WE'RE DOING THIS FOR DOGS. PLEASE HELP FUND US.

I’ve always loved animals, and I’ve raised two wonderful dogs. A third is on the horizon.

When I got my first Golden Retriever back in 1991, friends gave me a book to read: How to Be Your Dog’s Best Friend. It was written by the Monks of New Skete, a group of Franciscan monks who are internationally acclaimed dog trainers. The book enlightened me about the possible relationship between humans and dogs in ways I never expected. Sure enough, I had the most extraordinary companionship with Baxter, my first Golden, who lived to be twelve, and Tucker, my second Golden, who lived six months past his thirteenth birthday.

As a career magazine publisher with an entrepreneurial spirit, I took the giant leap a year ago and married my passion for dogs and publishing. In September 2021, a team of dedicated editors, award-winning contributors, graphic designers, developers, and strategists launched lovedog.com, a digital magazine and media company unlike any other in the market. Our goal is to deliver the best possible original content about dogs and their human companions. Reflecting the most lovable qualities of dogs themselves, Love, Dog is engaging, insightful, big-hearted, wise, beautiful, and a lot of fun.

While we put a tremendous amount of thought into delivering an enjoyable user experience, our real goal was to do this for the dogs. After all, for more than 35,000 years, they’ve been our loyal companions. And over the last two years, tens of millions of us around the world brought new dogs into our families. They carried many people through the stress and deep loneliness brought about by lockdowns, homeschooling and the loss of loved ones. There’s a lot of talk these days about rescuing dogs—but of course, so often, they’re the ones rescuing us.

Since dogs give us so much, Love, Dog was conceived as a tribute to them—as a way to give back. To honor them properly, the creative team designed lovedog.com to be as smart and beautiful as any premium-quality magazine about people. We like to say that Love, Dog is everything dogs want us thinking and talking about all day long. Its purpose is also to inform and inspire us so that we can give them the support they need for a truly good life.

In addition, Love, Dog is dedicated to the thousands of volunteers who serve at animal shelters. Every month, we feature stories recognizing these heroes who so tirelessly and compassionately work to save dogs’ lives and give them a second chance with new families. Another way we show our commitment to canines in need is through our Dogs For Adoption section, in which we show six new dogs up for adoption. Lastly, we donate 10% of all proceeds to vetted animal charities around the country.

Since the project began, we have invested over $250,000 to get Love, Dog up and running. The result is a beautiful website, four months of captivating original content, regularly delivered newsletters, and, in the last quarter of 2021, over 56,000 page views per month with average session times over eight minutes! Nevertheless, just as we’ve crossed several creative and technological thresholds, we’re at risk of having to shut down due to a lack of capital. We’re setting out to raise $500,000, and we have an immediate need to raise the first 10% ($50,000) to continue operating. That’s why we’ve come to GoFundMe. With the funds we raise, we will continue to invest in producing unique content while also pursuing first-time, crucial marketing initiatives with the goal of becoming self-sustaining within a year.

While Love, Dog was conceived as a for-profit business, we view our mission as a cause: to serve dogs and their human companions. We will be most grateful for any amount you are comfortable contributing so that we can continue this mission. With your support, we will continue to invest in our growing community of dog lovers and enlighten them with fresh insights and ideas so that they can truly be their dog’s best friend.

Very truly yours,

Mark Drucker

Human Founder & Publisher of Love, Dog