Sunday is a BIG day at our house…not only does it mark the eighth anniversary of the launch of DogTipper but it is also Tiki’s eighth Gotcha Day! We’ve got a big day of fun planned with Tiki including a hike and a swim so I wanted to post this a day early.
On August 28, 2008 we adopted Tiki from what’s now Texas Humane Heroes, and we transitioned from travel to pet writing with the start of DogTipper. Today our work now also includes CatTipper and PawZaar as well as our freelance online, magazine and guidebook work in both the pet and travel fields.
The last few years, the online pet space has grown at an amazing rate with numerous mega-sites (including some that we work for as freelancers). We’ve been thinking about shifting focus for a while to better compete with sites with a staff of writers.
We’ve decided to focus on our core skills: travel and pets. With over 20 years of travel writing experience including authoring 33 travel guidebooks, we know that the travel world is filled with pet lovers. Some travel with their pets, some do not. Others want to help the homeless pets at their travel destinations.
We’re so excited to announce that we’re narrowing our niche to concentrate on Tips for Dog-Loving Travelers. We’re not a destination directory; many other sites already do a great job at that Herculean task.
Instead, we’re looking at:
- tips for traveling with your dog
- tips for traveling without your dog
- ways to help pets when you travel
Travel with your dogs may take the form of a day trip with your dog (after all, our first and longest-running guidebook features day trips), a holiday stay with relatives, a dream vacation–or a move or evacuation.
And, while we love nothing better than traveling with our dogs, we know that’s not always possible. For years, our guidebook specialty was the island of Jamaica–a destination that denies pets entry from the US and most other countries. We know that travel to some destinations–as well as much business travel–means leaving your dog in the care of a trusted facility or pet sitter. We’ll be offering tips on making sure traveling without your dog goes smoothly for your dog’s safety and for your peace of mind.
As always, we’ll have a strong focus on rescue, whether that’s ways to help your local rescue or ones you discover in your travels.
You’ll still find the great giveaways on our pages, ones aimed at travelers with or without their dogs. Look for more great giveaways like the Samsung SmartCam HD Plus camera system giveaway we’re running right now so that you can keep an eye on your dog when you’re traveling without him, whether you’re at the office or on vacation.
Our new focus will include CatTipper as well, which will now offer Tips for Cat-Loving Travelers, whether that trip is just a journey to the vet’s office, a cross-country move, or transporting rescue cats.
And finally PawZaar, which showcases gifts for pet lovers with a global style, will feature a growing number of travel-related products that we’re so excited to introduce to you in the coming months.
We hope you’ll all join us as we narrow our niche and marry our love of travel and pets– it’s going to be a great ride!
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