With so many issues and controversies popping up for the past few weeks within the Philippine Blogosphere, I need a break. Whatever relaxation I got from a long weekend in Angeles City and Subic Bay was zapped as fast as blinking as soon as I saw the mess that was the Pinoy blogosphere. So I thought of writing about something lighter.

My dogs got me a dollar savings account!

I used to tease Marc, my husband, that my dogs are “earning” more than he was in blogging, but never really thought much about it. But yeah, come to think of it, the majority of my blogging income comes from my dog-inspired blogs.

Kutitots, albeit my personal blog, was inspired by my dogs. Well, their fleas, to be more exact. I thought of the blog name based on a family “cutesy” term for fleas. I started my blog with the thought of sharing my life and my life with my dogs, but like any other person, my interests changed through time. I wanted to blog about more serious things like blogging and culture and little things that may seem significant, and talking about my dogs didn’t seem to fit the blog’s path anymore.

So there, I started Pinoy Dog-Lover, where I could blog all I want about dogs. Connie had her own cat blog, so we decided to form a little network for pet-lovers. From there, my husband’s affinity for his hamsters spawned the blog, My Pet Hamsters.

And since Pinoy Dog-Lover started having its own direction (it’s becoming like a journal of my pets and a repository of dog-related issues), Marc and I decided to put up Dog Fashionista, a blog geared to discuss dog-related things and blings. We have another dog blog in the works, but due to our busy schedule, we haven’t been able to focus on these two new dog blogs yet.

As you can see, most of my blogs are animal-related. And yes, these blogs make up most of my blogging income. Hence, I can whole-heartedly say that my dogs gave me dollar savings. They don’t know it, but heck, it’s because of them we were able to open a dollar account and have savings for emergencies.

Through the Pinoy Pets Network, Connie and I were able to determine that there aren’t many animal blogs in the Philippine Blogosphere. Maybe there are, but we haven’t seen much. Most personal bloggers usually just have a category for their pets in their blogs.

Allow me to be bold enough and encourage you to start your own pet-related blog. Yes, it’s profitable. And yes, there’s a market of advertisers for it. My six Text-Link-Ads ad spots for Pinoy Dog-Lover are almost always full, and I’ve gotten about three ReviewMe requests for sponsored posts in the past two or three months alone at the price of $40 each. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bragging or anything, but I think throwing in a few numbers might help you guys see that there is a niche for animal-related blogs. The amount isn’t much compared to real blog earners like Abe, but it’s a start. Besides, you’re getting paid to blog about something you’re really fond of, so would it hurt to give it a try?

Once you’ve put up your animal blog, feel free to join the Pinoy Pets Network. Connie and I would be more than happy to make you part of the little community of animal-lovers. We won’t really get anything from it monetary-wise, but it’s our advocacy. Pet blogs should have a place in the Filipino blogging community 🙂