Hi, everyone. It’s me, your aspiring JournoDog! I may still be ” in training,” but I am already a loyal and loving doggo with a nose for the news.

Sure, it’s a work in progress. I’m sniffing out my surroundings and it seems like there’s a lot of good stories everywhere I sniff. But when I chew on those tips (pillows, clothes, blankets, rugs) my editors often let me know that those aren’t stories worth pursuing. I should just “LEAVE IT!” They shake their heads at me and describe me as “chew-tastic,” and I know they appreciate me being curious.

My editors give me the benefit of the doubt cause I’m a young canine who cares about journalism and is learning my styleguide (along with manners, which means not JUIMPING onto a potential story without first learning what it means to stay “OFF.”

Clearly, I am in the process of figuring out how to avoid distracting, unreliable sources.

They enrolled me in Doggo School, which is a six-week outside class where I’m learning and reinforcing some basic commands and manners. There are also two other pups in that class, so I’m the “old man” at just under 2 years old. Many of the commands, like “SIT” and “STAY” and “DOWN” are ones I’ve already learned at home. Because, I smart. And I’z a good boy.

Here are some of my other recent adventures:

  • first fire-pit on a night that wasn’t hotter than heck outside, thanks to what my editors say is climate change. The fire flickered and was hot, so I stayed away from it and rested on the grass. Yet, there was romance in the air so I waiting for me girlfriend on the other side of the fence. She must’ve had other plans, so I just relaxed in the moonlight.
  • went to my first microbrewery and relaxed in the sunlight outside as my editors enjoyed their beers. They brought me a bowl of water from inside, and I also got some love and attention from a hooman beer-drinker from a table nearby.
  • marked “Shark Week and the related “Shark Fest” by wearing a shark costume, and watched the many different programs that were on TV instead of the news broadcasts.
  • met a new dog a couple times and our intro visits were pleasant enough, even though he’s a bite-sized little dog. I tried to step on him with my paw, but he just barked at me. I also stayed at his house for a bit one day, and pooped in his backyard.
  • went to my first V-E-T appointment in my new furever home. My editors tell me this is the same place where my #JournoDog predecessor also got checked out. They confirmed I’m a healthy boy, and that I am probably about 1.5 years old – so younger than the rescue shelter originally thought.
  • got my first spa treatment, and loved being pampered. Though, I wasn’t a fan of the loud hairdryer, they gave me a pretty scarf with paws on it. It made me even more handsome, which I know is tough to imagine being possible.
  • Unfortunately, they weren’t pleased with my peeing in the backseat on the way to our first night of dog school, but I was just so excited and needed to go, and those speed bumps were just too much for me to hold it in any longer.

My editors are also training me in my CRATE, which is a comfy black cage in the living room. Even though it was a bit scary at first in there, I’m learning it’s a safe place and I love going in there sometimes on my daily breaks when not doing my #JournoDog job.

In chewing on my iBone sometimes during the day, I saw these news stories that I felt were worth highlighting:

  • This viral story caught my attention, about a Texas foster dog named Hank who is quite a handful. This is a story worth covering, and this quote in the story made me smile: “He’s 54 pounds of pure, unadulterated, kinetic energy with eyes like the ocean. Unfortunately, that ocean also sank the Titanic.” 
  • I get a bit anxious when my editors leave me alone, because I love them so much and want to be a “velcro dog” anytime they’re around. So I completely understand what this little 10-month-old black lab named Finn experienced, when hearing his mom’s voice but couldn’t see her. Very cute, and certainly worth considering a ring bell to keep an eye on your doggo’s if you’re not around to play with them.
  • As mentioned earlier, I’ve been to my first brewery! That is why this story out of London, England caught my eye recently. It’s about a new place called “After Bark” bar and cafe over there, where they serve little dogtastic “puptails” in little sample flights. There’s even one called the Bloodhound Mary – ha! So much fun, and it’s making me thirsty!

So, that is that.

We are having adventures, but overall I’m learning my journalistic style and am gradually beginning to understand what stories should be pursued.

Until the next time, whenever the news beckons like a barking dog you can’t help but pay attention to, #JournoDog out.

As always, remember: Love your pets. Read a newspaper. Support local journalism. Be kind to each other no matter what. And try to smile and find a little happiness for your heart every day.

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