five months and voila, this blog Dog Days is born and my interview series Influence Positively is being featured on Be The Change for Animals. I have much to be grateful for and look forward to. There are causes like Never Shock A Puppy and ending Breed Specific Legislation, and groups like Muttville and St. Louis Senior Dog Project that I might never have become familiar with, if it hadn’t been for the folks I met through BlogPaws.
I’m attending BlogPaws West and will again be sponsored by The Mars Pedigree Adoption Drive. One reason we are a good match is that I believe together, we can be the change for animals. Did you know that every time someone becomes a fan, or ‘likes’, the Pedigree Adoption page on Facebook, Pedigree donates another bowl of food to a shelter dog? Over a million bowls of food have already been donated! Pedigree hopes to reach 4 million fans because that translates to 4 million bowls of food – which is how many dogs are homeless every year in the United States. ‘Become a fan, help a dog’ by clicking on the yellow and blue badge.
A wonderful bonus for this conference, besides being closer to San Francisco which translates to shorter flights & time away from my muse, is that Pedigree is sponsoring an additional five bloggers. These new sponsorees include my local friend, Maria Goodavage from Dogster, and Diane the talented human to the amazing Cosmo whom I met at the first BlogPaws and writer of To Dog With Love. I'm very excited about meeting and working with Brett from Houston Dog Blog, Joan from Bocci's Beefs, Debbie from Fearful Dogs.
Full Disclosure: Being sponsored by the Pedigree Adoption Drive for Dogs means that when I blog from or about BlogPaws West you’ll see the yellow and blue Pedigree “Adoption Rules Join the Drive” badge. When I tweet as @grouchypuppy you’ll see #dogsrule(sp). That’s Pedigree’s hashtag and “(sp)” means they’re sponsoring me at BlogPaws West. I'm here to share information and fun photos from the conference. That's all.