Cathy Erickson
Equestrian, Pet-lover, and Entrepreneur
I’ve been working with pets for a very long time, and that career has given me so many different ways to share my love for animals. I’ve billed myself as “Equestrian, pet-lover, and entrepreneur Cathy Erickson, who has built a reputation for producing annual pet events that are as fun to attend as they are to create,” but I’ve also had plenty of other fun ventures – including my old blog, MuzzleBump.
As a natural extension of my pet expo mission to help educate pet owners and promote the health and well-being of pets, I decided to start writing. The goal was to provide pet owners and professionals with a steady stream of pet-related information, from recalls and food safety notifications to appreciations of animal heroes and other “muzzle bumps.” Written from my years of experience and based on the advice of local and national experts, I wanted to help pet owners understand what their pets might say they need or want. As if they themselves could talk!
It was a place for me to share heart-warming, funny-bone-tickling pet stories from the heartland, and offer my own common-sense, honest Midwestern insights, useful for pets everywhere year round. As I’ve recently been making some updates to my website, digging into these old blog posts has been such a treat, and reminded me of where it all started.
What’s a “Muzzle Bump”?
First of all, the name. What’s a “muzzle bump”? It’s a term I made up to describe the way a dog might use their muzzle to give you a small notification of their needs, or to let you know they appreciate you. I say I made it up, but in all honesty, it was a gift from a senior German Shorthair Pointer I rescued a few years back.
When you produce pet expos, you make a lot of friends in the rescue world. These are great people volunteering their own time and money to keep good dogs from bad endings. Being friends leads to connecting on social media, which in itself leads to seeing many dogs looking for a home – even more than in the old days, where plenty of the same went on via hearsay!
As any pet lover knows, the temptation to adopt them all was almost irresistible. To remain strong, I would remind myself that the pet expos I produce help hundreds of dogs find new homes every year. Of course, I’d love to take them all home myself, but my household budget says otherwise. But one day, I saw a posting for a senior Pointer in a city shelter about three hours away. She was solid liver with a very grey muzzle, and seemed to have no backstory that anyone could discern. Unfortunately, she wasn’t the type of dog who typically makes it out of a facility that is overwhelmed with incoming rescues. I only had two other dogs at the time. And did I mention how much I adore Pointers?
Two days later I had her home with me. She was so skinny that I put a coat on her to take her to the vet, for fear the other owners would think I had done that to her. But ultimately, with a lot of love and care, she overcame some health issues, put on weight, and grew a beautiful, glossy coat. I named her Jade.
Jade quickly made herself at home. Farm life not only agreed with her; it energized her. That’s when the muzzle bumps started. When Jade was happy about getting pets, playing with toys, or hearing it was dinner time, she would take her nose and bump my cheek. It quickly became her signature move, and it was always satisfying to know that she had something she felt comfortable communicating with me.
So, a “muzzle bump” is very much like a good blog post. Just a little message, hopefully energized, communicating something you might want to know.
While I haven’t updated that old blog in about five years now, I’ve felt myself drawn back to it. I’ve been digging up those old posts to update and share on this new website. Thinking about it, I realize the posts we now share on social media to educate our audience about caring for their pets, entertain them, and keep them up-to-date on local pet happenings (including the Expo!) are the modern muzzle bump. While I focus my energy on bringing a world-class pet expo to Des Moines every fall, I still get so excited about the ways I can share my knowledge, expertise, and passion for pets.
– Muzzlebump 🙂