(This is my midterm feature story for Reinventing the News.)Monica Collins’ life changed when she met Shorty, a white-haired male who enjoys long walks along the Boston waterfront and frolicking with friends.
“He really opened me up to the world – to living,” she said.
The two met online in 1998, and Shorty was a dog – literally.
Collins said she quickly fell head-over-heels for the now nine-year-old
West Highland White Terrier.
“They really get in your heart,” she said of dogs.
From then on Collins’ life was never the same. Inspired by her newfound companion, Collins, a former TV critic for
USA Today and the Boston Herald, created “Ask Dog Lady,” a newspaper advice column on “dogs, love and life” in which she combines 25 years of journalism experience with “wit, wisdom and whimsy,” she said.
Questions for Dog Lady range from
“Do dogs bring out the good or the bad in people?” to
“Whatcha think of "The Sopranos?" Is it going to the dogs or what?”
Collins answers are just as playful. Here’s an
example.
“It’s a very light-hearted column,” Collins said.
In 2003, in order to promote the Dog Lady brand, Collins created the Web site
AskDogLady.com. This site not only contains Dog Lady’s newspaper columns but also her blog, links to her favorite sites and a forum to submit questions. Collins said the Web site plays an important part in getting Dog Lady noticed because the Internet is “the height of public outreach.”
In addition, the Dog Lady blog, which receives 600 to 700 unique visitors a day, allows Collins to remain in touch with her readers more than a column because she can update it more often, she said.
Designing a logo for the site played an important part in developing the Dog Lady brand, Collins said.
“I never realized how much went into creating a brand,” she said.
Working with a designer, they created the dog at the typewriter logo (left) and she said it captures the essence of Dog Lady perfectly.
Collins said the Internet, and more specifically blogs, are important tools for journalists because they allow journalists to express themselves and build diverse platforms. People can now explore different areas of interest she said.
“The web presents more flexibility,” she said.
Career changesAlthough an avid dog-lover and columnist these days, Collins did not start off that way.
In her early journalism days in the 1980s, she was hired by the
Boston Herald to be the newspaper’s T.V. critic, even though she had no experience in the department.
“My editor said ‘Do you have a television? Then you can be a T.V. critic,’” she said.
From there, she became USA Today’s TV critic before returning to the Herald. Collins said she loved her job. She was a “stereotypical hard-ass journalist obsessed with her career,” she said.
Collins said she did not always love animals and was the person on her condominium board who demanded strict rules for pet owners. But after losing two people close to her, Collins said she wanted companionship. That’s when she adopted Shorty and began her new life path.
In 2000, Collins volunteered to write a newsletter for her 50-member dog group in Boston’s North End. In the first issue, she had extra space and to fill it she wrote an advice column under the persona Dog Lady.
She received praise for the column and as a result, decided to pursue Dog Lady. She sent a few copies of “Ask the Dog Lady” to
The Bark a literary magazine for dog owners. (“I call it
The New Yorker for dog owners,” she said.)
The magazine picked up her column, but Collins said she missed the day-to-day of a newspaper.
“I always knew I wanted Dog Lady to be a newspaper column,” she said.
She began shopping around her clips in 2002 and the
South End News, the
MetroWest Daily News, and the
Cambridge Chronicle all agreed to run Dog Lady.
Nancy Olesin, feature editor of the MetroWest Daily News, said Dog Lady is a big hit in the paper.
“Our readers love Monica’s column,” she said. “They love her sense of humor.”
The subject matter is what keeps people coming back, Olesin said.
“Pets are a universal interest,” she said.
Today, in addition to the MetroWest Daily News, Collins’ column runs in several national newspapers, including the
Chicago Sun-Times and in magazines.
Inspiring caninesShorty is not the only dog to influence his owner’s online career and consequently change their life.
Shadrach (right), a black
Neapolitan Mastiff, inspired his owner, Kim Bloomer, to start blogging about natural care for dogs in 2003. She rescued Shadrach and did not feel comfortable using traditional medicines to treat the abused puppy. With a background in veterinary medicine, she said she began doing extensive research on natural ways to treat him. She wanted to share her knowledge, and as a result began
Bark ‘N’ Blog, she said.
“I had never written a thing before I started blogging,” Bloomer said.
The blog led to a book deal, an online radio show and several freelance writing jobs, and inspired Bloomer to pursue a career in veterinary naturopath. She now runs
Aspenbloom Pet Care, a Web site for natural pet nutrition and holistic alternatives. She also provides personal consultations for people interested in natural care for their dogs.
But “the blog came before everything,” she said.
Shadrach took over writing the blog in 2004 and started another blog,
A Dogs View, about aromatherapy for dogs. Both blogs feature links to Bloomer’s radio show,
“Animal Talk Naturally,” as well as video clips, and get 35,000 to 45,000 unique hits a month.
Bloomer said her success came from not only writing what she was passionate about but from the wide reach of blogs. Anyone who wants to be successful needs a blog, she said.
Karen Norteman, a technical writer for the computer industry by trade, realized this and began writing her blog,
Salty Sheep Dog, after she got her dog, Duncan (left), a
Bearded Collie. An avid writer, her friends said she should start her own Web site.
“I kept saying, ‘I have nothing to write about,’” Norteman said. “But eight dogs later I have plenty to say.”
“Blogging is a way – to use a cliché – people ‘harness the power of the Internet’ to express themselves,” she said.
Through her blog, Norteman got in touch with Monica Collins. Although the two have never met in person, they communicate through e-mail.
“Blogging brought me into the realm of journalism,” she said.
Norteman is also a
web designer, which started as a hobby but has become a part-time job. She said the most important thing when designing a blog is to “display the information in a way so it’s accessible to readers.”
She said Ask Dog Lady is an example of a great Web site because it not only is it easy to use but it captures Collins’ message, making it a great promotional tool.
“I think it absolutely rocks,” she said. “I love the graphic design. It’s perfect. Whoever did it knew her and what she is about.”
Norteman recently started another blog,
Dog Show Newbie, about her adventures with her new dog, Dinah, in the dog show world. She said this particular blog attracts more people because it caters to a specific audience.
Cyber-pet growthPet blogging is growing at a time when more pet owners are going to Web sites for their information, according to the
American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA). Statistics on the site show 14 percent of all dog owners use the Internet to obtain information.
APPMA’s president Bob Vetere said the association noticed this trend a year ago and established a division to monitor pet blogs and Web sites.
“The Internet is such a hot-bed for pet information,” he said.
Vetere said people began turning to the Internet for information about their pets around 2000.
“People were using Web sites for their own information and realized it worked the same for their pets,” he said.
There they found other “kindred spirits” to talk about their dogs, cats, fish and other pets, he said.
Greg Majestic, a 22-year-old, physical therapy student at
Northeastern University, is one of these people and found his now seven-month-old puppy, Penelope, a mutt, by researching shelters online. He also found a vet for her and consults several Web sites and blogs whenever he has a question.
“It’s easy and free to find out what you want about your dog,” he said.
But pet bloggers like Norteman said it’s important for people to be careful what sites they use and to do research about whether a site is certified.
In addition, Collins warned not to take risks when it comes to a dog.
“If your dog is sick you shouldn’t be writing for medical advice,” she said.
The Dog Owners Guide to the Internet provides tips on searching the Web and as does Karen Peak’s article,
Relying on Internet Advice for your Dog.
New adventures on the horizonWhile Collins and Shorty have moved out of Boston and live in Belmont, they still come to visit and reminisce, she said.
“He’s a city dog,” she said.
In the future, Collins said she hopes her column becomes nationally syndicated. She is also
writing a book for middle-aged woman about her experiences with Shorty and how he helped her see the world in a new light.
“Dog memoirs are great sellers,” she said.
She currently is experimenting with her Web site, adding advertisements and a “Mom and Pup” boutique. Collins said she enjoys writing her column and blog because she’s happy to help people, even if it’s just to make them laugh.
“I picked a topic of universal appeal,” she said. “It makes me feel good.”
Even though Dog Lady is a light-hearted column, Collins said its overall message of being a responsible pet owner is important.
“I’m helping the world one paw at a time,” she said.
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Pictures from top to bottom:
Picture one: Monica and Shorty/Courtesy Monica Collins
Picture two: Screen capture of Ask Dog Lady logo.
Picture three: Shadrach/Courtesy Kim Bloomer
Picture four: Duncan/Courtesy Karen Norteman
Picture five: Monica and Shorty/Courtesy Monica Collins
An urban legend from long ago states that if a black cat crosses your path, you're in for some bad luck. And according to this Web site, black cats in Egypt were believed to be "demons in disguise."
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