Welcome to Bay Woof, March 2022

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Fifteen years ago this month, 35,000 print editions of Bay Woof first hit the streets of San Francisco, Oakland, and surrounding cities. Hard to believe it’s been that long - sometimes it feels like five minutes, other times like a million years (especially since the last two years alone have felt like a millenium). But as Mr. Shakespeare once said, “The course of true love never did run smooth.” Those bumps in the road got us to where we are today, and the love has been here all along. 

In honor of our anniversary, I recently took a trip down memory lane with Bay Woof Issue #1 (available here). It felt like a dog walk with old friends. The column header graphics created by illustrator Susan Synsarski still make me smile and wish I had a t-shirt of each of them. I remember doing the layout for the center spread story (one of the few full-color pages) about an animal shelter in Hawaii that encouraged tourists to walk shelter dogs in lieu of their own dogs on vacation - still a great idea. So many firsts were packed into that issue: the first Monthly Woof column by Dr. Ian Dunbar, the first iteration of the Angel Dogs memorial page, the first monthly calendar of dog events including Petchitecture 12 (which will be 27 this year), and so much more. 

Of course, I also noticed a typo, a few spacing issues, the kind of things common to a brand new print publication produced by a first-time publisher. But most of all I saw the love that went into those pages: the love of advertisers who wanted to support a new publication for area dog lovers and the love of the writers and crew who generously shared their knowledge of all things Dog. That love has been the through line for Bay Woof to this day.

What’s changed? Besides our move to an online publication, Bay Woof today has a much smaller staff that is now all volunteer. We’ve shifted from a business model to a nonprofit foundation. Our content is still generously provided by the mostly local dog community, but our readership has expanded to include folks all over the world. And the dog love is bigger than ever. 

Whether you’ve been with us since that initial paw shake or are just now getting your first welcome wag, thank you, Bay Woof readers. The March issue that you’re now reading on your favorite electronic device is just the latest edition of monthly dog love from us for you. We can all use more of that so please soak it up and spread it around.

It’s been darned good to know you these last 15 years. We hope to be with you for many more!

Gratefully yours,
– M Rocket

P.S. We want to hear from you! What would you like to see in Bay Woof? Let us know. And for more about Bay Woof’s roots, check out this 2020 article in local 48Hills.