Why Do I Do It?

Dear Papa Bear,

You once wrote that you liked getting questions about you, so here's one I've been wondering about for a while.

What motivated you to start this column and this website?

Peace and bright blessings,

Stilghar

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Hi, Stilghar,

Oh, gosh, that sounds egotistical of me, doesn't it? I think I meant that I liked getting different kinds of questions, hee hee. 

So, what motivates me? As I got more and more involved in the fandom, I found that many furries are quite troubled for one reason or another, and furs I met online kept asking me for advice because I'm a greymuzzle, I suppose, and have been around the block a few times. 

This happened so often that I thought an advice column would be worthwhile. So, I contacted the FurryNewsNetwork and asked if they would be interested in a furry advice column. The editor was very kind and accepted the suggestion. For a couple months, my column started there, and, actually, you can still contact me through the FNN at http://www.furrynewsnetwork.com/interact/papabear/.

I started getting so many letters that the weekly (or biweekly, I forget which) column couldn't keep up. I was having a backlog! Therefore, I started my own Website and told FNN they could reprint any articles they liked on their site.

Of course, I do this for the huge amount of money it makes me, which allows me to live a life of luxury here in southern California. NOT! My advice, as you all know, is free, and I even encourage people to reprint my articles or share them, if they like. I haven't made a dime and, in fact, have spent hundreds of dollars in advertising and web hosting fees. So, it is not for the money that I do this.

Why DO I do it? Because I believe that I am a member of the furry community, and I believe that this is my extended family and I should do my part to help others as some of my furiends have helped me. I strongly feel that the world is a better place when people help each other rather than pursue only their own selfish goals. This is also the philosophy behind the upcoming American Furry Association, which I hope will be up and running by next year.

Hope that answers your question, Stilghar!

Papabear