One of my goals for 2015 is to get personal here on DogTipper. Recently a reader wrote to us, asking for advice from someone within our company. Well, while I’m flattered that some people think DogTipper is a larger organization, this is definitely a Mom and Pop company.
So one of my goals this year is to get a little more personal here. Don’t worry: you’re not going to have to wade through a description of what we had for lunch. But we do want to share more of our day-to-day life with you as we putter about our house and run this site and our freelance writing business, all while co-habitating with our six pets. This is a full-time job for both of us so we’re always involved in multiple projects at once, pretty much seven days a week, but with a lot of time throughout the day for dog walks and cat cuddles (and lots of wand play with our kitten, Lucky).
So, for those of you who would like a peek behind the scenes here at DogTipper, here are 25 fun facts about us:
- I (Paris) run the social media accounts for the sites.
- John handles a lot of the tech work for all our pet sites as well as our travel sites.
- We both write posts as well as our freelance articles and books.
- We launched our very first site in 1998; it’s still live and serves as a brochure site about our work. It’s parisandjohn.com.
- We launched our first travel site featuring romantic travel on Valentine’s Day 2000.
- DogTipper was launched on August 28, 2008 when we adopted Tiki.
- Before we moved into pet writing, John and I were travel writers for 20 years. Our first guidebook was Day Trips from San Antonio and Austin; today it’s still in print as two separate volumes.
- Along with Texas, our geographic specialty was the Caribbean, primarily Jamaica. (Ironically, Jamaica is one destination where it’s just about impossible to travel with a dog.)
- We both work on Macs and always have.
- We both shoot with Nikons and always have.
- We have lived in the same home–which John built–since we married.
- We live out in the country and love the peace and quiet.
- Irie’s favorite product reviews are treats.
- Tiki’s favorite product reviews are toys.
- Both Tiki and Irie were originally stray dogs before they went to the shelter.
- Tiki’s DNA test says she’s primarily Doberman and Poodle with lesser amounts Bulldog and Sheltie.
- Irie’s DNA test says she’s a mix of Lab, Coonhound, and German Shorthaired Pointer.
- When we’re traveling, Tiki looks out the window as long as she can and fights taking a nap; she’s afraid she’ll miss something.
- Irie loves to eat at patio restaurants. Tiki loves patio restaurants but is too excited to eat at them. She spends the entire meal looking around.
- I dislike the word “mutt” and prefer “mixed breed.”
- I enjoy speaking at conferences and doing radio and TV interviews…but the small talk of parties or phone conversations makes me uncomfortable. Weird, huh?
- My first big publishing break was a full-length feature I wrote for Reader’s Digest about the dachshund and duck I had as a child.
- We routinely hear coyotes near our home.
- The most exotic travel magazine assignments we had were Borneo, India, Malta, Morocco, Jordan, and Cyprus.
- Irie and Tiki get two long walks a day, a 45-minute walk in the morning and a 30-minute walk in the evening.
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