Note from dog
NOTE FROM DOG
From My Dog House to Yours
December 1, 2021
Hello Humans!
I’m Dog…so nice to meet you! And welcome to the first issue of Love, Dog! Over the past six months, I’ve been watching Mark, our Human Founder, and Taylor, our Human Executive Editor, work their tails off alongside a very talented and dedicated team as they prepared for today. As a dog, I hadn’t ever thought too much about being a fly on a wall, but it was kind of fun watching them sweat this one out.
First things first: A big shout out to our launch issue sponsor, SUNDAYS FOR DOGS. You humans are finally getting smarter about what you feed us, and the folks over at SUNDAYS are among a small and important group of innovators ushering in the next generation of dog nutrition. It sure is about time. Thank you, SUNDAYS!
Mark has always been full of ideas, but I’ve got to say, I think Love, Dog is the big one! It all started with his two Golden Retrievers, Baxter and Tucker. In a way, Love, Dog is a tribute to them, but more importantly, it’s a tribute to all of us dogs out there in the world because, simply put, Mark knows that we dogs make your lives a whole lot better!
Mark learned a lot from his two Goldens over the course of 25 years. He looked after them like they were his kids. He understood and respected Baxter and Tucker as living beings vs. ‘just dogs.’ (By the way, he hates that ‘just dogs’ thing, so don’t ever say it around him!) He gets that we dogs watch every move you make so we can have your backs in any situation. He knows we have hearts and souls, thoughts and feelings, and needs and wants. Best of all, he knows that we dogs love, need, and think about you humans as much as you love, need, and think about us. And that’s at the core of the Love, Dog mission. It’s going to be about how we see and know you.
And that brings me to our very first story in this launch issue. Philip Tedeschi and Molly Jenkins, two internationally acclaimed behavioral experts, will set the stage, taking a deep dive into the human-canine bond in their Big Dog Story, They See Us For Who We Are. It’s a beautiful and grand exploration.
Next, in Companionship, you’ll join me on a trip to Banff National Park in Being With Farley, an interview with a Canadian couple whose mini-Aussie happens to be an Instagram star, @justbeingfarley. In Designing a Beautiful Life for All Dogs, Executive Editor, Taylor Plimpton, profiles world-renowned fashion designer, John Bartlett, who has dedicated much of his life advocating for the welfare, protection, and rights of dogs. For our first photo Essay, Scott Jones takes to the streets of New York City to capture dogs in everyday life. In Howler’s Hill, bestselling author Lucian K. Truscott IV offers up a splendid piece of original fiction, Dog Cottage; John Bartlett hosts a podcast on the stray dogs of Istanbul; Chloe Shaw shares an excerpt from her new memoir, What Is a Dog?; novelist Julian Tepper interviews his son in Trainer Pet; and Taylor Plimpton shares wisdom from his (mostly) good dog in The Chronicles of Brooklyn. In Animal General, two veterinarians offer us much-needed professional advice: Dr. Zenisthon Ng on dog dentistry; and Dr. Tory Waxman on canine wellness. Finally, in our Style & Design section, Justyna Szymczak and Kristopher Fraser teamed up in The History of Dog Fashion to tell the fascinating tale of how we’ve been dressing our dogs up for about, oh, the past 3,000 years.
I hope you enjoy Love, Dog! We had a lot of fun dreaming it up, and there’s so much more that lies ahead. And by the way, the photo up top is my good friend, @porterthebasenji. He spends most of his time with his family in Jersey City, NJ with occasional weekends in his beautiful red Pennsylvania farmhouse.
Happy Howling!
Love,
Dog