Dogs With Blogs was not a new idea when it debuted on the internet in April 2006. I had been thinking about it for quite some time. The DWB story begins way back in 1995 when a nearly white, yellow Labrador puppy took ownership of me. His name was Charlie. My wife Brooke and I had NO idea what we were in for.

Charlie was a whirlwind, and EVERYTHING was AWESOME in his mind. He just loved living, and this energy and spirit stayed with him all of his life. He was so “Full On”. He had a lust for life, adventure, fun and excitement that has not only inspired me personally, but changed the course of the lives of thousands of people and their dogs all around the world. There’s a saying about how one man can’t change the world, but boy that little yellow puppy sure did! And he knew what he was doing to! I believe truly within my heart Charlie had a plan and purpose, and he literally “used” me to get the job done. I take no credit for DWB at all. I was just the one with opposable thumbs Charlie found easiest to manipulate into doing what he wanted.

To get me on board with his plan, he began doing some of the most hilarious and comical things I have ever seen. He developed a real sense of humor. Whether it be bidding  a very fond farewell to the garbage each week, falling in love with every piece of firewood we ever had, or falling asleep on the cardboard box that his brand new bed arrived in, Charlie put “Magic” into everything. The most simple mundane chores became notable and memorable events, because he just had a way of breathing that kind of joy into everything, and everybody.

Brooke and I began taking a camera everywhere we went with him, because we never knew when he was going to put on a show. We began to really want to capture these moments, for our own memories and photo albums, and share them so others could enjoy his antics. Technology was becoming more integrated into life, and sharing was easier with the invention of the internet. I began looking for ways to share Charlie’s comedy routines with others online.

At heart, I am a computer geek and technology enthusiast. The Cable TV channel TechTV was always on in our house, and when the shows Call for Help and The Screen Savers weren’t airing live, I was watching episodes I had recorded on video cassette. One day I walked past the TV when Cat Schwartz, a presenter on Call For Help was talking about her mobile phone with a camera, and how she was able to email the photos from it to her Blogger page. She called it “Mo-Blogging”. In my mind I heard “Dog Blogging”, so I went back to watch the rest of her story, and learn about Blogging. Almost immediately I began compiling photo’s and memories to construct a “Blog” for Charlie.

Initially, Charlie’s first blog was written in pure HTML on my own server. It was a lot of work to maintain, and before long I created a account for him on Blogger.com, where his blog, Charlie – The Big Dog still exists today. It became so much fun keeping a blog of his antics, and we also realised how handy it was to be able to refer back to. It became a diary. If we needed to know when his last vet visit was, or when he had his shots, the blog had all of this information recorded. Soon after a second blog for our black Labrador Opy – The Gruffpuppy was created. We had Two dogs, and two blogs.

Brooke and I began to wonder if there was anybody else blogging for their dog, and a Google search later, we found the undisputed heavy weight Dog Blog Champion of The World! Bogart Handsome Devil. At the time Bogart was living in Los Angeles. WOW! So many GREAT photo’s EVERY DAY! So much info, SO cleverly written from Bogart’s point of view. Next was World of Turbo, the Siberian Husky from Missouri. Everything was “STUPID” according to Turbo. Then, another Charlie. This one was a Golden Retriever from Oregon, who oddly shared many of the same pawsonality traits as our Charlie. There were LOTS of other people blogging for their dogs, but they were all very fragmented. What the dog bloggers needed was a way to bring it all together. Dogs With Blogs was born.

Dogs With Blogs as it first appeared in 2006

To get things moving, Brooke (writing for Opy) began to subtly introduce this new website in her comments to other dogs blog posts. To our surprise, the information was warmly welcomed, and we started to get emails from dog owners wanting their pups blog added to our Dog Blog Directory. I recall telling Brooke that I was going to remember the names of EVERY dog on the blog list, but within a few days this was impossible, we had 30 to 40 new applications.

Dogs With Blogs was a real gamble. It seemed like a really odd idea which was never going to work. I recall the day I knew DWB was going to be a hit with such clarity it is staggering. I was in the lounge room, Brooke was at her computer in the kitchen, and at the top of her voice, she yelled “WE GOT FREDA!” DeltaBunny Freda was the key to getting DWB going. We had noticed that almost all of the other dog bloggers had listed Freda in their buddy list, and Freda’s Buddy list was probably the closest thing to a Dog Blog Directory in those days, she knew them all! It was almost like Freda was organising and assembling dog bloggers together, until we got ourselves together enough to take over from her. Once Dogs With Blogs got Freda’s “Paw of Approval”, a pack of sled dogs couldn’t hold it back. DWB was growing massively and gaining incredible momentum in the United States.

In July 2006 something incredible happened, which in my opinion made DWB the global success it became. For those of you reading this now who have been DWB members since the beginning, be warned, you now will burst into Laughter and/or Tears when I say this name:

Fu Fu

Around July/August of 2006 Fu Fu The Hamster appeared. But in 2006 there was no “Hamsters With Blogs” and Fu Fu didn’t have any Hamster buddies, so he started hanging around with the Dog Bloggers. He would visit the dogs blogs, and they would visit his. It seemed only fitting he should be an honorary member.

Making Fu Fu an honorary DWB, and adding him to the Blog List under the breed of  “Hams-Terrier/Hamsterdor” gave the site incredible “Quirk”. It was such a bizarre thing for people who were scrolling through the list of hundreds of dogs to see a Hamster in there, just like all the other dogs. No fan fare, or bright colors and bold font drawing your attention, he was just “One of Us”. Using Fu Fu’s image on our site and logo really “knocked it out of the park” for DWB. Imagine, seeing a picture with the words Dogs With Blogs, and a Hamster!

DWB’s 1000 Member Celebration Memorabilia Design, featuring Fu Fu

On 12th May 2007 something happened that made EVERYBODY who was a part of the Dogs With Blogs community realise just how incredible what we had all created together had become – little Fu Fu passed away. 133 people from dozens of countries all over the world payed their respects to Fu Fu in that blog post. Hundreds more mourned his passing. He had gotten into our hearts and we all fell in love. We all found ourselves in the uncomfortably odd position of having to explain to someone why we were publicly bursting into hysterical tears because “A Hamster on the other side of the world that I never met passed away!”. We all realised that we are sharing each others lives. We had become more than just e-friends. We had actually become a global family who lives, loves, laughs and cries together. When one of us would fall on hard times, or loose someone special, there were literally hundreds of other people all around the world who felt our pain, sent us cards and gifts, helped keep our spirits up, and helped us move on.

This is when I realised DWB was a success. Not because we had so many members, but because we had completed Charlie’s work, and created a community of people….who cared. A community where your skin color, religious beliefs, sexual preference, and all of the other things that make people fight were irrelevant. We all shared a common interest that was way stronger than any of the petty issues people tend to take so seriously. We all LOVE our dogs. At its heart Dogs With Blogs was built on a extraordinarily firm foundation of unconditional love, which we had all learned from listening to our dogs when we write for them on their blogs.

Brooke and I were getting the most amazing emails, and hearing stories which were beyond belief. The DWB members were meeting up and becoming friends in the real world. People who’s paths would never had crossed had it not been for Dogs With Blogs, were traveling across town, and across the world to “Meet Up”. We were hearing about people who would normally be facing the toughest struggles life can throw at a person, like divorce, cancer and the death of loved ones alone, having new caring friends, and a new support network around them, going through it with them together. New friendships that will last a life time were being forged.

Dogs With Blogs was flourishing. We even had a calendar of members doggies each year, and the most incredible Holiday card exchange which confused the worlds postal workers no end. I remember our postman’s amazement at how Brooke and I got 3 Christmas cards, but Charlie and Opy got well over 100. It was a really great time for Dogs With Blogs.

In February 2008, Charlie began having seizures. We always new our boy had a big heart, but a X-Ray revealed just how big his heart was:

Charlie was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure. The valves in his heart weren’t working properly. Without going into to much detail, I was devastated, and started slipping into depression because it dawned on me that he wasn’t going to live for ever. I cried and cried. To fix Charlie’s heart, he was surgically implanted with a Pacemaker. This devices induced a tiny electrical current into his heart walls, and it made his valves open and close at the right times. He was like a puppy again. He was so mischievous. His fur became really soft and healthy, his nails grew faster, and it was all a result of the increased blood flow through his body, and the pressure being relieved from his heart. I was so happy he was healthy again, but in the back of my mind, the damage was done, and the jolt was something I would never recover from. Charlie wasn’t going to live forever. I cherished every minute of every day with him from then on. Dogs With Blogs began to suffer, as I preferred to spend my time with him as opposed to working on the site. Even though the community had become a beacon of love and light for everyone in it, it became a very distant second to the time I had left with Charlie. I certainly don’t apologise for that either. I still to this day believe that dog blogging is something you can go on with while your dog is asleep. When your dogs is awake and want’s to play, that is what is important. Cherish, Savour, and Celebrate EVERY second you have together.

Charlie passed away on August 1, 2009, some 18 months after his diagnosis. I was crippled with depression. Even though I had plenty of work to do on the site, I was physically unable to. I just couldn’t do it. I tried to delegate the work, and find other people to take it over, but I had written the site entirely in HTML code, so it wasn’t something a layman could continue. It didn’t have a content management system and a word processor style interface like the new site does, I wrote the code for the site myself, and the code for every single one of the members was hand written personally by me. It was a huge job, and I just couldn’t do it anymore. Some may conceive that as selfish, and I completely understand how it could be viewed that way, but I had to get myself sorted out , deal with Charlie’s passing, deal with depression, and keep myself alive. I had to put the site on hold.

During the time the site was on hold Brooke and I traveled to the U.S, and met a lot of the of the Dog Bloggers who were instrumental in getting the site going in the early days. There was a very big gathering in New York City where we got to meet dog bloggers who traveled in from all over the United States, Canada and England as well. The highlight for me was a cake, which had a picture of Charlie on it. A small thing I know, but it really meant a lot to me. I could look down at the cake and see Charlie, then look up around the room and see this gathering of people from around the world who’s course of life had been directly effected by him, together, in one room, in his honor. It was a very special evening. Brooke made a beautiful speech, and we all raised our glasses and made a toast to Charlie – The Big Dog.

With Bogart in Portland Oregon USA (left), and even though I never met Freda (who sadly passed away November 22, 2008), I met her Pawrents, and Suzy who is taking care of them now (right).

I never really believed in love at first site until I met Charlie from Oregon USA. I have never wanted to steal someone else’s doggy so badly in my entire life! He is just so beautiful, and he really does have a similar zest for life as our Charlie.

The DWB Meet Up in New York City – July 2010.

The Charlie Cake

So why are we back now in 2011?

Well, I’m doing a lot better. A few years ago a new puppy called Benson saved my life. He is very sweet and adorable, and whilst he can never fill the hole in my heart Charlie left behind, he has managed to dig his own equally large hole. We do have a blog for Benson, or Benson J Puppypaws as he has come to be known, but it’s not updated often because I still choose to prioritise my time, and savour every minute with him I can.

A Photograph/Photoshop image I made of Benson called “Savior Part 2″

As wonderful as Benson is for our souls, it is our new puppy P!NG that has re-lit the blogging fire for us. P!NGy came to us after our black Labrador Opy passed away on December 23, 2010. In a lot of ways, Opy’s passing was more difficult for us than Charlie’s, because whilst he was being a celebrity, posing for the camera, and hogging the limelight with his million dollar smile, Opy was “There”. She was always “There”. She wasn’t at all extroverted, she was a true companion. She was happiest when she was “with us”. She just wanted to be together, and I have never felt as alone as I did when our Gruffpuppy passed away, and she wasn’t “There” anymore. She was really great with Benson, and he became her “little boy”. He still carries and displays so much of the sweetness and care she had and gave him. The most valuable lesson she taught him though is patience. A skill he has come to rely heavily each and every day now P!NGy is in our lives. She makes Charlie’s antics look amateur. Charlie may have changed the world with his love, spirit and energy, but P!NG want’s to own it, run it, chew it up and poo it out! She actually yells and screams when she doesn’t get her way, and will bark at anybody or anything she feels isn’t behaving the way she wants them to. Like Charlie, her personality just can not be contained. She wants to be seen, heard, and obeyed! So on her orders…….

We’re Back!

In closing, I want to acknowledge,  and warmly thank on behalf of Everybody/Everydoggy who’s lives have been touched and affected by Dogs With Blogs in some way, the following – Lulu, Klaus, Jena, Anne, Alice, Jim, Faye, and Eileen. Thank you for the parts you have all played in creating, and sharing this incredible journey with us. DWB wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for you!