Champion of My HeartA real-time memoir about life with a fearful border collie, by Roxanne Hawn

Many thanks to Living Large in Our Little House for tagging Champion of My Heart in this Best of Blogging 7 Links thing that’s sweeping the web. It began with mostly travel bloggers, but it’s reached our shores. Here are links to our 7 Best blog posts:

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Today is the last day to vote for Champion of My Heart for Best Dog Blog. This month-long campaign for votes has been a real beast. So, all you here and who follow Champion of My Heart on Twitter and Facebook have my gratitude for putting up with all the begging and reminders.

Thank you for your help and support and encouragement.

There is no way of telling how the voting has been going or how close (or not) the voting might be. Just like all of you, I’ll find out Friday, August 26 @ 5 pm (eastern time) [3 pm here in CO].

Plans for the Petties Award Ceremony changed mid-stream. Rather than a live event at the BlogPaws Conference, Dogtime will be broadcasting  it somehow via YouTube.

I’ll be watching from home, most likely. Perhaps we can do some live chatting online in the process. Or, maybe Tom will take us girls on a date to celebrate no matter the outcome.

We’ve been told that not only will each winner get a prize package that includes a $1,000 donation to their pet shelter / rescue of choice, but that there is some $10,000 donation in play too. I have no details on that.

The Real Lessons

Winning last year, being nominated this year, and giving it our best run taught me several things. Some good. Some not so good.

I’ve been thinking about it a lot in recent days. And this process is a lot like the process of helping Lilly over all these years with her fears, and here is what matters most — win or lose:

• We tried, together.
• We are honored that so many of you nominated us and got us into the finals.
• We asked for and received your help. We value each and every vote, each and every person who helped us get more votes, and every single moment of honesty and kindness extended to us in the process.
• We sustained our efforts every day this month … as we have the 84 months Lilly and I have shared our lives … because it’s the trying that matters most.

Before I beg one last time for votes, I leave you with this passage sent to me by a friend, after I suffered a recent and big disappointment in my life:

“Let go. When we release our attachment to the outcome, we allow the power of grace to work its magic.”

One Last Shameless Voting Reminder

Please vote again today, the final day … you never know if it’s the difference between winning or not!

Please VOTE Champion of My Heart as Best Dog Blog!

I’ve been saying all along that you can vote each day (1-2 times). Other nominees are asking for more votes per day, and indeed the site will let you vote, and vote, and vote. We’ve been told “excessive voting” will not be allowed. But no one really knows what excessive voting means, I’m simply asking that you vote however many times YOU feel is fair.

If we’re chosen, we’ll give the $1,000 donation that’s part of the prize package to our friends at Humane Society of Boulder Valley.

Thanks so much for everything. Have a great weekend!

M’wah! Lilly and I offer our biggest THANK YOU to everyone who nominated Champion of My as Best Dog Blog in the 2012 Petties (DogTime Media Pet Blog Awards). We made the finals! So, once again, we need your help (and your votes)! Here’s how.

Voting ends Friday, July 29, 2011.

How to Vote Champion of My Heart as Best Dog Blog

1. Go to the DogTime Media Petties Page (use this URL of the link doesn’t work http://dogtime.com/petties.html).

2. Click on the little button next to Champion of My Heart in the Best Dog Blog Category (left-hand column, second block).

3. Select your choices in the other categories, if you’d like. (Our suggestions below. You do NOT have to vote in every category).

4. Click the VOTE button at the bottom , and you’re done.

If you do NOT see the VOTE button, hold down your SHIFT key and click on your page reload icon. That forces the page to dump your cache and use the most recent version of the page available.

UPDATE ON VOTING RULES (7/6/11 @ 11:30 am)

Unlike in 2010, when you could only vote once per email address, this year you can vote every day … just not excessively. According to DogTime’s Chrstina Kwan, “We aren’t capturing email like we were in the nominations phase. However, my tech team has assured me that there is something in place to prevent someone from sitting at the computer all day long submitting votes. Telling readers to go and vote once or twice a day is fine, but not excessive voting.”

That said, Lilly and I would appreciate:

• One vote now
• One vote each day (through July 29), if you are so inclined.
  

Extra Love and Gratitude to Those Who Campaign for Us

We appreciate every vote . Extra credit, good mojo, and eternal thanks to those who post our voting plea via email, Facebook, and/or Twitter as well:

Suggested Tweet:

I voted for @champofmyheart for Best Dog Blog. Won’t you please do the same? http://su.pr/1ib892

Suggested Facebook Post:

Our friends from @ChampionofMyHeart need your votes for the Best Dog Blog Award. I vote for them once each day, and I’m asking you to do the same. http://su.pr/1ib892

Share the Best Pet Blog Awards LOVE
With Champion of My Heart Friends

We’re happy to report that several of our pet blogging friends also made the finals in various Petties categories. Lilly and I would consider it a personal favor, if you voted for them too.

You do NOT have to vote in every category to take part, but we know our friends would appreciate the help.

Best Overall Pet Blog: Pet News of Views

Best Dog Blog: Champion of My Heart

Best Cat Blog: The Conscious Cat

Best Cause Related Blog: Be the Change for Animals … or K9Chronicles Rescue Me … or Raising Ruby

Best Blog Post: Raising Ruby … OR … I Love Rescue Animals … or Sparkle Cat

Best Designed Blog: your choice

Best Social Integration Blog: your choice

Funniest Blog or Blogger: Will My Dog Hate Me? … OR … Grouchy Puppy

Today, April 13, 2011, marks the FOURTH anniversary of Champion of My Heart. Forget “dog years,” I believe this makes us downright ancient in blog years. As part of our celebration, I’m writing to ask for your help. Happy Tails Books, owned and operated by Be the Change Royalty Kyla Duffy, invited me and Lilly to share ONE best-of blog post in a book of stories by top pet bloggers (a charity project). And, I cannot decide which of our many posts to pick, polish, and submit.

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Voting for the DogTime Best Dog Blog Award ends tomorrow, Friday, Aug 20, so if you haven’t voted for us (using every email address you have), could you make time to do that today? Please? For extra credit, ask everyone you know to do the same. We’d be forever grateful.

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We’re begging for nominations! DogTime will give away the “Petties” (pet blogger awards) at BlogPaws West in Denver, Sept 9-11. The prizes are pretty sweet. They are taking nominations through July 30 (tomorrow!). Those with the most nominations will compete for the awards, with voting from Aug 2-20. So, here is my SHAMELESS request for nominations. Lilly and I would love to be nominated in the Best Dog Blog category. If you can get a few pals to nominate us too, we’d love that even more.

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