Wootube!

Dolittle's got nothin' on me

Wow

By 77 Comments

So, umm, lots of you folks made me cry – and I’m not a crier either. Usually you’d have to pinch me really hard or something to get me to shed a tear, and then only if you ran away really fast afterward because if you pinch me, and I can catch you, I’ll channel those tears into return pinches;-)

I cannot believe how much you all love this blog, and how kind you’ve all been. Really, I am overwhelmed.

So here’s my situation, since you all deserve to know why I’m cryptically trying to sell my camera stuff.

You probably all know that last year I lost my job at a NPO I worked for when this stupid moron ugly co-worker, her even stupider and uglier husband and a pack of their intellectually challenged friends decided to stage a hostile takeover of the BoD through false means (me = still bitter). The new, fake, BoD terminated our positions, shut down the NPO and then a battle in court between them and the old, genuine BoD ensued that has tied them up in court since forever.

Piper hates the stupid ugly people.
meanestpiper

Like any jobless person, I applied for Unemployment Benefits, full expecting to find another job right away – I always have. It’s rare I don’t get a job I apply for, historically speaking. But their timing could not have been worse because, umm, there are no jobs. The economy sucks goats. I have been unable to find gainful employment since. Hell, I can’t even find crappy employment.

Sad Wootie is … sad.
wooeyes

This month, my Unemployment Benefits ran out. So I have no job, no money, and no safety net, because I was not exactly earning a fortune at my last job (the curse of doing Good Works for a living). I am dead serious about not being able to pay the rent – it’s no euphemism, or exaggeration. I have sold everything I have to sell, including my beloved bicycles, just to get by these last few months. My friends have been just stellar, paying for my agility classes and trial entry fees, donating dog food to my hungry canines … but I cannot continue to let people fund my life!

That’s in part why I am so reluctant to put a tip jar on the blog. People have been so very generous already, I feel downright naughty accepting more help. I’ll beg shamelessly for rescue, but it’s awfully hard for me to ask for help for me.

But not for Tweed.
tweedbeg

I also don’t want to make any of YOU pay for *my* blog! I do this because I love it – it’s so much fun to chronicle the many (mis)adventures of my dogs and the fact that you all get to enjoy it with me is just a bonus for me. Your comments often make me laugh harder than you probably do at the blog itself. You give me back as much I give you. That’s what makes this whole blog thing work, imo.

Lastly, I don’t want anyone to think I’m plugging for money. There are so many disingenuous people in this world with a sob story – I wasn’t trying to elicit sympathy from anyone by trying to sell my camera gear. I just want to pay the bills, and the camera et al is all I have left, really.

But I won’t sell it, not right now – not because I never intended to in the first place, but rather because several people have offered to buy the whole shebang and rent it back to me again until I’ve paid it off again. I think losing my cameras would be like losing an arm, so I can’t pass an offer like that up if I can avoid it (because without my arm, how would I beat Wootie for being so BAD?). So if you’ve emailed me about what I’ve got to sell and not received an answer, that’s why – not because it was a sympathy scam.

I would love for this blog to make money, I really would. But because I started this blog for my own selfish enjoyment, I would – and still don’t – have any idea how to go about making that happen. I am completely open to suggestions. I am no entrepreneur. I’m just a girl with a camera and too many dogs for any sane person. But I definitely don’t want it to make money at the expense of any of YOU. I won’t charge for subscriptions … my dogs are whackos for free, you should get to appreciate their whacko-ness for free too!

But pay ME, and I might give you another ear.
I0005

The many many emails, atop the many many comments here, that I have received are trying to assure me that my ‘art’ such as it were, is worth paying for. I really struggle with this, friends, but my protests get drowned out by your arguments. And I’m tired of Pia calling me an asshole! ;-)

So I acquiesce, and I’ll put the tip jar here on the site. I’d never even heard of such a thing until you all collectively bellowed it at me.





If you want to donate, I love you and I’m deeply humbled. If you don’t, I love you for reading the blog. And you have NO idea how much Tweed loves an audience.

ETA – I don’t know what I am doing wrong with the donate button? I just followed the paypal instructions. As you may have figured out, I’m quite techno-stupid. What’s the secret here?

Okay wait – more Edit … I think this will work. The only paypal account I have is the one associated with the rescue, so if this works, maybe just add a note that it’s not a rescue donation so the funds don’t get mixed up? ARGH! It’s already complicated ;-)

If this helps – just use the address sheenas@shaw.ca It’s all connected to the same account, I think, but that address differentiates it from the rescue one…right?

In return I promise to buckle down and try to find a way to make what I love to do pay for my simple little life. A friend and fan is hooking me up with someone who apparently knows how to make websites make money. Another friend has suggested I check out a government run self employment program for sad sacks like me with an idea but no idea how to execute it. I will also look into selling prints or other items made with my camera – if anyone is familiar with setting up webstores or similar, and wants to help me get that off the ground, I’m all ears (kind of like Dexter). And of course, if any of you fine folks in the Lower Mainland can hook me up with an actual job job, I’m all about the networking and will take any help I can get.

I don’t know what else to say, except that I promise to try and repay you all for your kindness by being funny and taking funny photos. A little birdie tells me I’m not too bad at it, after all.

No, not that birdie.
h0001

But wouldn’t it be totally creepy if, like, it did?

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I'm so sorry you're in this position, but I'm selfishly glad you won't be selling the camera stuff just yet. While I'd love to get some good equipment, I did NOT send an email your way, cause I couldn't stand the thought of profiting from a situation like this.

    That said, you could look at Esty.com or artfire.com as ways of selling prints. From my understanding, it's pretty simple to set up a shop in either store, and the overhead percentages are pretty low.

  2. Hooray! I love your pictures – I wish I could get my dog to even look at the camera, let alone have a decent picture of her. I'm so glad you agreed to put the paypal link. Your readers are bossy because we love you :)

  3. yay! i was going to suggest etsy, but someone already did. and i guess there are more too, like artfire (never been there though), but definitely look into sites like that. and if you can make other artsy-craftsy things too, either with your photos or just whatever, there's totally a market. i'll buy pretty much anything dachshund related :D

    also, have you considered *groan* advertising? google adwords and blogher are pretty popular. and there has to be others. my blogs aren't popular enough to know anything about ads, so sorry i can't be of more help there, lol, *cries*.

  4. I've been reading your blog for awhile now, but have to admit that I don't know where you live and what you were doing for work. If you post about your skill set and type of positions that you'd be looking for, maybe we can all keep an eye out for you or offer some suggestions on jobs. Also, I have experience with web design and some experience with blogs and would be happy to offer advice where it's needed. I couldn't find an email address for you (probably just looking past it between photos and other links), but if you post it, I'll provide you with my contact info.

  5. I just tried the paypal button, but it didn't actually direct me to a wootube related page. Where should we send our $$?

  6. Definitely take a look into BlogHer. You take beautiful photos, have a great following, and have such a great writing style! I really hope that you keep this site up as it is a joy to see those smiling doggy's faces in the middle of my work day.

    Best of luck with your job search. It's SO HARD out there, but I hope that something comes along soon.

  7. Hi Food Lady – There's no email address connected to the paypal link :(. Can you tell us which address to send money to?

  8. I know how hard it can be to ask for- or even just accept- help from others. You may feel it is selfish to depend on others in your time of need, but no one would offer if you didn't deserve it. I don't know the woman behind the blogs, but your stories and your photos have inspired me so much over the past couple of years.

    Your blogs offer entertainment; people need this. Actually, you can rest assured that most of us are only donating due to our own selfish needs for laughs and pretty pictures. So, with that said, I'm glad you have decided to accept our offers and consider our suggestions. Best wishes and good luck!

    Take care,

    Jo and pups

  9. TFL: You do have a set of skills that you show every time you post. Friends can help you see them, embrace them and make them yours.

    Folks: i think that Greta is trying to aggregate all the great ideas you have. Can you pls email them too her so they're easy to reference? TY! nickelsmum at yahoo dot com

  11. I'm happy to hear you're going to keep plugging away! Good luck!

    Now after reading this post, it occurs to me that you never addressed the book comments that came up in the last round of post comments.

    There are far less talented people out there who have written books (who have written awful DOG books). These people not only lack the creative writing skills you have, they don't have the benefit of your awesome photos and 4 funny co-stars. I wish I could tell you where to look for a publisher, or who is looking for a new author, but I just don't know. I know that if you were able to get a small number of books published you'd have enough consumers here to finance another round of publications that you could maybe turn around and sell at agility or flyball tournaments, and local bookstores.

  12. I used the sheenas@shaw.ca email address to send money. You will get an email from Paypal telling you how to set up an account there associated with that email. Once you set that up your Paypal account will have a place to associate that account with your personal bank account so you can transfer money to the account you write checks from.

    I look forward to lots more entertaining photos and stories! I'm so happy to be able to get my 3WAAW fix.

  13. Yesyesyes, Etsy.com!

    It may take a moment to figure out the behind-the-scenes posting for Sellers, but the bells and whistles are for people who have the time and energy to add the extras. Post a price, description and photos and your prints are available immediately. At 20 cents a post, they'll pay for themselves.

    Buyers can send a check, use PAYPAL or if you are in physical contact, use cash. Etsy doesn't handle any moolah, just a 'commitment to buy.'

    Plus, you're exchanging goods for cash and it might feel better.

    LUCK!

  14. I'm so glad you will still be here! for my own selfish reasons i.e. I really enjoy your photos and your hilarious captions and would miss them so much!!

    I – like so many others – will be more than willing to pay for the joy you've given me.

  15. I think the book idea is a wonderful one and closer than you might think. Of the 10 or so blogs I regularly read, SIX of them have published books in the past year. One of them has published THREE books in 3 years! Books by bloggers are very hot right now. The real work of writing a book is in the actual writing, and bloggers are ahead of "writers" there because they write every day in most cases. You have a lot of content in your archives waiting to be shaped. I sincerely believe you can get a book deal Sheena. It isn't the answer to your immediate money woes, but I know you can do this.

  16. Since the PayPal link goes to the Rescue, even with comments about non-rescue donations you may want to set up a private Paypal account to avoid any problems. It's easy, trust this non-techie when I say that!
    Even if you don't get the $$ that goes to the Rescue account, it's still a good cause obviously. But we want to help YOU out!!

  17. Willow's right. It isn't an immediate answer and maybe it won't make you 'rich', but it should put some steaks on the floor and some KD on the table for you! ;)

    I came to your blog after you had been writing for a long time, and I started reading at the beginning. I believe I finished it in a day. I felt like I was there when Red Dog passed, and was horrified for you when you had to tear up that island looking for a Very Bad Woo. I sympathized with you about Woo's recall, and really enjoyed the posts around the addition of MC Hamster.

    The writing's mostly done. There's an obvious storyline. You can love your dogs unconditionally, and STILL feel like strangling them.

  18. I buy Etsy, or direct from the artist for all my gift needs and household (dog pictures) stuff.

    I would also gladly buy the rights to use any number of your photos for collage work, etc. for my own stuff. (I will never use something I don't have permission to use-EVER) or would collaborate and split any proceeds 50/50 for photos I use.

  19. I agree with setting up a separate PayPal account. If your rescue is a non-profit, it might be problematic to be pulling personal funds out of the same account.

    Set it up soon, and let us know! I'm pretty broke, but in no danger of not being able to pay the mortgage right now. I need to keep getting a Dexter/Piper/Tweet/Mr. Woo fix. Y'all always, always make me smile, except when your money worries make me worry!

  20. donated. Definitely worth a few bucks to keep seeing your gorgeous dogs, even the bad ones.

    Just curious — what sort of things do you do for a living? Oddly, I actually know a few places hiring right now…

  21. I know how it feels having gone through being thrown out the door of where I used to work for 20 years. They told me to file for disability…I lost my house, I sold almost everything I owned and it was a horrible life for over a year. I had the animals in my life but not the wonderful ability to take pictures like you do so I'll gladly pay a little at a time. I love your blog very much. Sitting here at the computer (now with a fractured foot for at least 4 months more) I look forward so much to your blog. I LOVE IT!!!! Please hang in there..and I know how hard it is but you can do it. You have great talent!!! Lots of love! Debbie and Hollydog PS: Piper has the look that ugly stupid people deserve!

  22. YAY!
    My dogs don't know why I'm dancing through the living room while reading this post, but they're happy with me.
    I don't agree with your opinion on payed subscription, but hey, glad you're trying to make things work!
    I live on the other end of the earth so I can't help you get a job, or pay for a fotoshoot. But just now I set up a PayPal account. :) I'm gonna wait and see if you'll set up a private PayPal account, and then I will gladly donate some.

    My 2 BC's are sending you high fives and wet kisses. Keep the spirit high!

  23. I just found you and I so enjoy your pictures and blog, so I am glad you are not selling the camera. I am sorry for the position you are in. I have so many friends in the same situation, this economy has bashed so many people. I feel your heart and wish I could help financially but what I can offer is my other blog. I agree that an Etsy shop might be a great idea for you! I have one and it's super easy to set up.
    When you get your shop going let me know and I will run a feature on you. The post will reach over 700 peeps (not counting my FB and Twitter) and could bring in potential customers for you… that would be cool :) Good luck sweetie!

  24. Hi Food Lady

    I have never written to you before but I check your blogs at least once a day. They are such a bright spot in my day. Two of my three dogs have hip displaysia and can't do agility anymore (The third dog is a CPE (couch potato extrordinairre) so I kind of live vicariously through you. I can't have a puppy right now so watching Dexter grow up has been my substitute.

    I would gladly pay for a blog subscription. You are so good at this and your photos are amazing. There has to be a way to make this pay. Glad to see the tip jar. Will try to figure it out!

  25. Awesome! Lots of folks here care about what happens to you, your pack and the blog.
    I've been reading since you were on the BC boards and hope to keep up with your crew till you are a little, old lady. No pressure there :-)
    I'm sorry you are in this position, but there are lots of good ideas here and something will work out for you.
    Donation is on the way.
    Laura in California

  26. Yay! I am glad you listened to all your fans of whom I am one. I am sorry you have had such a hard year and am impressed you could write such an upbeat blog while struggling so much but maybe the blog was what kept you going – as I hope it will continue to do.

    As others have said, Esty and BlogHer. You could also contact Shreve Stockton of Daily Coyote for advice – I am sure she would be happy to share what she has learned with her blog. I think she was making money from her blog even before her book. Think about all the agility people with BCs who would buy T-shirts with your photos on them.

    Again, as others have said, there is surely a book in your blog just waiting to be teased out. A book about Red Dog would be a tribute to him and a help for people with difficult dogs. I am sure there are lots of other themes you could develop from the blog. "Letters From Dogs" with your pictures and often hilarious commentary comes to mind.

    I hate paypal but will try to use it when I hear it is working smoothly. I hope this, as hard as it is, has convinced you of how valued you are.

  27. Thank goodness you're staying. If you didn't I'd have to find you and pinch you and make you cry. You can't take the dogs away from us. I love reading about their adventures and how naughty woo can be. They crack me up. And I'd be totally upset if I didn't get to watch dexter grow up.

  28. I'm so glad that you are going to put on your thinking cap!!

    Really you need to check out CreateSpace.com. You can publish your OWN book on there. I did it last year. CreateSpace is linked with Amazon, so for no extra charge my book is for sale on Amazon too. I make only about $200 a month selling my book, but it's better than nothing! (And my book is a Step By Step Guide To Training A Miniature Horse To Drive… I had very few followers, but have sold lots of books every month since I published it.) With all your followers I would think your book would do VERY well!!

    That's my wonderful idea =) My husband lost his job last year, we lost our farm and I lost all my horses. I also sold EVERYTHING I could to put food on the table. (I sold all our furniture! Hubby wasn't too happy about that, but my Mom gave us a Gianormous bean bag that all four of us snuggle on.. with 4 people and two dogs it can get VERY snuggly!)

    Good luck!

  29. Sheena — Check out Zenfolio. My husband has a photography store on it (it lets you set up your own website/store) and I think it was pretty easy to set up. You could start selling photographs almost immediately, and you can make up your own URL so it would be something easy for everyone who already loves 3WAAW to find!

  30. YAY! I'm so glad you're keeping the blog up for the time being. Unfortunately I cannot donate money right now, because I too am unemployed with no hope of finding a job that doesn't require driving entirely too far. BUT! I can offer something else that you may or may not want! For free even!

    I am a marketing *genius*. Ok, well, probably not. But I am in marketing, and thus far, I've been pretty good at it. And I have lots of time. And I need more concrete experience with SEO/SEM marketing, so I'd be happy to help you promote your photography/blog/etc online via Google Adwords & such. There are pros/cons of that stuff, and I'd be happy to discuss it further with you if you're interested. I'm also pretty durn good with Photoshop/InDesign, and can make a brochure and other print collateral like nobody's business. I'd be happy to help you out, and get you set up with whatever I can from a marketing standpoint, at no cost, as long as I can use the experience on my resume.

    Just let me know! :)

  31. It isn't much, Food Lady, but I am addicted to you blog & your dogs. Plz feed them. Wootie is looking a little thin.

  32. You are an extremely talented person. I haven't read a lot of your blog, but the little I have had time to read makes me want to MAKE time to read the rest. My husband wrote a book: Entheos (Ben Castille) google it if you care too. Its about finding enthusiasm for life through fulfilling work. You've already found it!!!! You're doing what you love and are SO obviously good at. You could take your blog and convert it into a book as someone here has already suggested! My husband got his book published at Author House – You can too! Do it!

  33. I hardly ever comment, but please note that I come by everyday to see your wonderful pictures! I adore your blog and your writing style. I think you could definitely make money off your blog – You should check out dooce.com. Her blog supports their whole family!! I don't know how she does it, but it works.
    I don't know if it would be helpful, but I'd love to talk about selling prints of your photos on my webpage. You may want to set-up a store completely, but if you're interested, shoot me an email at lbailey at completedog.com. Glad you're sticking around!

  34. I am so glad someone helped you keep your camera gear. Another website to consider is Artfire.com they let you list your items for free unlike etsy. As for finding publishers for dog books i would say go to the store and look at every dog photobook made and find the publisher then call them! Also i love mpix.com for printing. They have fair pricing and great prints. Another thing you can do is look up local art galleries or boutique shops to see if they'd be willing to display and sell your work. Good Luck and keep blogging!

  35. Food Lady:

    Just made my contribution and I have to say that you should NOT feel badly for putting out a hand. Many of us have been in the same boat and have been lucky enough to have a safety net in the form of friends or family who could give us financial support. For me, I simply repaying a debt for which the person who gave me financial support when I was down and destitute would not accept repayment. You repay your debt in what you contribute to our lives (e.g. laughes!) and the work you do with rescue dogs.

    Now, if only I knew someone who could get you a book deal… Anyone? anyone?

  36. I am beyond broke right now – I wish I could help financially but am not keeping my own head above water. Maxed the credit cards and credit line…it's a horrible way to live.

    Have you considered one of the employment programs for entrepreneurs? Lots of advice and support and help with starting a business, and financial aid while you are in the program and the first year of running your business. Douglas College has a great program and it's free to apply.

    You're lucky that you have so many generous readers who are willing to help you out during tough times.

  37. I'm so glad, Food Lady. I've read your blog for years now, actually, and never commented (because really, someone else has always already said what I wanted to say). But by now, I kind of feel like your dogs are also mine, and I, too, am one of those pseudo-cyber-stalkers who checks your blog every day. If you didn't post about your dogs I'd be wondering how they were doing … if Wootie got lost again … How Tweed is doing in agility … how they're feeling, looking, what they're enjoying lately… in short, I would worry about them the way I worry about mine when I go away (which never happens because I have pets … but I digress)…
    Anyway, please don't feel ashamed of making money off of your gifts. The world we live in requires that we have a certain amount of money, and if you can make that money helping others (which, make no mistake, you're doing), then you're ahead of the game. I wish I lived by you so I could have my dogs' souls and personality captured through your photography.
    Also I'm glad Pia called you an asshole, LOL. She rocks. :)
    Off to donate, now – it won't be much because I'm dead broke too, but a little bit is better than nothing.

  38. Don't forget Cafepress.ca for other merchandise, and Lulu.com for self-publishing a book or calendar. Once you get a bit of capital together, consider postcards or greeting cards from Moo.com. Cards are always good sellers!

    Contact your local Women's Enterprise Centre or Canada Business Centre for entrepreneurial assistance and self-employment programs. You have a talent and potential custoomer base – plenty of businesses have started out with a whole lot less than that!

    Good luck!

  40. Sheena, I donated. When I clicked on the donate button, the "purpose" came up as 3WAAW, but then at the end said it would show up as a donation to the rescue. Hope it gets to you. Didn't see a place to specify who it was for. I wrote down the confirmation number, so if you need that to separate it out, let me know. So glad you're sticking around!

  41. You can offer subscriptions without making them mandatory to view the site, you know. :) Subscribers could get little extras, like once a year a photo of yours that they particularly like. Or a date with Wootie. Or a wax cast of Mad Teeth for them to wear when they are feeling Piper-ish.

    Non-subscribers could still view the site and would not be stigmatized (I love that word!) for not subscribing. That's how it works on my White Sox fan board!

    I figure since you pointed me in the direction of Rowley and away from that rescue BC who is a biter waiting to strike, and also away from the rescue BC who has terminal kennelosis, I owe you a debt of gratitude at the very least. :)

  42. I'm so glad you changed your mind about ceasing to blog. I think I was starting to go through the stages of grief at losing the dogs (OK, so that's weird but I really look forward to the adventures of the 3WAAW!). I donated — but, this is maybe the 2nd time I've ever used Paypal, so I hope it worked. Will the "tipjar" show up on each posting or do we need to come back to this particular post? I thought about setting up a recurring payment on paypal, so I could treat it like a subscription, but the terms of service were waaaay too long and it started sounding like there would be fees so I need to investigate further… Anyway, love the blog, love the dogs, I hope things turn around for you soon!

  43. Sheena,
    I too have been enjoying your blog for the last couple of years. Please accept a small donation toward whatever helps.
    And good luck with your entrepreneurial attempts — follow all leads, suggestions and your heart. And I think the book is also a GREAT idea!
    best,
    Ailsa

  44. I would SO buy 3WAAW pictures off of Etsy! Hell, yes! Vet tech here, and I'm unashamed to say that an embarrasing portion of our clinic staff frequent this blog on a regular basis – it's our stress relief and great for a laugh when things get hairy (both literally and figuratively).

    We would all be very, very sad to see you and your camera go away.

    Kudos to Danielle et al. for suggesting selling your prints.

  45. I found this blog – and the BC Boards – while researching border collies out of both personal interest and for my family, who own an adopted BCx. Together (and TWAAW in particular) they've made a very large contribution to my decision to make rescue and shelter work a significant part of my career.
    So while your posts are comical (okay, downright hilarious) they're important, too – enough so that they've influenced someone thousands of miles away. I'm glad to see that they won't be coming to an end.

  46. Thank you! Like many others, I love your dogs, your photos of the dogs, & your comments about the dogs. So very happy to have your posts to look forward to, still. Someone mentioned your 2010 calendar… is it still available for purchase? Where?

  48. Hey Food Lady, I sent you an email with some suggestions that I hope help. I also wanted to say thanks to all of the people here who have posted their ideas; I've been shamelessly reading them for my own edification, and y'all have great ideas! I'm in a similar position of trying to start up my own art career with photography and blogging, but thankfully I also have the safety-net of a full-time publishing job.

    This is a terrific and terribly entertaining blog, and I hope it's around for many years to come. :)

  49. I can't wait until you get in a position to sell some prints. There are some photos that I want to hang in my house oh so badly.

    Good luck with this adventure.

  50. Personally, I would not go the photo route. There are too many out there and to be competitive you need contacts (agility?) and/or something to make you different from the rest.

    however, I supported my self very well for over 3 years by doing basic good manners classes at a price that .just. undercut the competition. It blossomed and now, over 10 years later I STILL have people calling. I was (and still am) the only dog trainer in the area. It's a niche. Find your niche. Do something that others are NOT doing.

    That said, if you decide to go the photo route, find some shows and show your stuff. Have business cards made up and take orders for prints you have displayed instead of making them up ahead of time to sell then. You can do that once you are established. In addition, do not go .just. for dogs. Also choose other subjects to pull in people who don't do dogs but have homes to decorate….birds/barns/wildlife/landscapes.

    Learn to use photoshop and stitch panoramas together.

    You obviously have internet still, go explore some sites that you like and expand your portfolio.

    Look at it from a consumer angle, what do people look at and what are people willing to pay for? Kids? Family portraits? Reunions? Local celebs? Local events? Chamber of Commerce events? School events? Who does the yearbooks for grade schools etc?

    don't limit yourself to photos OR dogs.

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