Sunday, March 2, 2008
Connect with Pet Blogs via USA Today
Pet-related blogs galore are clickable via USA Today's Blogger & Podcaster Guide. Just scroll down to Pets.
Cat Furniture on Radio
American Public Radio's Marketplace recently featured an interesting line of feline-friendly furnishings.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Cat Fan?
Two items for cat-loving readers:
The serious one:
Franny Syufy seems to be up on cats-in-condos issues. She runs the Cats page for About.com.
The not-serious one:
"Stack Cats iz a palindrome" -- Source: icanhascheezburger.com
The serious one:
Franny Syufy seems to be up on cats-in-condos issues. She runs the Cats page for About.com.
The not-serious one:
"Stack Cats iz a palindrome" -- Source: icanhascheezburger.com
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Citizens for Pets in Condos?
Discovered an interesting organization that appears to be an outlet for condo-based pet owners interested in getting into civic/political activism: Citizens for Pets in Condos. Located in Tamarac, FL, the organization seems to have a tilt toward Florida audiences/media, but I'll contact them and find out more. (http://www.petsincondos.org/)
Friday, January 25, 2008
Welcome!
In the Beginning
As I sat in my realtor's office reading the contract for the very first home I had ever (almost) purchased, my eyeballs came to a screeching halt when I saw the language prohibiting dogs. My castle-to-be was actually a modest little condo, and a hasty phone call to the condo association president confirmed the bad news: No dogs allowed. Not even to visit. Ever. Period.
After tearing up that contract, I eventually settled in a great, pet-friendly community that's been home ever since. Several years hence, my own experience along with my neighbors' has taught me that finding a place that accepts pets is only the first step. Living with and caring for furry friends, winged wonders, or those of the scaly or slithering variety, in a cozy space presents issues and challenges I hadn't considered.
Perspectives & Observations
In all fairness, some of those issues and challenges affect neighbors and visitors who do NOT have pets. These folks may have opted out of critterdom, yet their surroundings...particularly the common areas of their condo or apartment community...often show, well, 'evidence' of some owners' lack of neighborly concern when it comes to picking up after their pooch, for example.
So, I've seen the critter perspective, the human perspective, and now I'm realizing more about the physical environment perspective. The condo community in which I live was built in the mid-1960s, thankfully before landscaping took a back seat to hardscaping. My unit totals 1,100 square feet split between two levels, with a small back patio fenced on two sides.
The small front yard and adjacent grass common areas are welcome amenities when Kerry, the petite blonde lab-mix I often help care for, needs a quick break or purposeful walk. On the other hand, the open back patio means she can't just chill out unaccompanied. And the stairs to my second floor feel extra steep when she decides that her arthritis, or simply her mood, require me to serve as her up-and-down elevator...a choice that has become the norm. (Luckily, she's only 50 pounds of furry freight...but my own joints aren't so nimble anymore, either!)
CondoCritters is a Tool
All of these observations recently began to merge into a realization...namely, that I'm but one of about a zillion people with similar circumstances. And that realization led to an idea: That at least some of those zillion people could benefit from pooling experiences, lessons-learned, even lessons not-yet-learned...via an online community. Thus was born CondoCritters.
Why this site name instead of some other shelter- or pet-themed synonym? Two reasons: 1) You would be amazed at how many pet-related Web domain names...from the mundane to the creative...have already been taken. I went through dozens of possibilities. 2) As a freelance writer, professional pride compels me to rarely pass up an opportunity to use alliteration! Which is a long way of admitting I just think the name is fun. (Besides, just in case you're really into market research...I conducted a SurveyMonkey poll in which 15 friends rated 10 potential Web names...and CC came out on top.)
This Blogger platform is really phase one of what I hope will turn into a robust Web presence. That, however, is entirely up to you and your fellow visitors to the world of CondoCritters.
Your Input Invited
Share your story. Ask a question. Suggest an online link or offline resource. Just click the link below to submit comments.
Golden Critter Rule
Most of all, let's learn to listen to the creatures in our care (not to mention our human neighbors...critter-friendly or not...who no doubt hope we'll care about them, too), so we can follow the Golden Critter Rule: Do unto others as we would like them to do unto us if they were really, really BIG!
As I sat in my realtor's office reading the contract for the very first home I had ever (almost) purchased, my eyeballs came to a screeching halt when I saw the language prohibiting dogs. My castle-to-be was actually a modest little condo, and a hasty phone call to the condo association president confirmed the bad news: No dogs allowed. Not even to visit. Ever. Period.
After tearing up that contract, I eventually settled in a great, pet-friendly community that's been home ever since. Several years hence, my own experience along with my neighbors' has taught me that finding a place that accepts pets is only the first step. Living with and caring for furry friends, winged wonders, or those of the scaly or slithering variety, in a cozy space presents issues and challenges I hadn't considered.
Perspectives & Observations
In all fairness, some of those issues and challenges affect neighbors and visitors who do NOT have pets. These folks may have opted out of critterdom, yet their surroundings...particularly the common areas of their condo or apartment community...often show, well, 'evidence' of some owners' lack of neighborly concern when it comes to picking up after their pooch, for example.
So, I've seen the critter perspective, the human perspective, and now I'm realizing more about the physical environment perspective. The condo community in which I live was built in the mid-1960s, thankfully before landscaping took a back seat to hardscaping. My unit totals 1,100 square feet split between two levels, with a small back patio fenced on two sides.
The small front yard and adjacent grass common areas are welcome amenities when Kerry, the petite blonde lab-mix I often help care for, needs a quick break or purposeful walk. On the other hand, the open back patio means she can't just chill out unaccompanied. And the stairs to my second floor feel extra steep when she decides that her arthritis, or simply her mood, require me to serve as her up-and-down elevator...a choice that has become the norm. (Luckily, she's only 50 pounds of furry freight...but my own joints aren't so nimble anymore, either!)
CondoCritters is a Tool
All of these observations recently began to merge into a realization...namely, that I'm but one of about a zillion people with similar circumstances. And that realization led to an idea: That at least some of those zillion people could benefit from pooling experiences, lessons-learned, even lessons not-yet-learned...via an online community. Thus was born CondoCritters.
Why this site name instead of some other shelter- or pet-themed synonym? Two reasons: 1) You would be amazed at how many pet-related Web domain names...from the mundane to the creative...have already been taken. I went through dozens of possibilities. 2) As a freelance writer, professional pride compels me to rarely pass up an opportunity to use alliteration! Which is a long way of admitting I just think the name is fun. (Besides, just in case you're really into market research...I conducted a SurveyMonkey poll in which 15 friends rated 10 potential Web names...and CC came out on top.)
This Blogger platform is really phase one of what I hope will turn into a robust Web presence. That, however, is entirely up to you and your fellow visitors to the world of CondoCritters.
Your Input Invited
Share your story. Ask a question. Suggest an online link or offline resource. Just click the link below to submit comments.
Golden Critter Rule
Most of all, let's learn to listen to the creatures in our care (not to mention our human neighbors...critter-friendly or not...who no doubt hope we'll care about them, too), so we can follow the Golden Critter Rule: Do unto others as we would like them to do unto us if they were really, really BIG!
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