Pet Bloggers Challenge

Banjo & Millie are taking the Pet Blogger's Challenge! Below are the answers to some of the questions posed by GoPetFriendly and Will My Dog Hate Me, organizers of today's challenge.

When did you begin your blog? What was your original purpose for starting a blog? Is your current purpose the same?

I started Banjo & Millie this past August when my husband and I were preparing to bring home Millie, our first puppy (and first challenge as newlyweds!) Banjo, our 11-year-old super laid-back therapy beagle, had already been part of our family for two years and until we brought Millie our 4-month-old shih tzu home, life had remained very calm.

We got Millie from my parents, whose 3-year-old shih tzu (Delaney) had given birth to five pups. My sister kept two puppies (Brie & Wally), my parents kept one (Penny), a close family friend kept one (Scout), and we kept Millie. I started the blog as a way to share stories with my friends and family so they could see what our new family was up to (since we all live in different cities).

Then, after bringing Millie home, I realized I had no idea how to raise a puppy. A lot of fun stories come out of our adjustments to daily life with Millie, so I continue to write because I simply enjoy writing about life’s joy and messiness with our dogs. It’s a small way for me to share my love of these two dogs with the world, and with a community of people who share that same bond with their own furkids.

The blog is still mostly stories and photos of the pups, but I intend to grow the content to include more product reviews, tips, and resources for other dog lovers. I’ve had fun sharing the content with my friends and family, and now I would like to branch out more.

Do you blog on a schedule or as the spirit moves you?

I don’t blog on a schedule, although I do plan on moving to that eventually. I currently blog as something inspires me to do so. It’s easy to do when something prompts a story. In the future, I would like to make posts more regular with more structure in order to hopefully capture an audience that is interested in regular reads. I also plan to focus the content of the blog more.

Are you generating income from your blog?

Nope. It would be lovely to do that in the future through advertising or whatever other opportunities come along. At this stage that would simply be an added bonus for doing what I enjoy doing anyways. I would love to learn what opportunities, if any, are out there though. I’m certainly open to ideas and suggestions!

What do you like most about blogging in general and your blog in particular (bragging is good!)? What do you like least?

I love keeping records of my life, namely, my friends and family. I’m super sentimental, and I love seeing memories come to life in concrete ways. Before the Internet, this meant photo albums lining my shelves and coffee table. But now blogging is my outlet. But it’s even more fun because you get to share it all with the world instead of just keeping it to yourself! What I don’t enjoy as much about blogging is that I don’t have enough time in my day to do it. OK, that’s not blogging. That’s just life.

How do you see your blog changing or growing in 2011?

In 2011, it’s yet to be determined how my blog will change or grow, but what I do know is that I would like for it to change and grow. As a new blogger, I would love some guidance or tips out there from some of the more seasoned pet bloggers!