Three years ago, a boy who loves petting dogs that he meets by chance decided to start the blog called I’ve Pet That Dog. And it’s the purest thing you’ll ever find on the Internet. 11-year-old Gideon, with the help of his Mom, runs this heartwarming and wholesome blog.
Just like any other blog, it took some time before I’ve Pet That Dog got noticed. It already had 304 posts piled up before the Internet began recognizing the purely adorable blog. The initial posts were pretty simple. A photo of Gideon petting his newfound friend would be accompanied by the dog’s name and date-of-pet. But lately, Gideon’s decided to add some in-depth descriptions about the dogs he meets.
“I don’t know why, I think me and my mom just wanted to like, have people know the dog a tiny bit and get some information about the dog.”
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It’s clear to see why Gideon currently has over 300,000 Twitter followers and 50, 300 Instagram fans. His adorable and charming posts on social media are like a ray of sunshine in this rather bleak world.
I’ve Pet That Dog is more than just a blog that shares adorable photos of dogs.
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In fact, part of Gideon’s mission is to help save dogs from living lonely existences. Through his platform, this amazing 11 year-old boy helps dogs be found by pet lovers looking to adopt a new member into their family. Gideon sometimes visits animal shelters to help increase its canine tenants’ chances of being adopted. Recently, he tweeted his followers about a lovely Shih Tzu looking for a forever home.
“I pet Romeo. He is a 7-year-old Shih Tzu at @CedarBendHS who needs a home,” he tweeted. “He was a stray. When he was found, his hair was all matted and dirty. Romeo can sit and comes when you call his name. He likes to play fetch and tug-o-war. He loves to be pet.”
The philosophy of I’ve Pet That Dog is quite simple: Dogs are good and we should pet them.
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When asked why he started the blog, Gideon said:
“Well, there’s a couple of reasons. One, I LOVEEE dogs. Two, I wanted to see how many dogs I could get. And three, I wanted to show the public about all of the dogs. I wanted to show everybody all of the dogs in the world. I don’t think I will ever do that, though.”
Funnily enough, Gideon also shared that when they were starting, his Mom didn’t really expect him to actually do anything with the blog. Gideon said that
“she thought it would only last for like, I don’t know, two days”.
It’s understandable, of course, since he was only 7 years old at the time, and 7-year-old kids normally don’t blog. But not Gideon! This is very clearly his calling!
Gideon’s petted over 1,000 dogs.
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On September this year, Gideon reached a major milestone in his dog-petting career. Gideon met and petted his 1,000th furry friend, named Millie, on September 27, 2019. We want to pet 1,000 dogs too! What a wonderful life!
How exactly does I’ve Pet That Dog! gets its content?
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Having someone run up to you while you’re just walking your dog is a compliment for most dog owners. And that’s exactly what Gideon does.
“We drive around in a car and then when we see a dog, we park. Then we get out and say, ‘Can I pet your dog?’ Well, that’s what I say. And sometimes they are like, ‘What?'” the dog-loving boy said. “I have to admit, it’s kind of weird for a kid to just come up and say, ‘Can I get your dog on my website?'”
We’ll have to admit that it’s uncanny. But we’re pretty sure everyone that this young blogger approaches is more pleased than weirded out.
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I’ve Pet That Dog! celebrates canine diversity.
The simple and innocent motivation behind Gideon’s blog is so heartwarming. A child’s curiosity is truly a wonderful thing. And we’re so happy that Gideon’s mom let him satisfy his curiosity, because now we have his blog to fawn over!
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Moreover, if you want to see a specific dog breed, all you do is to type it in the website-specific search engine and you’ll get all the results pertaining to your query. It’s truly one-of-a-kind!
“I think it’s because… I just love meeting the dogs. Why I love meeting dogs is because, well, they’re— if they looked exactly alike I don’t think I would’ve done this website. But they look different. Their fur is different colors. Some of them are taller, some are smaller, some don’t like playing with toys, some love playing with toys. It’s all because they’re basically different.”
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Gideon’s career of petting all the good boys (and girls) is something all we other dog lovers aspire to achieve. This awesome young man sure was born to pet all the dogs! Now, since he’s still school, finding and petting dogs is still an after-school thing. Gideon made it a point to pet at least one dog a day, but lately, we’re observing that the number of new friends he meets every day has increased. We hope to see more of this adorable young man and his furry friends. Now excuse me, I’m off to pet my dog.
Source: Gideon/I’ve Pet That Dog!