A Blog is Born

“I’m starting a blog.”

I announced this to the back of husband’s head as he sat at the kitchen counter, downloading music onto the computer.

“Really?” He turned, looking a little alarmed over the top of his reading glasses.

“About what?”

“About walking the dog.”

He raised an eyebrow then turned his attention back to the computer screen.

“Mmm. I guess someone will be interested in that.”

Okay, so his response lacked a certain enthusiasm for my chosen topic but he did have a point. There’s a lot of noise out there, a lot of cyber-yammering going on. Do I have something meaningful to add to the cacophony, a purpose, a passion, valuable information to share? Not really. I do have a dog. One that desperately needs walking.

The idea to blog about it came to me one morning as I was engaged in every writer’s favorite time suck: surfing the web. I was clicking and skimming, clicking and skimming when I stumbled upon an article about the importance of dog walking. The gist of it was, to be fulfilled, dogs need to walk. It’s not just about doing their business; walking stirs something in them on a cellular level. It whispers to their inner wolf. It stimulates and challenges them, physically and mentally.  And I believe that. I just don’t do it consistently, at least not in winter. It’s cold out! And if it’s windy? Forget about it. Cold, windy and rainy? If I could get away with it, I’d eat the paint off the walls before I’d go out for a loaf of bread in bad weather. I’m surely not walking the dog. Needless to say, I’m a huge disappointment to my beloved Riley, who pays the price for my weather-driven approach to the daily-ish walk. I need inspiration, a cosmic intervention, a laying on of paws for this chronic wimpiness thing. I need to walk my dog. 

“Just do it!” barked the contributing veterinarian. “Start a blog about it: A Year of Walking The Dog. I’d read it.” Would you really??

Okay, then! Challenge accepted. Let’s do this.

As far as the bigger picture, my contribution to the global conversation, would it be great if someday, I accidentally bring someone’s attention to animal rescue, encourage responsible pet ownership, or inspire others to take up the challenge, to get out there and walk their dogs? Sure. But is that what I aim to accomplish here? Not really. We’re just walking, having some fun, and making a little noise.