DogBlog

Another dog blogger!

Hey, there’s another one of us out there in the dogblogosphere. This time it’s Harrison, and he’s a “terriorist” (something to do with living in America, I think). He sent me this:

G’day Bacchus,

I guess that’s the right way to start–I may be Australian but my foresires emigrated to the U.S. generations ago.

Anyway, I’m new at this blogging business so I just dug up your site. Must say you’re a typical Jack Russell–quite the yapper when you get started. Hope you don’t mind if I add you to my BlogRoll.

Noticed you were complaining you weren’t allowed to go dancin’ with your parents and thought this might strike your fancy. The lady says she’s gonna’ be in Australia soon so you might want to check into reserving the local ballroom. Can’t say it’s my cuppa’ tea, but, hey, you Russells are always bouncin’ and boogying over something so here’s your chance.

Finding other blogging dogs is tough–puppybreath and desidog are gone, lexi and doggieblog haven’t posted since March of 2003, and neither Wwolf nor BlogDogs have been around since March 2004. Barney, the DOTUS hasn’t updated since January 2004. (I’m workin’ on getting an interview with him about the upcoming election here, but he’s been dodging my emails.)

One last question. Why do you native Aussies encourage such weird things? Like this? Yeah, I know you like to think you’re individualists, but farting? For kids? Think of what will happen to Global Warming if that catches on.

Chow,
Harrison, The Terriorists

To set the record straight, Harrison, my style of dancing isn’t old lady cabaret. The rave scene is for me! I wanna dance till I can’t dance no more, and then go hug some trees - well, cock my leg on them maybe.

And as for Dr Karl teaching kids to fart, I reckon my dad must have been his first honours student. What’s weird about farting? We ALL do it.

Posted by Bacchus on July 18th, 2004 at 09:10am

Uncle Nev is a raver - and so am I!

Like many dogs, I like a bit of a dance, but my humans don’t seem to understand this. Occasionally my mum puts on some music (usually TISM) and we have a bit of dance, but she really doesn’t understand how much I need this. I’ve got soooo much energy - I really need to dance to get it out.

Anyhow, tonight I was surfing around some of the Melbourne dance scene websites (they won’t let me in the venues, but they can’t keep me off their websites!) and was surprised to find this photo. It’s my Uncle Nev (the curly-haired blonde on the left)! Well, who’d have guessed.

Uncle Nev, if you’re reading this, come over and visit. Mum and dad will cook you dinner, and afterwards, I’ll spin some disks. And we can have a fab time dancing our butts off. Whaddya think?

Posted by Bacchus on July 16th, 2004 at 10:41pm

Dogblogging in the news

This article on dog blogs appeared in a Canadian newspaper over the weekend. And guess what? I’m mentioned in it!

Byline: Misty Harris
Source: CanWest News Service

It’s official. The Internet has gone to the dogs.

Baptizing themselves blawgers, some people are choosing to write online
diaries not as themselves but as their canine companions. One of the most
infamous dog blogs — written from the perspective of Paris Hilton’s
chihuahua, Tinkerbell — is being turned into a book, which will hit
Canadian stores this September.

“I thought about a frustrated, working-class person forced to live alongside
Paris Hilton as her pet and the (blog) wrote itself,” says Dong Resin, the
pseudonymous author of The Tinkerbell Hilton Diaries.

In February, when Resin first penned his fictional diary of Hilton’s
exploits, each entry was as unforgiving as it was witty. An editor at Warner
Books saw the series of Internet posts and helped him turn the material into
a full-length book.

A handful of dog blogs are contemplative and wordy, but most are simple,
image-based journals of canine life.

Others still are meant to be jokes, such as Resin’s Tinkerbell diaries and
doggieblog.com, where “Spot” writes that “Tylenol and chocolate are poison
for cats. Use this information wisely.”

Bonnie Burton, editor of Grrl magazine has a link to a “doggie bloggie” on
her popular website. So does the mono-named Lulu, frontwoman of New York
trip-hop quartet Voodoolulu.

But the best-known and longest-running dog blog is thought to be
dog-of-whine.com, where a Jack Russell terrier named Bacchus has been
keeping a journal since 2001.

“Bacchus is very expressive, as a rule, but there’s only so much we can
glean from raised eyebrows, a cocked head or vigorous tail-wagging,” says
Dey Alexander, who helps Bacchus put keyboard to paw. “We get a much better
picture of him from what he writes in his blog.”

According to University of British Columbia professor Stanley Coren, a
world-renowned dog behaviourist and psychologist, dog blogging is a sign of
affection. Although most blawgers have naive perceptions of how their pets
think, he says trying to adopt a dog’s point of view can be a healthy
exercise.

“If we love (our dogs) dearly, we’re always trying to crawl inside their
heads and figure out what’s going on,” he says. “And if we love them dearly
enough, we want other people to share in the dog’s expertise.”

Although dog blogs are a relatively new phenomenon, literature penned on
behalf of animals has a long tradition in North America. Coren recalls one
of Mark Twain’s beloved short stories, written entirely from the viewpoint
of a dog.

Millie’s Book, Barbara Bush’s dog’s-eye perspective of the White House,
spent 23 weeks on the hardcover bestseller list in the early ’90s. Bill
Clinton’s cat released its own book in 1993, followed by the more recent
debut of George W. Bush’s dog’s website and unofficial blog.

“Very often, we use the positive image that dogs present as a way of
shedding a positive image on ourselves,” Coren explains. “You say to the
kids, ‘Here’s this lovely Scottish terrier and he’s going to tell you what
things are really like in the White House and what a wonderful person the
president is.’ “

Posted by Bacchus on July 13th, 2004 at 08:40am

Gidday Gracie and Chloe

Gracie and Chloe are gorgeous West Highland Terriers who live with their dad, Stewart, and mum, Maureen.

And guess what? Stewart works at a university too.

The parents of nearly every dog I know work at a university. I think people who work at universities must be smart because they all have dogs.

And guess what else? They live in Cheltenham too. But I’ve never seen them out walking.

Posted by Bacchus on July 7th, 2004 at 03:02pm
Add comment