Ten years and counting

November 21, 2008 was my first blog post. It was about a foster shepherd named Samson who had pneumonia. He recovered and got adopted, although I can not remember who adopted him. The blog continued and has now been around for ten full years.

I really had no expectations about the blog when it began. Lots of people at that time were blogging and some did a few posts and quit, but I have continued.

It has provided an outlet for me. A space to rant and scream on occasion. A space to preach on a few occasions. A creative outlet on a rare occasion.

Readers come and go, I know, but there is a core group who follow it pretty faithfully. As I've said before, I write this for myself. No one else has to read it but anyone is welcome to do so. If you're a long time reader, or a recent follower of this blog, tell me your favorite blog post. I have a few favorites of my own, but I'd love to hear which ones have really moved you in some way.

There's a couple things I've wanted to let folks know. First, if you comment on the blogger.com page you have probably noticed that your post doesn't appear immediately. That's because the comments are set to "moderation" mode meaning that I have to view them and approve the comment. Otherwise the comments section would be full of ads for viagra and poorly worded comments by non-English speakers from third world countries seeking to drive traffic to various porn sites. Second, if you want to read the old stuff, it's available in the Blog Archive on the left side of your screen, at least if you are reading it on a computer. If you are on a phone or tablet, you may be out of luck. Sit down at your real computer, the pictures will look much better too.

These days the primary benefit of the blog, for me, is a memory aid. When I'm trying to remember something that I know I wrote about, I run a google search with the phrase "vadogrescue" plus a couple key words such as a dog's name. It is much easier than racking my brain trying to remember a dog's back story or the date that something happened. (I've used it more than once to recall the date of our marriage so I don't miss an anniversary.)

These pictures are some of the latest pupdates I've received from folks who adopted dogs from me. If I haven't included yours, it's because it somehow slipped through the cracks of my brain. Keep them coming. Whether they come from email, Facebook, text messages, or via third persons, seeing our former fosters happy in their new homes is what keeps me going.

The dog in the center is in charge of the household, but the
two Great Dane bookends are former fosters
Drogo on the left and Diesel on the right.

Spoiler alert: this is Cooper's Christmas
photo for this year.

Harvey, co-existing

Harvey in a Halloween hat.

Rugger, roughing it. Not.

Rugger, whom many of us cried
over (not just me),
obviously happy in his new home.

Athena is treated as the goddess that she is in her home.

Hunter, looking dapper in a new coat.

This is a copyrighted work by a professional
photographer, Oana Moore Photography,
and it is also my former foster, Rocco, who
is a true work of art.

Sometimes the news is sad, as this one that
informed me of the passing of former foster
Molly. She pre-dates the blog and thus, my
memory, but her adopter has stayed in touch
over the years.

Oberon (Obi)

Obi recently moved to California, San Diego I believe.

Roscoe with bone, but paying even more
attention to his person with the camera.

Felix, after voting in one of his many disguises.

Benny (formerly Lenny) and his big sister
telling their mom that it's dinner time.