Let the celebration begin! Today is “Love Your Pet Day,” but it is also the 25th Anniversary Day and the official start of the 25th Anniversary Year for Goodnewsforpets.com®. The award-winning site was originally launched on February 20, 2000, at Viticus Group’s Western Veterinary Conference (WVC) in Las Vegas.
Lea-Ann Germinder With Lola
“Love Your Pet Day and all the many pet holidays were in the distant future. It was the age of the .coms (as in pets.com). Goodnewsforpets’ parent company, Germinder & Associates, managed the traditional newsroom for WVC and concurrently launched a virtual newsroom. It’s hard to believe now, but he buzz about launching websites was very much like the buzz about AI today, although the pace was not quite as fast, it was still very exciting,” says Editor + Publisher Lea-Ann Germinder.
Original Goodnewsforpets.com Logo
The 2000 site included the Cat Writers’ Association of America (CWA) as the first media partner courtesy of CWA president emeritus Amy Shojai. The Dog Writers Association of America (DWAA) signed up courtesy of Mordecai Siegal. Steve Dale was the first featured columnist. Later columnists included the late legendaries Mordecai Siegal and Ranny Green. Julie Lux also contributed her talents as an editor in later years. The National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America, Fort Dodge Animal Health, the American Animal Hospital Association, and Addison Laboratories were featured on the site. Other exhibitors at the conference could post their news in addition to “.com” companies from the Discovery Zone.
“We’ve attended dozens of veterinary conferences since, written thousands of articles, and posted an equal number of press releases. My special favorite still is the guest column interview. Now, most of my time is focused on responsible AI research, but I have learned so much from building a website with an incredible team from scratch. In particular, I thank the incomparable Shelli Manning and Amy Davis, the team who helped launch the site with me,” said Germinder.
Today, the core mission of providing “good news” for pets remains unchanged. Some content is sponsored, some are labeled Chewy affiliate content, and some is posted as a service to the veterinary community and pet-owning public.
“Before I launched Germinder + Associates, my team and I at another agency had launched a pet dental website for the “Pets Need Dental Care, Too” campaign for Hill’s Pet Nutrition, the American Veterinary Medical Association, and the dental groups. The news hook at the time was we had a website. When I launched Germinder & Associates in 1998, we had several animal health clients, so it made sense to launch a website. However, I could never have imagined all the incredible experts I’ve had the honor to interview and the stories we’ve been able to share. I hope to share many more as our 25th anniversary year unfolds, “said Germinder.
Thank you to our Goodnewsforpets.com community, the sponsors and partner organizations, and our columnists and writers over the years. We share this celebratory day and year with you. #Goodnewsforpets25
