Pet people

I have never thought of myself as a pet person. Sure, I grew up with cats and golden retrievers that I adored, but I never really took an interest in other people's pets. As I have gotten older, however, and especially over the past six months, I have become much more attuned to the world of pets.

There are several reasons for this, I think. First, since I grew up in a pet-owning household, I grew accustomed to finding dog hair in my food, having my feet attacked by cat claws in the middle of the night and waking up with warm, wet nose in my face. The absence of joys like these now makes me acutely aware of the lack of pets in my everyday life. And while I wouldn't necessarily want to change this, the fact that I don't have my own furball to attend to makes me more cognizant of the fact that other people do.

I also believe that losing a pet makes one realize just how significant a role a furry, four-legged friend can play in your life. The heartache I experienced saying goodbye to our family dog last February was surprising in its intensity. My chest literally ached. And even now, a full year later, I am occasionally swept over by waves of sadness as I remember her soulful brown eyes and soft, silky cheeks. This most recently occurred when I read Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain, a must-read for anyone who has ever loved a dog.

But my immersion in the pet world has reached an all-time high since last August, when I began working with a company that describes itself as (and truly is) a pack of pet lovers. In consulting with BISSELL on their numerous pet-related initiatives -- from their Most Valuable Pet Contest to their Pack of Pet Lovers online community and their partnerships with Petfinder and North Shore Animal League America -- I have discovered the remarkable network of pet people that extends across the U.S. and around the globe. (One of my newest Twitter friends is a fun-loving French canine, @ParisChien.)

This network -- which leaves little doubt in my mind that we are a society full of pet people --includes such pet influentials as Andrea Arden, Cesar Millan, Dr. Marty Becker, Wendy Diamond and Kristen Levine; authors of pet blogs like USA Today's Paw Print Post, Paw Luxury, Scratchings and Sniffings and The Dog Files; and the millions of Americans planning to attend such upcoming events as BlogPaws, Global Pet Expo, SuperZoo, NSALA's Adopt-a-thon and HSUSA's Walk for the Animals. It includes the 69 million American households that own pets, as well as those whose work revolves around the pet industry --the veterinarians, trainers, groomers, breeders, dog walkers, kennel managers, pet product manufacturers, shelter volunteers, animal psychics....and so on and so on.

So I guess the question is not so much whether or not I am a pet person, but rather what kind of pet person I am. How will my personal experiences with pets like Maisie, Pippin, Thistle and Squeak combine with my new acquaintance with the global pet network to define my ultimate pet personality?

I think the jury is still out on this one :)

Maisie