Malcolm Perry of the Vancouver Sun, snaps a photo of me (right), Jennifer Nosek (center) and Faith Wilson (left), at the launch party for Modern Dog’s premiere issue, Fall 2002 (photograph taken by Robert Kwong).

Can you believe it? We’re almost 10!

With the summer  issue wrapped, we’re already busily working on Modern Dog’s fall issue, a very special edition for me as its release will mark Modern Dog’s10th anniversary (!!).

The years since Modern Dog’s inception have literally flown by and when I think back to the launch of the first issue in 2002, which, with the help of my daughter Jennifer, was published out of a tiny office in the loft of my house, it seems unbelievable just how far we’ve come. We went from a regional to a national publication by our second issue, then to an international publication with the third issue’s release. Modern Dog’s holistic approach to a canine-inclusive lifestyle appealed to the largely underserved devoted dog lovers and we soon had a dedicated following. It took a lot of work, though, (and then some), plus a 24/7 commitment to see us through those first issues. The first few years of publishing were the scariest I’ve ever experienced doing anything prior to that… it felt like the first day on the job for at least two years! There was so much to know about publishing, but with no prior experience in this field we simply forged ahead, creating our own path to success. And here we are, 10 years later! Today Modern Dog can be found on newsstands all across North America and beyond. If you haven’t already, sign up for our free newsletter, download our digital app from the iTunes store (Android coming soon), search our tremendous back catalogue of content here on moderndogmagazine.com, and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

Along the way there were many, many exciting milestone moments. We’ll be publishing the most memorable of those in the 10th anniversary edition, but I’ll give you a bit of a preview of a couple of my best moments here….

As a fan of both mutts and Regis and Kelly, a big moment for me personally was when we were chosen to help the Regis & Kelly show promote their Mutt America Contest. Not only did the talented winning mutt appear with Regis & Kelly on Modern Dog’s cover (a coup for mutts everywhere), the issue also marked the launch of the new Modern Cat section in Modern Dog and the promise of Modern Cat magazine to follow down the road. Well, I’m very excited to report that the promised launch of Modern Cat will take place this fall, marked by a cover cat competition!

Another beyond thrilling moment was our photo shoot with Ellen Degeneres for our Spring 09 cover shoot.  Gracious and super funny and in possession of an absolutely gorgeous home, Ellen was all that and more. Her mom and Portia and their dogs were all there, too. Check out Ellen with her Modern Dog cover on the Ellen show!

Anyway, suffice to say we have all kinds of celebrations, fun features and promotions to mark the occasion of our 10th anniversary of Modern Dog and the launch of Modern Cat, so stay tuned!!