Holiday Miracles: Dog Survives Blast, and Other Happy Tales

Diva

It was miracle enough that the Diaz family survived a huge explosion that wrecked their home Tuesday. A little boy, his dad, and grandparents were home when there apparently was a natural gas pipeline explosion at their home in Haltom City, Texas.

But when they found their beloved dog, Diva, hiding among the ruins the next day, they finally called it a true miracle. They took her to the veterinarian right away and were hugely relieved that she had no serious injuries.

“We’re just blessed — Christmas miracle, I guess,” Maggie Diaz told NBC-DFW. Check out the video below the illustration to see just how bad the damage was, and you’ll see how very lucky they all were. (If you can call it lucky when you lose your home.)

On your way down to the video, take a look at this Holiday Pet Miracles illustration. The Dogster Dog Blog is the very first place you’ll find this on the Internet! The good folks at eBay Classifieds thought we were a deserving bunch because we write about these types of story pretty frequently. They thought you’d enjoy seeing some of these happy tales in illustrated form. It would be fun to see a poster like this at veterinary clinics this time of year, wouldn’t it? Some people taking their pets there really do need a miracle.

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BlogPaws a Blast for Pet Bloggers of All Stripes (and Spots)

BlogPaws is a great chance to meet up with fellow pet bloggers. Here I am (center) at last year's BlogPaws in Denver, with Sharon Castellanos, of Grouchy Puppy, and Neil Brogan, of Life With Dogs (Photo courtesy of Neil Brogan)

When I think of BlogPaws, the national conference for pet bloggers, I think of super helpful educational programs, great speakers, fun bloggers, and major swag. The swag alone is worth the price of admission. (Leave a lot of space in your luggage!) Jake was in heaven for quite a while with all the goodies I brought home for him.

A happy BlogPaws attendee of the furry variety

This year’s conference will be held August 25-27 at the Sheraton Premiere Tysons Corner, Virginia. That’s just outside Washington, D.C. I’m in D.C. right now doing research for my upcoming book, and I highly recommend leaving a couple of extra days before or after the conference to tour around, especially if you haven’t been before. It’s better than ever. So much has changed, even since my last visit 15 years ago, so even if you’ve visited before, it’s worth sniffing around again.

In attendance at BlogPaws will be about 400 bloggers, terrific pet brands, and other media. Pets are welcome, should you not want to leave yours behind. (But you may not want to do up D.C. if you bring your dog.) BlogPaws has hosted little dogs, big dogs, cats, ferrets, guinea pigs, and rabbits at past conference, so don’t be shy about bringing your well-behaved critter.

Besides the swag and the fun, the program list this year looks excellent. There’s something for everyone in terms of education, including sessions on SEO, monetization, turning your blog into a book, making a career out of blogging, photography, and video skills.

Dogster is a sponsor this year, and BlogPaws is offering Dogsters 20% off registration with the code “BlogPaws2011-Dogster”. Register now and start packing for a blogerrific time.

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