2008 in the rear-view mirror

Every year I start with the more-or-less same list of good intentions, both personally and as they pertain to pet issues, and most of the time by year's end I'm left wondering where did all of those good intentions go? As we come to the close of 2008 (and am I the only one feeling a hearty "good riddance" to this particular year?) I can actually say I made a bit of progress.

First off, I managed to start this blog and am still contributing to it. Not that there are many folks perusing it on a regular basis, but the ability to start something and actually continue to work on it over the last several months is a big personal success for me. And, to be fair, there hasn't been much from me in the way of promotion, mostly because I thought it would be nice to have several items worthy of sharing before asking other folks to check me out.

I have high blog hopes for next year. I have several ideas for sprucing up the site, or perhaps moving to something where I can more fully embrace what I'd actually like to see the site become, which simply cannot be accomplished through Blogger alone. But one must walk before one can run and I needed to be able to prove to myself that I could maintain a little site before going to the pay-to-play model.

My other big accomplishment in 2008 was to obtain my Emergency Animal Rescue Services (EARS) certification through United Animal Nations. In the event of a disaster I can go to a location and be able to assist in the rescue of animals left behind, which has long been something I've wanted to do. Having the certification represents my time, effort and commitment to the cause. I walked the walk on this one, and for that I am glad.

I plan to finish out this year listing some of my hopes for 2009, especially as they relate to pets. For the few (very few) folks who wander across my musings, feel free to drop me a line with any ideas you may have regarding pet-related issues. And invite your critter-loving friends to give me a peek. They may enjoy what they see.