A bit of an anniversary

First of all, this is a day late. Or two. But as my wife will testify, that is sometimes when I remember anniversaries. Or Birthdays. 

But on Monday, had a bit of a milestone. 7 years. 7 years writing this little blog.

I started this blog in 2006 after months of fighting breed-specific legislation in several area communities. At the time, I felt like there was a limited amount of information available on fighting breed-specific laws, including suprisingly few cases studies. So I started this blog as a depository of information about our fight here in the Kansas City area, and for me to post what I learned in hopes it would be beneficial to others.

In the early months, not many people read this blog. I'm probably thankful for that. Some of the early stuff wasn't very good.  A really high traffic day happened when a link got posted on a chat board. Facebook, by far my largest traffic driver now, wasn't even open to the public yet.

A lot has changed in the past 7 years.

Because of this blog I've gotten to meet a lot of great people. Many are doing amazing things in their own communities. Some are kind of celebrities. Some are actual celebrities of the canine-variety. I've been invited to speak at several conferences. We've repealed a few breed bans. Two years ago we started a process to take over our city animal shelter and to end the killing. 

And I've written on this blog. A lot. In total I've written more than 2000 blog posts, had more than 1.5 million page views and nearly 12,000 comments. I've learned a lot from many of the commenters. Thanks for that. There also are a lot more great blogs out there than there were 7 years ago. I love their voices, and perspectives. 

I'm happy that I've been able to stick with the blog. Most blogs rack up about a dozen posts and fade into oblivion. Maybe I'm more stubborn than most. But I have enjoyed it. And it has inspired me to keep reading and learning and hopefully sharing. 

Thanks for reading. Sharing. Inspiring. Commenting and being a part of my little corner of the internet. And thanks to my wife who patiently (or sometimes not patiently) tolerates the time I spend here and her many great thoughts that have made me sound smarter than I am here.

So happy anniversary. To me. Late. 

 

Comments

[Jan]

Congratulations. I don't comment a lot but I am one of your very long time readers.

Thanks for all the work you do, the careful research and the well turned phrases. Here's to many more years.

[Jan]

And as another Typepad user, I understand the necessity for Captcha. :-)

[Lori]

Congrats! Wow time flies when you're having fun.

[PitOwnr]

Thank you for all you do.
Your blog is a great reference for refuting all the hysterical misinformation spread about the internet regarding animal issues.
Hope your next 7 years (and beyond) are filled with success.

[Vicki]

Congratulations and keep up the great work from PBC!

[Brent]

Thanks all.

And back atcha Jan. Long time listener, first time caller :) And without captcha I fear I'd have a lot of purses to sell...

[Joel]

Brent,

That's only one dog year.

[Jen Brighton]

I love Joel's comment. Something like the saying, "In dog beers, I've only had one."

Thank you, Brent, for being such a dependable dog advocate. You are known worldwide and we'd be lost without you. I think I've followed you for at least 5 of those 7 years.

Major congratulations on your accomplishments.

[Karen F]

Thank you, Brent, for the particular and very careful way you deconstruct myths week after week. Your devotion to math is especially appreciated . . . along with the many hours you put into the blog.

[Cheryl Huerta]

Congratulations Brent. Seven years! Thank you first of all for doing it at all!!!

You were the FIRST pit bull advocate that I made contact with when I started my 'official' stint as a pit bull advocate almost three years ago. You have been a good pit bull advocate friend to me and I wanted to thank you. I have attempted to connect to as many of the pit bull advocate 'players' as I could as I believe that there is strength in numbers so why not join forces for pit bulls and the people who have them? I can count on one hand the ones who responded positively and who are now my friends and allies in this venture to help the dogs, unfortunately, and you are one of those.

I have watched your involvement in the KCMO Animal Shelter Project and applaud you and your group and believe that other shelters that are failing so miserably at really being a shelter, a safe place, for the animals that end up there need to have a look at what you and your group have accomplished. I refer many shelter people I know to you all the time hoping that they will reach out to you or will at least want to learn how to do what you've done there in Kansas City. Good on you all for doing this.

Thank you for being a pit bull advocate and thank you for being a part of the ever growing network of pit bull advocates/rescues!!!

Regards,
Cheryl Huerta
Co-Founder of The Portland Pit Bull Project
Founder of The Coast to Coast Bully Walk Project/Event

[pitbull friend]

Thank you so much, Brent, for all the time that I know you put into this. I really appreciate your common sense approaches and willingness to do the math to figure out things that plague me (the 1 in 600 pitbull meme) and nonsense that would plague me if you hadn't gotten to it first!

[EmilyS]

Thanks Brent: despite our disagreements, I value your blog very much and cite it often.

Have you ever commented on this "resource" for journalists: http://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/medicine/dog-bites-attacks-research-review

Which seems to me to be an attempt to selectively cite sources (most quite a bit outdated) and even while mentioning that the CDC discounts "breed" as a factor, still asserts breed is a factor in dogbites...

[Dominic]

Thank you.
A silent reader from Germany.

[Fred M. Kray]

Brent-congratulations. You've done a lot of good for all the dogs and have been a great source of balanced scientific information.