It’s hard to know how to describe the popular blog, Life With Dogs. It’s a melange of humor, sweetness, humor, hipster edge, humor, baudiness, and did I mention humor?
Creator Neil Brogan is the kind of creative wunderkind who is all over the map — and he wears it well. “It’s hard to describe what I do, because it’s all over the place,” he tells me. Neil is equally at home writing a snappy or tender post about life or dogs or (go figure) life with dogs, as he is putting together hilarious short videos or witty/wacky/wonderful Photoshopped pictures of dogs — mostly his dogs.
Life With Dogs enjoys a large and rapidly growing following on Blogger and Facebook, in part because Neil has succeeded so beautifully in bringing his three dogs to life for thousands of fans. His Photoshopped versions of his pooches put his dogs front and center — way in front of him. In fact, Neil prefers to remain so far behind the scenes that you will be hard-pressed to find a photo and bio of him on his site. (Very hard-pressed. Don’t try, cuz you won’t succeed.)
We are excited to announce that about once a month, Dogster’s For the Love of Dog Blog (whatyou are reading at this moment, in case you landed here on a space ship and have no idea where you are) will be featuring a photo or video post created by Neil. Since I have utterly no talent in the making-dog-photos-into-art-or-clever-comics department, this will be a breath of fresh air for my blog’s readers. (And if Neil’s dogs are deeply involved, a breath of dog breath.)
Since you’re going to be seeing them fairly regularly, I’d like to introduce you to the stars of the show; unlike Neil, they don’t mind being center stage. Here they are, in all their St. Patrick’s Day finery from yesterday. (We think maybe they stayed out a little late last night, which explains why they are still in their holiday garb.)
(Funny how they are able to hold the exact same pose as they did in the April Showers photo…)
Here’s a little about them, courtesy of Neil:
On the left, we have Sola. Born on an icy hilltop in the northeast corner of Vermont, Sola is all Lab. This is the dog that will knock you down to get out the door, only to stop and wait to see what you’re doing next. Adventurous (there is a story on the blog about her jump off our porch roof) and driven, she is always on. Sola was raised with mountain biking, and lives for running the trails in the mountains surrounding her home. Her aim is second to none when it comes to randomly thrown paws that hit you in the kind of places that leave you hunched over and coughing. She’s an extraordinary dock diver and a full-fledged water addict. She is also a complete daddy’s girl, the protector of the family, and the glue that holds this pack together. Click here for a look at her devotion to housemate Nigel after he got home from surgery last year.
The clover-headed dog to her right is our newest recruit, Truffles (aka Fudgepants). Another Vermont native, she is given to fits of litter snacking, is constantly tormented by her siblings, and is very likely the most happy dog you will ever meet. After suffering an injury as a puppy, she endured multiple corrective surgeries without complaint, and is now the happy owner of a fifteen thousand dollar leg. She’s a full-body wagger, snores like a bear and is as good and pure a dog as you might hope to meet. Little Ms. Truffles is the heart of the house.
And finally, there’s Nigel. A retired racer of ill repute, Nigel spends his days protecting the family sofa from dust while Facebooking and Photoshopping himself into every last bit of trouble he can find. He’s the butt of a thousand jokes, a great sport, and the hound every cat loves to hate. He has a rabid fan club, and is currently touring the globe in print form. in the name of charity. He has inspired numerous adoptions. He’s skinny with a swollen head, good and bad, black and white. A walking paradox, Nigel occupies the gray area of Life With Dogs.
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Neil has provided Dogster with a fun “comic strip,” starring the three dogs, so you’ll get a taste of who they are, what they do, and why Neil is going to be a welcome addition to this blog. For more like this, be sure to sniff around Life With Dogs. (Just a heads-up that you might run into the occasional “pee humor” or more racy humor than we have here on Dogster, but it’s all in good fun. If you don’t like this sort of thing, hang tight and wait for his next Dogster post, which is guaranteed to be Rated G.)