Champion of My Heart Site 15th Anniversary

Honestly, I cannot fathom that our Champion of My Heart  site is celebrating 15 years. This little indie site keeps on chugging along. Forget so-called DOG YEARS. That's way more than an EON AGO in publishing. The first post went live on April 13, 2007, which was a Friday the 13th. It's funny looking back at early content. Apparently, I had more time for my craft and was much more lyrical back then. Lately, I focus on providing interesting and practical information about dogs and veterinary topics, with the occasional more personal post about my current generation of dogs. Take a look back (and ahead) with me, won't you?

Once Upon a Time ... Champion of My Heart

My original hopes involved creating a real-time, essay-style memoir about our original canine heroine, Lilly, who died of a severe / rare rabies vaccine reaction. But, between 2007 and 2013, I chronicled her life the best I could. 

After Lilly died, it took me a while to figure out how to forge ahead. In the meantime, I wrote an Amazon best-seller book about pet loss called Heart Dog - Surviving the Loss of Your Canine Soul Mate.

I sputtered around for a while even after Clover and Tori joined our family and then Mr. Stix too. 

Our Champion of My Heart site is also pretty famous around the world for providing FREE access to audio/video files that make doing the Canine Relaxation Protocol much easier. Info about the protocol remains -- by far -- the content getting the most attention. Beyond that, though, the top 25 pages (all time) look like this:

1. Relaxation protocol
2. Newbie's guide to puberty in the female dog
3. Why I chose a traditional spay
4. When a puppy's UTI won't go away
5. Feeling guilty about getting another dog after one dies
6. Relaxation protocol background / explanation post
7. The main blog page
8. Audio file for Day 1 of the relaxation protocol
9. Dog etiquette
10. Explanation of a veterinary neurological exam
11. Dogs who won't eat -- myths and facts about picky eaters
12. A post about a nasty spider bite
13. Does the relaxation protocol work?
14. Adverse vaccine reaction / behavior changes
15. Dewclaw mishap - grooming gone wrong
16. Is a current rabies vaccination enough to protect dogs exposed to rabies?
17. Titer testing in dogs
18. Naming a puppy -- why Clover?
19. Our about us page
20. Canine genetic tests - thumbs up and thumbs down
21. Our contact page
22. Bully sticks and broken teeth
23. Dog spider bite treatment
24. Neutropenia in dogs
25. Incontinent dogs / diaper options

If there is any type of content you really want or need, please let me know, and I'll do my best to oblige.

What's Next?

In 2022, I'm doing a better job posting weekly, so there's that. Have you noticed? Do you care? *wink Have you subscribed yet?

I'm also doing more original video content for posts. It's time consuming, but it give you another option. I include the same information from the video in text form for those who prefer to consumer information that way. I understand that you often don't have time to sit and watch a video that's 15 or even 30 minutes long -- such as How not to get fired as a veterinary client.

I'm working on the first in a series of books for kids about Mr. Stix. 

Look for new and more affiliate partnerships with fun / fresh products for dogs and dog lovers so that the site can better support itself (and me). I only connect with companies or products that match my personal brand and readers. I turn a lot of offers down because they seem sketchy from a veterinary perspective or almost comically expensive (and I'd never recommend you waste money). Though, if you scroll all the way down on this page, you'll see a pug purse that I 100% need to have. Yes, the new affiliate is sending me one for free. Eeeeeeee! Since the dog attack in November 2021, I definitely need a fun summer purse. 

The site needs a major design, like what I did for my site as a professional writer recently, but that site is only like 16 pages, and this one is huge compared to that. 

I plan to recreate our online store using a new platform and new products too. That's another big task, so we'll see. Won't we?

For now, look at these stats from 15 years of our Champion of My Heart site!

It just dawned in my, with my 30th wedding anniversary also in April, that our Champion of My Heart site has been around through half of my marriage ... ROTFLMAO. Does that count like having a teenager in the house?