Jack: Portrait of Jack 1/16/96 to 2/8/09

This amazing 16x20 portrait arrived in the mail this week from a person I know only from a Yorkie forum. It is a painting of Jack, my 13-year-old rescue who died in February.

I used to think the Internet wasn't real. The people we meet and the "friends" we make didn't seem genuine if I didn't meet them in person. But I have to say after losing Jack, I discovered you can get to know people -- and animals -- via pictures and stories on the Internet. I was deluged with condolences on his passing, this being just the latest. People got to know Jack, and they grieved his passing every bit as much as I did.

Jack was a scrawny, 4-pound yapper who at a glance epitomized all the things so many people hate about little dogs. But he had the heart of a lion and a capacity to love that came across in the videos and pictures I posted of him over the years.

That's why I've tried to set up this blog as a community where we can all share stories of our dogs. They really are amazing, and it's not just the owners who know that. Our dogs affect everyone who sees the pictures and reads about their adventures. Their capacity to make us happy can be shared, and their legacy spreads infinitely wider when we do so.