Hitting the road

It's time for a change.

After a couple of years freelancing and over five years full time as a reporter for the Poughkeepsie Journal, I am leaving the paper as of today.

I've accepted a position as local editor of the newcity.patch.com website, and I'll be moving to Rockland County.

It has been fun scouring the web for pet-related stories and video. I hope you learned a thing or two and, at times, had a good laugh or smiled when you hadn't been before.

Out of the 1,065 blog entries — including this one — there have been some real highlights.

Remember Sally, the dog tossed into a clothing donation bin? We broke that story. We followed it through Sally's adoption and the perp's sentencing. All the festivals like Beacon Barks and Paws in the Park? Great times all. Silly videos like Dogs Baking Bread or the Stealthy Kitty? Why not enjoy the special qualities that pets bring to our existence?

Kate, my loyal companion for over 15 years, has been my foil through this whole experience, and I hope she will continue in the role for a while longer. It is hard to believe she was diagnosed with kidney failure almost a year ago.

I tried not to anthropomorphize her, but it is difficult to not do so when she has such character. Those eyes; they seem to drill into your soul.

Kate has her good days and her bad days, just like me. I want more of the good days, but will be there during the bad, for sure.

Thank you all for the feedback, and thanks for visiting this blog.

I intend to continue blogging about pets at my new personal site "Making Us More Human," which you can access by clicking here. Give me a day or so to decompress, even though I've already posted an entry.

I send many good thoughts to all of you and the special creatures that keep us grounded and loved unconditionally.