Hello Fellow Dog Lovers!
Jake is eyeing a squirrel. My hug is an attempt to keep him still long enough to take a picture. And now you know the rest of the story...
I’d like to introduce myself and a yellowish friend of mine. I am Maria Goodavage, and the open-mouthed guy next to me is Jake. We are thrilled to be a new part of the Dogster family. We’ll be taking over where the wonderful Horst, Lisa, and Bo left off with the For the Love of Dog blog, and sniffing out the very best dog news, features, photos, and videos for you and the dog in your life.
A little about us: I (the human) am the founder of The Dog Lover’s Companion travel guidebook series, and author of The Dog Lover’s Companion to California and The Dog Lover’s Companion to the San Francisco Bay Area. I started writing these books back in the dark ages, when dogs were barely allowed to set paw in most hotels. I wrote them almost out of necessity, when I was a correspondent for USA Today, and growing tired of sneaking my old dog Joe into hotels with me when I was on assignment. It’s heartening to see how times have changed.
Among my other canine credentials, I co-produced and wrote an award-winning children’s video about dogs and other animals, starring the voice of Ed Asner as Joe the Dog, and I was the executive producer of The Canine Film Festival in San Francisco. I’m currently the editor of MyWire’s Week’sBest Dogs, bringing together the most interesting dog news of the day. I’m also in charge of a bunch of headstrong canines who pen a fun blog called Dog Daily News. (We’ve been having technical difficulties accessing the blog, so we’re not as up to date as we’d like to be. We’ll be resolving this soon.)
My co-blogger striking one of his more regal poses
Jake is a yellow Lab kind of fellow who walked into my life exactly seven years ago today when he was a very vivacious six months old. My husband, human child, and I planned to foster him for a couple of weeks to fill in the empty hole left by the death of our old dog. Hah! As soon as I laid eyes on him, I knew there was no way he was ever going up for adoption. Jake is now a middle-aged gent, and is slowly giving up his more youthful habit of chewing utterly everything he can get his mouth around. Now he’s down to the occasional rubber flip-flop when we have company and he wants to impress.
We live two blocks from the beach in San Francisco. Here’s a video Jake’s human sister just posted as part of a video contest Steve Martin is putting together for his banjo song, Wally on the Run. This short video will tell more about Jake than I could in 1,000 words. (Note that older computers and slower connections may make the video look less than optimal. Jake made me write that warning in case you think he is a large grainy mass who stops and goes in mid-air while he runs about.)
We are excited to be part of the fantastic Dogster community, and look forward to getting our paws wet in the wonderful world of Dogster! (This should be a natural for Jake, as you can see in the video.)
Hi There Welcome to the Dog Blog…I am an avid reader of the Blog and am looking forward to your blogs..I hope Jake does some Blogging also..Me likes it when we have doggies blogging instead of humans..
Welcome Maria and Jake! I loved the video of Jake digging around in the sand with his tennis ball – what a cutie!
welcome to you and jake who is very handsome!
does jake have a dogster page?
we’d love to be pals!
Woof!!! Welcome aboard!! We sure look forward to reading your works when mommy lets us play on the puter~
Hi Daisy, Nina, Janine, and Minster Jr,
Thank you for the nice welcome. We’re very happy to be part of this wonderful community. Jake says good morning, and that yes, he will indeed be taking over posts from time to time. He’s glad you like his video, and very excited to be getting his very own Dogster page sometime this week. Right now he’s grabbing the leash and giving me “that look,” so must be off.
Arf!
Jake,
Three arfs to you on your new gig at Dogster. Looking forward to staying informed from your musings and news.
Your pal,
Zipper
Woof, woof to Maria and Jake. Look forward to the new Blog.
Welcome!
Looking forward to more great blogging!
welcome to Dogster! We look forward to continuing to begin our day with the daily dog blog.
Hi & welcome aboard. We look forward with baited breath to your musings. Have fun!
Gracie & Her Pack
Thanks for all your great welcomes! Our tails are wagging. And Gracie, Louie, Mozart, and Wolfie (did you like the movie Amadeus, by chance?), baited breath is exactly how Jake’s smells on occasion. It’s a “fringe benefit” from living at the beach.
Tammy, we’ll do our best to post early so you and your doggies can start your day with the blog, but please bear with us while we adjust to the time zones: We live on the West Coast, so early to us is not early to the rest of the nation! But this is what alarm clocks are for, right? ; )
Nice to meet you, Maria and Jake. I look forward to reading your blogs! You are a very handsome boy, Jake. {{hugs}} The hug is from my mama–BOL!
Welcome, welcome, WELCOME!!!
Jake, you’ve got some big paws to follow here on the Blog, but judging from your video we’re sure you’re up to the task!
Welcome aboard Maria and Jake! Hugs from me and barks and licks from Pogo from the Perth, Australian end of the Dogster peanut (butter) gallery! Looking forward to reading your blogs!!!!!!
Welcome Maria and Jake! We love the Dog Blog and we love road trips. We hope you and Jake will be at the big Dogster Meet-up next April. Mom’s been to HQ, although she left me at home that day. Jake, you are one handsome boy!
XOXOXO,
Sara and Bobbe
Hi Checkers, Burt & Dixie BlackPearl, Pogo, Bobbe and Sara!
How great to “meet” you all! And from clear around the globe, too! We thank you for the warm welcome, and the hugs, and we send them right back. Checkers, Jake’s head is about the size of my desk right now with your flattering words. And Bobbe and Sara, we plan on posting bits and pieces about dog travel, since that’s one of our specialties. Definitely hoping to catch you at the Dogster Meet-up!
It’s been a busy and fun first day. Thanks everybody for making the new dogs on the block feel right at home!
Welcome aboard Marie and Jake!
Jake, you defiantly live up to your breed.
How does your mommy ever keep up with you? Bol.
I am looking forward to your blogs and I wish you both all the best and know that we will all have lots of fun too.
Jake, do you have a girlfriend? You are a very handsome fellow!
Hi, Maria and Jake!
We look forward to reading your blog and hearing about life from Jake’s perspective! Welcome aboard! – Does Jake have a Dogster page yet?
Tucker Frannicola and his fursis and bros-
Jake (ha!), Cody, Mocha, Max, Matilda and Maggie
Welcome Maria and Jake. You’re off to a great start. Merit and I look forward to your blog postings.
We liked your daughter’s video of Jake. You have a toe tapper and tail stomping hit.
Welcome, Maria and Jake! I love your writing style, and look forward to following your blog. I also signed up for My Wire, as it looks like a great way to keep up with doggie news.
Welcome Maria & Jake, I’m glad you’re here! I’m looking forward to following your blog and getting to know Jake.
Best wishes…
Hi Maria & Jake — what a handsome boy! I, too, am the co-pilot of a wonderful dog named Max (featured on this website, by the way); Max is about 80 pounds and a Great Dane/Boxer/Lab combo–a real squirrel terrorist and “lady killer.” In any case, Maria, I own a copy of your fabulous book “The Dog Lovers’ Companion” travel book; it’s a great resource and so well-written…and I, too, am from San Francisco…I look forward to following your blog….Karin (& Max)
Maria, what a pleasure to be able to read your articles! I always keep two copies of your book, “The Dog Lovers’ Companion”, one for me and one to give away to the dog lovers I know. Everyone who has received a copy is so grateful to learn about new places they can frolic with their dog. Thanks for keeping all of us entertained with your stories and photos. Best wishes.
Welcome! And good luck. You’ve got some very big shoes and paws to fill!
Oh my is that marley!!!!!! Bol! He is full of life and energy! Welcome Jake!!!! Your a handsome pup! Great video!!!!!
Woof, Woof, Woof, Welcome aboard!! Maria & Jake. You seem to be are real good fit. Look forward to doing some reading.
Again Welcome!
St. Nickolas
So GREAT to meet everybody! Jake and I thank you for your warm welcome.
Yes, Gina, sometimes I think Jake IS Marley. He has quite the energy for a 7-yr-old dog! (See our post about “Old Man Jake” today for a related topic.)
Karin, Max and Rosalinda, we’re glad you like our Dog Lover’s Companion books. We’ve been having so much fun with these for years!
Prin-cess, Jake does not currently have a girlfriend. Years ago he married a bison, but that’s a long story for another time.
Nancy, I’m glad you like our style. And you will like MyWire’s Week’sBest Dogs. There’s so much dog news around the world, and I enjoy helping distill it. I think you’ll find it a great addition to your “library.”
Arf!
Welcome Maria and Jake (wow are you cute Jake)!! You know that you are walking into a position of much love with avid readers. We look forward to reading all of your posts and getting to know you better.
Woof woof!
hi jake and maria! i love that dog. i have a little bit of yellow lab in me somewhere, although it doesn’t usually show. do you like water, jake?
Jake here.
Hi Angel and Colleen! I’m glad you think I’m handsome. Looks aren’t everything, but they help when you’ve shredded rifled through the garbage can in the kitchen and you can give “those eyes” to your human…
Angel, I love to swim. Did you see my video at the bottom of our bio? I only know the dog paddle, but it gets me by.
Welcome! We love your video. Can’t wait to read more of your stuff & things.
Hi Maria,
Welcome to Dogster! We wanted to give you a chance to settle in a bit before writing.
A Pet’s World would welcome the opportunity to work with you on contests or other events that may come up. We have enjoyed being part of the dogster community and working with Lisa and Horst.
Please keep us in mind if there is anything we can assist you with.
Best of luck to you!
Jane Knittle
A Pet’s World
Manchester Center, VT
TEL: 877-738-8683
Jane, thanks so much. I’m gearing up with some contest ideas, so we’ll be in touch!
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