As I announced at the end of this year’s Pet Blogger Challenge, I’m going to be less active than I have been on this blog because of an exciting new project. And I’m giving up my extracurricular blogging activities.

Last Thursday I handed over the reins of the Pet Travel Book Club to Pamela Webster of Something Wagging This Way Comes. Today, I’m saying my fond farewell to Animal Cafe. In an interview with site founder Mary Haight of Dancing Dog Blog, I give a bit more detail about the new project and how it came about. I also talk about a couple of things I’m planning to do on Will My Dog Hate Me. As I said, you haven’t seen the last of me.

As you’ll hear, Mary and I did a lot of laughing.

***

By the way, it’s not like my blog hasn’t been getting any feedback as I’ve been winding down. My latest Spam Saturday post has been extremely popular — with spammers. Rather than creating a new spam cubed post (as AJ of IStillWantMorePuppies.com described it), however, I decided to approve most of the comments — stripping out the linking urls, of course — so you’ll know just how brilliant people think I am at compiling spam. I urge you to check the comments out, starting from January 4; they’re pretty funny.

17 thoughts on “The Long Good-Bye: Animal Cafe”

    1. I won’t, honest — but thank you! And I will continue to tweet your posts — I even Facebooked your latest!

  1. I’m going to miss you Edie. I know I’ll still be able to connect with you online, but I still will miss you. You have a unique voice, a wonderful sense of humor and a you always write so well.
    I wish you much luck and success on your new adventure.

    Now off to check out the spam! I have a feeling I’ve seen some of them before. πŸ™‚

    1. Thank you so much for you nice words. And I’m not entirely disappearing from here, really — I’m just divesting myself of side projects and cutting back.

      Besides, I’ll be on *your* blog, Missy!

  2. Okay. I’ve been in complete denial, hanging on to the notion that you would phase out WMDHM gradually. Listening to this podcast, the beautiful rapport between you and Mary, and the good-byes… it brought tears to my eyes. I know we’ll always be in touch – friends don’t bail because dog blogging takes a back seat – but I will miss this venue as much as I look forward to the next.

    I too research genealogy and have unearthed some fascinating stories, albeit with no famous connections, so I may enjoy your new blog even more. I’m so bored with the constant stream of dog topics from every blogging angle, quite frankly, and I desperately welcome fresh, broad, and multidimensional horizons. I can’t wait to see what you unearth! Your passion will drive this project to fabulous places. I just know it.

    Cheers to new beginnings for old friends (because 3 years is a long time in the blogging biz). I’m so glad I’ll be able to come along for the ride.

    1. No, no — you were not in denial. I WILL phase it out gradually. As I said in the interview, I’ll be posting articles I wrote for Your Dog and, occasionally, Catnip, the consumer newsletters for Tufts University Veterinary School since I have the copyright to them and they’ve got lots of great information that has never been put on line. And I can’t imagine that I won’t put up stories here about my anxieties about traveling to Vienna with or without Frankie or the occasional odd animal story that needs to be told!

      Besides, I’ll need a web designer…

      But thank you for your nice words! I very much appreciate them and your continuing friendship.

  3. As I’m sure you guessed, I’m speeding over to that spam post ASAP – always good for a laugh! πŸ™‚

    I will miss seeing your posts here, but I’m glad you won’t be completely MIA – I can’t wait to hear about your next chapter, and I look forward to reading about it.

  4. As you know, I’m also going to miss seeing you as frequently on WMDHM, but I’m super excited about your new adventure. And I’m looking forward to following along on the new blog. We should all be so lucky to do things we are excited about.

  5. I’ve read a few of your posts, and always with great pleasure. While I hate to see you go, change can be invigorating. Nothing beats doing what you love, so good luck with your new endeavors.

  6. If Kim Clune only knew…I had to cut 6 minutes out and we actually did have a “long goodbye” in there that had to hit the floor. But it’s great that she heard the rapport and am thankful she mentioned it πŸ˜‰ I was worried about all that cutting! Laughing is better than crying and this is what drew me to Edie’s blog in the first place – Eric Goebelbecker was the one who introduced me to her and I was hooked on the wit and humor in no time! So now I’m off to see how creative your spammers are – thanks for everything Edie ;-D

    1. In the interests of not prolonging our au revoirs — not good-bye, really — even more… I’ll just say thank you again, Mary, for letting me share in one of the many great things you do.

  7. Glad to hear you are not going “cold turkey” on pet subjects and thrilling to hear you are going to publish the stories you wrote for Tufts University. Especially the BSL story deserves a larger audience πŸ™‚ I am looking forward too much to hear what you will find out of your family’s history and Freud’s butchers to think of this as a goodbye. Looking forward to your new blog and book and wish you all the luck with this new adventure.

  8. I’m very excited for you. And I think you’re a role model for many of us on how to pursue our passions by putting her best energies toward the projects that touch our heart.

    This is such an exciting project for you. And I’m so impressed that you’ve been able to shift priorities and change directions to allow you to take it on.

    Go Edie!

    1. Thanks, Pamela. I don’t think of myself as an impulsive or follow-your-bliss kind of person, but then again 20 years ago I picked up and moved to Tucson without a job and without knowing anyone. It seemed like the right thing to do. And then there was that dog book I wrote after years of being a travel writer….

      But when you see my next posts it’ll be clear that there will definitely be a transition period.

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