Puppy's Life

New Kid on the Blog

Create online memories for you and your puppy

Bogart, named for his striking resemblance to Humphrey Bogart, is an Airedale Terrier who lives with owner Lulu Hoeller in Portland, Oregon—but thanks to their blog, they have been virtually around the globe. Hoeller says the idea to create a “puppy blog” started before Bogart arrived home. “I had blogged a little myself and enjoyed it, so a few days before Bogart was scheduled to arrive, a light went off in my head—‘Why can’t Bogart have a blog? Then I will always remember what he looked like as a puppy and all of the firsts in his life, the places we’d gone, and things we’d seen,’ ” Hoeller says.

Bogart’s blog shows readers what life looks like through the eyes of a puppy. “The most important part of Bogart’s blog is that it’s all real,” Hoeller says. “The blog is written from his perspective and chronicles his real daily adventures.” And the duo does everything side-by-side. From exploring new adventures to uploading the blog, Bogart and Hoeller are inseparable.

Bogart and Hoeller are part of a growing movement as more owners and their puppies are trying out this cyberspace adventure.

“It really has expanded our relationship,” says Ron Sturgeon, whose blog is co-written with his puppy Dixie, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. “I am always looking for something we can put on the blog, and we do a lot of posing together [for pictures], which we really enjoy.”

Sturgeon says that the blog has encouraged them to seek out new adventures so that they’ll have something new to write about.

“Although I do sometimes come up with ideas, usually it works in reverse,” he says of the multiple posts he writes every week. “I watch for that Kodak moment, then come up with an idea for the posting based on that photo.”

The blog began as occasional emails but since Sturgeon and Dixie spend so much time together, from going to work and taking trips together, their adventures took the form of short stories with photos. As interest from friends grew, he launched a blog, inviting the rest of the world to share in their adventures.

Do It Yourself

There’s no right or wrong way to create a blog with your puppy. Some blogs include short stories and fun tales, others may include reviews of new products and share tips for new games to try or new places to visit.

Starting a blog for you and your puppy can be as simple as you’d like; those who are unfamiliar with the blogging process can find help from any number of commercial blogging services that offer templates that allow even novice bloggers to be up and writing almost immediately, such as www.blogger.com and www.weblog.com.

Once your site is up, it’s a great way to share photos, video, and related stories about you and your puppy. And whether it’s viewed by millions or simply shared by a few friends and family members, it remains a fantastic way to make the moments you spend together last a lifetime!