Janice Brown,

Founder and Editorial Director

Although we always promote the rescue and adoption of animals, this annual special-focus issue allows us to explore pet overpopulation in greater depth. Over the years we’ve presented sad stories of animals in need, conducted interviews with animal-welfare workers who are in the trenches, exposed puppy mills, and examined the horrors of dogfighting, doing our best to educate people why it doesn’t have to be this way.

As each of us go through our days, we are bombarded with words and ideas about how to live, what to eat, where to shop, and who to vote for. All of our wonderful advancements in technology have created too many places with too much information (which, by the way, is why we know you turn to Tails for your local, relevant, easy-to-find pet-related news).

These days, I am more inspired by what I actually see people doing rather than what they say they will do. I pull from the wisdom of those who have come before me. Ghandi told us to “be the change you want to see in the world.” That is where the true power lies.

I know that you, our readers, are some of the best ambassadors out there, leading by example. With your rescued, neutered dogs; your healthy, fit, indoor cats; and your shopping carts spilling over with natural food, organic treats, and toys that encourage curiosity and promote wellness, you are living what you believe.

You are busy people who are running from work to the health club to dinner with friends. You are also doing the right thing because you understand the greater picture: We are not in this world alone, and we must leave no one behind, including the animals.

We promise to continue bringing you, our enlightened pet lovers, all the socially conscious news and entertainment we can cram into these pages. And we know we can count on you to keep making a difference for the animals, one belly rub at a time.

Here’s to you!

Jason A. Heidemann

Executive Editor

Everywhere I go, pets are on my mind. It comes with the territory of working for a pet magazine. For example, when I road-tripped through the Florida Keys last year, I couldn’t help but take notice of every veterinarian, animal rescue, and pet boutique dotting the landscape, and I even spent an afternoon playing with the six-toed cats at the Hemingway House in Key West. In the desert this past December, I stayed at a pet-friendly hotel where dogs were in abundance (including a celebrity Labradoodle who has been featured both in print and television), and in Chicago, some of my favorite cafes and bars are pet-friendly. I have coined a new term for this. I am an urban “pet setter.”

Like jet setters, pet setters are people on the move, but the difference between them and us is that everywhere we go, we are conscious of animals. For some of us, that means traveling with our pets on vacation, as I have done in the past. To others, pet setting may take the form of activism, as in driving an animal across the country to a safe haven or choosing not to eat meat. While for some folks it takes the form of a pet-focused trip, like going whale watching, setting out on an African safari, or even spending an afternoon volunteering at a local shelter. But the common thread that we urban pet setters share is that, wherever we go, we maintain an acute awareness of the animals who inhabit this planet with us.

I’d like to think that pet setting is what sets Tails readers apart from everybody else. When you pick up this magazine, you become part of the solution to the problems facing the animal community, such as overpopulation, dogfighting, puppy mills, feral cat colonies, and so on. Being a Tails reader also means you happen to be someone who just loves hanging out with your own four-legged critters. We applaud you for this and thank you for your continued support of all animals.

Have a pet-setting spring break—