While most pet business content is written from a human-to-human perspective, occasionally it’s fun and engaging to write something in a pet’s voice. With a blog dedicated to writing from a Yorkie perspective, I’ve realized how personality shapes every story.
August 2025 was a transitional time for my Yorkie blog. Sadly, that is when Clutch, my wise and grumpy senior Yorkie, passed away. The storytelling torch was picked up by Josiah, who arrived full of energy, curiosity, and a brand-new puppy perspective. That’s when I began full immersion into the world of voice, especially Yorkie storytelling voice.
Small Yorkies have big personalities. As a content writer, I’ve had to capture distinct voices: first between two Yorkies, and now between a puppy and a one-year-old Yorkie, as Josiah has grown up over the past year. I’d like to reflect on the differences in those storytelling voices and how voice makes content richer and more engaging for readers.
Two Dogs, Three Voices
I started the Yorkie blog with Clutch, a senior Yorkie. A seasoned veteran, his blog voice comes across as wise, grumpy, with dry wit and a little “this is how it is” attitude. I didn’t just make up a voice for Clutch. I took my cues from his daily behavior and expressions.
When Josiah arrived and took over the blog, he was 10 weeks old: playful, enthusiastic, curious, dramatic, living in the moment. I had to make his voice different from Clutch’s and capture that puppy energy of wide-eyed wonder, where everything is new.
As Josiah grew from a puppy into a one-year-old Yorkie, his voice had to grow too. That’s not something I had thought about beforehand. But as I came up with weekly topics to show his interactions with the world around him, I realized his young adult personality and interests were different from a puppy’s. I had to capture the transformation from a puppy discovering the world to a young adult dog who thinks it’s his job to explain the world to his readers.
That’s three separate voices in one blog: Clutch’s original voice, Josiah’s puppy voice, and Josiah’s young adult voice. To show the contrast:
Senior Dog Clutch: “You’ve asked if Yorkies play fetch. Do you mean, if you throw a ball, will I chase it? Maybe. Depends what mood I’m in. But if you’re asking will I pick it up, bring it back to you, and drop it so you can throw it again? No. Absolutely not. I’m a Yorkshire terrier, not a retriever.”
Puppy Josiah: “I love to chase my rope ball. It’s so fun. I carry it back to Miss Janet so she can toss it again. If she’s busy, I just toss it to myself!”
Young Adult Josiah: “As a Yorkie, it’s important that I keep my inventory organized. I place my toys where it’s easy to find and access them. Which is why it drives me crazy that you still haven’t retrieved that rope ball that rolled under the chair two months ago. I can’t reach it; you can. Yet there it sits.”
Young adult Josiah investigates details, thinks he’s in charge, takes himself seriously, believes his actions are always logical, shows affection for his human friends, but is constantly puzzled by how strange humans really are. He’s very engaged and still enthusiastic but not as over-the-top as a puppy. While not as jaded as a senior dog like Clutch, Josiah is forming strong opinions about the way the world works, or should.
Josiah’s readers have let me know they appreciate seeing his new adult personality emerge in the blog. It’s the same way I see his personality emerging at home. If you’ve ever been around a one-year-old Yorkie, you know what I mean.
Key Voice Lessons for Content Writing
As the Yorkie blog has taught me, voice is important in writing, and not just for content written from a pet’s perspective. Voice reflects your personality as an author and your business brand. Your pet business may even have several staff writing in their unique voice that lines up with your brand voice. Voice is what engages your readers and makes them want to read more.
Voice sets the tone. The same topic can come across as serious, dramatic, playful, or educational depending on the voice. Think about conversations with friends. Your voice is uniquely yours. But your friends will hear a different tone in your voice, depending on what you are sharing with them. They can hear a hint of humor or notes of concern. It’s still your voice, but it’s how you use your voice that engages them and feels authentic.
The key is to keep your voice present in your content writing. Make it sound conversational. Let it sound like you. Whether you’re teaching, reporting, helping, or inspiring, let your voice come through. It’s what makes your content stand out, build trust, and engage people.
Authenticity matters to readers. People will engage with your content when the voice resonates and feels real. Readers can feel the difference between generic content and content with a voice. They want the voice. Behind that voice is a real person who understands them. Your voice shows them what it would be like to work with you.
Consistency matters too. Clients reading your content come to expect a certain voice. If that voice disappears behind the words, they will notice. The experience won’t be as engaging. They want to feel like you’re talking to them directly: that you see them, hear them, understand their challenges, and care about providing the help they need.
Multiple voices are great too. If you have staff that write different parts of your overall content, they should each write in their unique voice while still reflecting your brand voice. The brand voice provides the guardrails for an overall authentic feel. The individual voice is the personality expressing those brand-relevant ideas.
Just as the different voices in my Yorkie blog had to feel distinct, your staff voices should be unique and intentional. Readers will notice and look forward to hearing from different perspectives. They’ll likely discover they relate best to a certain staff voice, and that’s okay. It’s why they will feel engaged and grow in trust.
A Voice Exercise
The next time you write a piece of content, write as if you’re explaining it to a friend. Keep the tone conversational and true to your voice. Then read it out loud to a friend who knows you well. Ask if they hear your voice coming through. If not, where and why not? If yes, where and how does the piece reflect your voice?
This exercise will help you hear your voice in your writing: what it sounds like to people who know you well, where it disappears behind the words, and what makes it come through clearly. As you practice, you’ll get used to writing in your authentic voice. Your readers will find it engaging and will get a sense of what it’s like to work with you.
Here is the Yorkie blog if you’d like to see how voice is used in expressing a Yorkie’s weekly discoveries: The Inquisitive Yorkie.
Janet Eriksson 