Dogs Would Be Bloggers

I've given some more thought to the dog behavior/Internet use comparison and I think I've found an almost perfect parallel.

If dogs could use the Internet, they would all be bloggers. It's true. It's asynchronous communication at its very best, and dogs are masters of this. Think about it.

Baxter goes out for his morning walk. He checks out all his favorite spots: the post, the tree, the shrub next to the mailbox. With his nose he reads all the messages left there, some by acquaintances, some by random strangers passing by. If it's interesting enough, he leaves his own comments for other friends and strangers to find. If not, he moves on. He proceeds to his favorite spot in the ivy patch where, without fail, he always leaves his daily "post." Later today Shasta down the street will stop at the same places, perhaps some different places, and she might leave a comment for the next passer-by to find.

Blogging is initially a solitary pursuit, but it still relies on other people -- to read it, to appreciate it, to comment on it, to give it value. I enjoy checking out my friends' blogs. Sometimes I leave comments. And I also enjoy finding the occasional new blog written by a perfect stranger who shares something that's of interest to me.

There's something appealing about the idea of putting messages out there to be found by friends as well as strangers. Maybe I'll make a new acquaintance. Maybe someone I don't even know will find what I write and think it's interesting. I get a certain amount of satisfaction from just putting the words out there, but it means more to me when someone acknowledges that they've read it.

For Baxter and Kirby and the millions of other dogs out there who have been, in their own scent-communication way, blogging for millennia, this is a no-brainer.