Welcome Letter from the Publisher

Dear Dog Friends,

I cannot imagine a life without dogs. For me, a dog has often been a best friend, an empathetic ear, and unrivaled play-chum, an always willing hiking partner, a loyal companion, a comfort from a sometimes harsh world, a sure protector, a source of infinite laughter and joy, always there and willing, and a brilliant working partner. Ok, I am bound to have missed a few, but you get the idea. And if these words bring a small tear to your eye or resonates in your heart and soul, then you have arrived at a home on this world-wide web.

Dogs have taught me to be more calm, more consistent, decisive, internally strong, focussed in the here and now, to take time out to play (so, perhaps this workaholic has still not really learned that one!), not to take it all so seriously, and to become a much better leader.

I owe so much to dogs in my life. I handle a working dog now, search and rescue, but there is no distinction of their importance to me, or the love I felt for each of them for their own uniqueness and beauty. Each had their own destiny and, at the same time, a seemingly definite purpose in my own life, like pieces of a puzzle locked together where no other would exactly fit.

It does not mean that each dog was easy at first. Oh, contraire! Dogs do take time and work. They are often not immediately your best loyal follower. You have to earn their respect, which is another thing I love about dogs. And, it takes some effort to cross that bridge of understanding between canine and human. Although often human-like, dogs are not human and remain their special selves as dogs. Some have met me on my side of the bridge most completely and willing, while others, I must first span the bridge to reach.

No matter the start, they have all proved worthy beyond my expectation, most especially when I have bothered to stop and learn some of their language too. It was always time wisely spent, always well rewarded by the greatest of wealths, a forever friend.

I carry each one with me in my heart and soul, residing in a special place reserved only for them, always secretly hoping to see them one day again bounding to my side. Their short life and untimely dissappearance from me leaves me gasping, reaching for that loyal touch of familiar fur, a fleeting glance of deep-knowing eyes of the bond we share. There I stand, empty, alone, yet never the same for their having been there.

I hear some say they cannot get another dog. That it was just too painful to lose the last one. I hear and understand their deep pain, their aching heart. I too have felt it, thinking I could not bear it again myself. But I cannot imagine a life without a dog: the joys, the learning, the working together in lovely wordless harmony. So, I risk my heart again and again to give a home to a wandering soul with four legs and fur that helps teach me more completely about home and friendship.

This site is dedicated to all the dogs in my heart, the dogs in your heart...

...and the in-depth study that can make our time with them ever more fullfilling for them and us. I hope you will embrace the pages here-in, giving new light to the relationship you have with your best furry friend and the most ancient of man's non-human companions.

Whether a dog is young, old, or in between, it is never too late to reach across the span of that bridge, across the span of us being more human/humane to learn a unique language and impart new sharing and skills. I have found that old dogs, as well as new, do love to learn new tricks! So, welcome to Dogology!....our journey begins!

To life with dogs,

Delinda VanneBrightyn, Founder and Publisher