I mentioned in a previous post how my dogs have very slim collars with one tag (with a silencer on it) and that one tag has their name on the front and my name and cell phone number on the back.   Chet said something last night that reminded me of how important it is to have a name tag on your dog whether they are in their house, in their yard or somewhere else.

Our back yard is fenced it; and it is very hilly.  Last night when we let the dogs out for their before bedtime break Chet said, “someone’s been up there.”  At first I thought he meant someone human and admit I was a little bit nervous, but then he said one of the dogs has been up there.   Ok, I’ll bite, what’s the dilly?  Then he said something that really scared me, he said there’s so much snow up there that they can practically walk over the fence.  SNAP 

It reminded me of two instances within the last 14 months, where I came in contact with dogs that were without their owners.  The first time was on Christmas Eve and I was driving home past Risley Pond, a reservoir in the area when I saw two yellow labs running…alone.  Naturally I stopped and got a hold of the dogs and called the number on their tags.  Their dad came and got them and told me their mom liked to drop the leash and let them run, which a lot of people do in that area, but they ran off on her.  She was frantic trying to catch them, but naturally they run a lot faster than she did!

The second time was at work; one of my co-workers came in and said, there’s a dog outside.  Of course I went out and there was a sweet, very friendly dog that was just wandering around.  Luckily for the dog, she also had a tag with her name on the front and a phone number on the back.  I called and the owner was beside herself, both her dogs had escaped and her husband was out looking for them.  Thankfully once she called her husband she found out that he had the other dog, so there was a happy ending in both situations.  But it did reinforce for me, the importance of tags.

The tags are less than $10, come in about 6 different shapes and you can have them made almost instantly at most pet stores.  You love your pet and want the best for them, so please don’t skimp on a really important yet fairly inexpensive investment.

Good news!  The postcards came in just in time for the Pet Writing Conference!  Speaking of, this morning I sent an e-mail to the Pet Writing Conference because the trains in the northeast are running on a limited schedule and the ladies I was planning on traveling with were planning on taking a later train which would put us in NYC 15 minutes before registration ends and it is a 20 minute walk from the train station.   I immediately had a phone call from Charlotte Reed who is the one putting the conference on.  We had a lovely 20 minute chat and she gave me some really awesome suggestions, from when to arrive to what to wear (or what not to wear.)

She was so adorable, she told me to take the earlier train, sit in the front car with the engineer and bring a blanket and try to get some rest on the train.  She also gave me her cell phone number and told me to call her when I got into the city.  She was really wonderful and she made me feel like this is the right thing to do and it will all work out.

I am looking forward to sharing my experience with you and learning what is the best way to get started with this career.  On that note, I wanted to thank those of you who left comments with suggestions for me, I hope you like the new theme of the blog and that it is a bit easier to read.  Please don’t ever hesitate to make a suggestion to me about how I can make this better.  I want to attract readers and as you are reading this, I need to know what will bring you to my blog and what will compel you to share my blog with friends and family.  I look on this blog as a learning experience and the more you can share with me, the more I can learn! 🙂

Every night I write this blog and post the link on facebook.  I have sent a mass e-mail out to all the people in my address book as well as people I am close to at work.  How do I get some readers?  What do I need to write about, or how do I need to write in order to attract people to the blog?  Do you have any thoughts or suggestions?