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Glenda, I honestly don't remember  you being particularly grumpy, except when someone has designated it "pick on Glenda day." [][]
 
Joyce

Oh now, you're forgetting old Betsy Perkins (maybe not) and some of the other folks who crawled right under my skin and stayed there!
 
And DPU?  You missed some really GOOD crankiness! []  I'm getting a tiny bit more +R in my dealings with people too!
 
Just for the record, I surely would appreciate it if folks would send ME the memo too when it's "pick on Glenda day"! [&:]

Sometimes it feels like we're all neighbors

That's a great way to think of it.  Like having that one neighbor you have coffee with every now and then; or the other neighbor who knows how to fix your plumbing at midnight; or the other neighbor who has been good to all of us all year but is secretly suffering and you want so desperately to help.  Many of you have roles similarly in my mind.  (Ok, there are also those "neighbors" I'd run into my house to avoid having to talk to... but, that's life..)

Ha, great comparison!  I love that.

ORIGINAL: gradyupmybutt

Almost any forum I've spent any time on, I've made friends.  I'm like most who have posted in here & I think about people on here @ random times.  More to the point I think of the dogs.  This is the only place I can come to all hyped up after a great day @ the barkpark & tell you all about it.  People will understand & maybe even be happy too.
The people in here are almost always there to pick someone up if they need it & we're a pretty powerful group when we put our candles & prayers to work.

And you're also here to call me up and pick on me when you go to see Markie and I don't get to!
I do a lot more odd things than talk about people from online to convince people i'm weird, so that's relatively minor.

ORIGINAL: glenmar

Oh now, you're forgetting old Betsy Perkins (maybe not) and some of the other folks who crawled right under my skin and stayed there!

Oh no - I haven't forgotten Betsy Perkins (maybe not).  Actually, she's who I had in mind. [] She did more than her share of provoking ... she deserved "grumpy" and then some. I don't ever remember you starting anything up with her.
 
Joyce
 
 
 
 

Nah, I generally TRY not to provoke anyone....tough old broad doesn't always mean big bad witch! []

I am still kind of a newbie on this forum board so I feel I am still getting to know people. I do frequent a few other boards, a couple of them dog boards. We participate in dock jumping with our dogs so I enjoy their boards too. I have definitely made friends on those boards. It is fun when you go to an event and get to really meet the people. I think it's funny that they have to introduce themselves with their login first, then you are like OH I know you.
 
I have learned by reading the posts on all my boards alot about different things. I do believe you can tell about a person by how they post. People have very strong feelings about their dogs, rightfully so. I like when there can be an impassioned disscussion with out putting other peoples thoughts and feelings down. On my other boards often the passionate discussions turn into bashing. I HATE that. It is always the same people doing the bashing too. You learn that you don't want to meet those people. No one person is right, and no one person is wrong. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Sometimes it is best to keep that opinion to your self so you do not hurt others. I haven't seen much of that here, I hope I don't. I love hearing about the bonds we all have with our dogs, and getting opinions from people on training, health, feeding etc. You all are great!

Ann

It is odd... being part of a forum, feeling one person's happiness or sadness or anxiety.  I really relate to those who have been posting on the Rainbow Bridge section of this forum.  Although, I do sometimes post in other areas... especially the photos for sharing section because everyone's furbabies are just so dang cute.  I usually will say to my family or friends "well, so and so said on the dog forum I belong to.... " when they mention a question or concern about their dog(s).  They give me this weird look like... um.... OOOOOOK lol  It's so nice tho.. the support and prayers that can be said when we really need it... the answers when we have no where else to go. 

ORIGINAL: glenmar

Oh now, you're forgetting old Betsy Perkins (maybe not) and some of the other folks who crawled right under my skin and stayed there!

And DPU?  You missed some really GOOD iness! []  I'm getting a tiny bit more +R in my dealings with people too!

Just for the record, I surely would appreciate it if folks would send ME the memo too when it's "pick on Glenda day"! [&:]

That would be way too easy Glenda.  We're trying to make you guess which day it is...we keep switching it too! j/k

Amy this is a great thread.  I, too, feel very close to many of you on this forum.  Idog has enriched my life in ways too numerous to count.  One of the reasons I got my dog was so that I'd get outside more and meet people and be more social.  Well I'm meeting people and being social but I'm not outside-go figure. 

There are people on this forum that I'd never get the opportunity to meet in real life: people from different countries, different continents, across the country, over the river and through the woods-and at least one that braves winters with temps so extreme that tires can freeze...YIKES! 

Hearing of all of your lives, all of your experiences-both good and bad-has helped me to realize that I'm not the only one going through tough times, I'm not the only one who looked foolish because my dog was reacting long after the other dog was gone, and so many other challenges that we've all encountered before. 

So thanks everyone...and Glenda if you've read this far, your hint is "Pick on Glenda day next week ends in a 'y.' []

Gee, Ed, thanks SO much for the hint! [:@]
 
Again, while I try not to start anything, I'm sure not afraid to finish it!  And luckily for me, I'm too danged busy to get into any major stuff right now!  Otherwise I just *might* be sitting on the sidelines!  []  Jaime isn't gonna give me any special treatment just cuz I'm her "favorite"[sm=biggrin.gif][sm=biggrin.gif]....I've gotta behave just like everyone else!

Actually, I think this is a great thread.  And, let's not forget that some of our dogs sort of know each other from here, too.  Remember the Mom, I ate my bed thread" from the old forum?  I mean, it's one of the reasons I like Glenda so much - her dog and my dog have been flirting since forever. []
I have lots of other favorites, too...[]

I'm glad that I'm not the only person who thinks about others they've "met" here!  I've worried right along with others when someone's dog is ill, been sad when one has gone to the Bridge, known I could share my grief when I lost Shari, knew someone would be happy when I found Bear.  I've worried about Glenda's mom, and if Glenda herself is hanging in there.  I've hoped Amy has found some resolution to the situation within her marriage.  I'm glad Ron found a job.  I hoped Angeltrudelle's family wasn't ill from the mold they unknowingly lived with.  I wondered about Angel *forpaws* when she was away, felt her grief over the foster she recently brought back home.  When Anne lost Dancer, I could totally relate to losing one's senior heart dog.  I've even laughed at some of Billy's comments, as well as the random silliness that overtakes us.
 
I love you guys. 

I've been doing the messageboard thing for years (and before that 'chat' and before that 'bulletin boards') and have met many many friends this way.  The friendships are as focused and special as you want them to be -- just yesterday I spoke on the phone with a friend in Alberta, Canada -- and I'm in Florida.  (I got Skype w/a phone for Christmas specifically SO I could chat with friends like Daryl from my other board and Lena from here and not have it break the bank!!)

But last year Daryl and her mom were travelling to take a cruise and they had to take off out of port Tampa -- and my husband, David, and I went over and spent the night at the hotel where they were being put up and it was GRAND!! (and it was the same day gradyupmybutt called ME for the first time -- remember that???? *grin*)

I have several folks I talk with on the phone regularly, and email pretty much daily -- both from Dog.com and from my other little board.  Canine Club has been around for many many years and much of the same 'core' group for about 7-8 years.  Some of us talk on the phone, a few of us have 'met' and some just lurk. 

But there is an intensity about this media because we all tend to have a 'passionate' thing in common and sometimes the problems we share are deep ones.  So when we are able to help one another it creates a deepness to the bond -- sometimes it's fleeting, sometimes it's not. 

It think part of it is that often friendships in person can become simply social, or convenient and people wind up forgetting that it is greatly communication that actually deepens a friendship and makes it last.  You have to WORK at it for it to last.  So we wind up not gettng at all 'deep' with our 'real life' friends because it's not convenient to go to a movie or because someone is on a diet and doesn't want to meet for dinner ... but people tend to pour out their hearts on a messageboard without fear of reprisal because of that tiny element of anonymity.

I find it really interesting on here, and I'm VERY thankful that Dog.com has given us all the vehicle to form such friendships.  Webspace isn't cheap -- and yet they maintain this huge board and even allow and encourage "NDR" topics. 

But it's easy to take a common love ... like dogs ... and translate that into something deeper.
 
I very nearly forgot to mention -- some of us have actually 'met' each other on OTHER boards.  Outdoorschik has been on my other little board for several years (way before she had Oliver) and Sandra Slayton and I knew each other on the old "The Poop" board.  I know there are others of you that I've seen around too.

I would love to personally meet you all.  If there is ever a meeting up of people I will make it there.  Im young, but always been older for my age... which makes it hard to identify with my friends.  As soon as DH and I got married we got a dog.  That became our kid.  Its going to be that way for us until we die.... there is just no life without a dog in it. 
 
I agree that the common bond between us all makes it very possible for something deeper.  I just cant express enough how thankful I am for you all.
 
With the hitting the dog the other night.  DH and I walk in the door, I lay on the couch facing the back of the couch and he gets on the computer.  About an hour later I say "You know... " and he jumped about out of his seat... said I scared the crap out of him.  He thought I was sleeping... no.. just staring at the back of the couch and thinking.  Anyway, he says "what you wanna get on the dog thing?"  So "yep" and he says "okay, I cant believe thats not the first thing you did when you walked in!"  So, people in my real life know about you all.  I truly consider these friendships real and in some ways am more fulfilled by these than certain personal ones.  Thank you all.  I wish I wouldve been here when Kayla was alive.  But I know I will be here for a long long time to come.  Almost a year now, wow.