Hello. I am The Dogist. It’s not my name — not my given name, at least, which is Elias Weiss Friedman — but it’s my identity. I have been The Dogist since 2013, when I started posting photos of dogs I met on the street. At first, it started as a joke, a parody of street-fashion sites that I perceived as being somewhat serious and pretentious. Dogs didn’t know the first thing about being fashionable or trendy, but I made it seem like they might. As if they wanted to have their picture taken, like a person posing for a camera. But soon enough the site became something else; something more profound than a spoof. It became a place for me to tell real, meaningful, and often moving stories about something many people cared for deeply: their dogs. The thousands of stories I’ve shared over the years to an audience that has grown to millions have helped people to laugh, cry, learn, and be inspired in countless ways. It’s proven to be something many people count on for their daily dose of positivity – something that’s more and more difficult to find.
And yet, despite having photographed over 50,000 dogs in the last 11 years, I feel I’m only just getting started. That’s something I feel very lucky to get to say. No two dogs have ever been the same (and no two ever will). A big part of my goal with this new platform is to reach people and their dogs I might not otherwise have the opportunity to. To go places unsniffed, as a dog would put it. Are there dogs on the North Pole? I’m sure there are and I’d like to find out who they are. Do you have the most incredible story about your dog that simply cannot go untold? I’d like to hear it. When I photograph on the street, I start by looking for a picture and then ask about their story. This leads to many great quips and anecdotes, and occasionally an incredible story, but my objective for this space is to serve as a forum that’s story first (and then follows with cute dog pics, of course).
This newsletter will also evolve, I’m sure. Just like before, I’m starting off with a new concept. Next summer, I have a book coming out. It’s called This Dog Will Change Your Life, and it’s a mix of things. It’s a history of my site and the years that I have spent building it into its current community; it’s a self-help-esque book where we can glean insights about ourselves through the prism of dogs; and finally, it’s a kind of memoir, an account of my own stories in and around dogs. It’s divided into three sections, each of which explores a different aspect of the way that dogs elevate and ennoble our lives. First, it looks at how dogs help us come to better understand our own identity. Second, it investigates how dogs help to foster and strengthen relationships between people. And third, it illuminates how dogs help us to cultivate a greater sense of purpose.
This newsletter is related to that book, of course — everything I do is founded in the relationships between dogs and their people — but it is entirely different in tone, in presentation, in platform, and in mission. I want to use the magic of Substack, and of online connectivity, to not only deepen and broaden the Dogist community, but to give many of you the chance to participate. I want to share and hear all the good dog stories in the world. Is that too big a charter? So be it.
Expect to hear from me weekly. They say that a dog ages seven years for every human year, so every seven days counts as…every day? I’m not sure. Dog math isn’t my strong suit. But expect a weekly post, along with a follow-up post at the end of the week where I will be asking for your stories and comments. Being a paid subscriber will enable you not only to look at all the comments, but to participate yourself, to send me pictures and stories and give me a way of connecting back to you and (hopefully) featuring you (here, I am directly addressing all the dogs in the audience) in future posts. I’m excited to add short video features, too, that let me showcase dogs and owners that I can’t get to by foot. (This has always been a dream of mine, to hear about a cool dog in Fukuoka or Hyderabad and hop onto a video call to meet and discuss.)
I think that takes care of the housekeeping — or housetraining, as the case may be.
Like everything Dogist, this will be about you and your dogs just as much as it is about me. I’m building and reinforcing the Dogist community, which has always been a band of canine-loving misfits – a Muttly Crëw, if you will.
I look forward to hearing your stories and to helping deepen everyone’s love and appreciation for our best four-legged friends.
