This issue in your hands is the biggest one we have done in four years and 16 editions of hard work but also great fun. It's an incredible accomplishment and a tribute to Lisa and the team headed by Mark Berry, our longtime designer of every issue; Paul Everett who proofs and subs the copy, handles news items and also edits our main magazine the AustralAsian Music Industry Directory; and Anita Zagami who has handled delivery logistics to over 400 outlets, subscriptions and a lot of fine administration details for the past couple of years.

At a time when four other pet magazines died in the past year--'Bark', 'Adore Animals', 'Doggy Deals' and Brisbane's 'Urban Tails' (no relation)--we've grown incredibly as we enter our fifth year of uninterrupted, on-time publication with 40,000 copies of each issue free to pet lifestyle lovers. In May last year we had 40 ads in 36 pages. In this issue we have 76 ads in 64 pages which averages out to a 90% growth rate. It's a far cry from our first issue at 18 advertisers and 32 pages.

Aside from our mass free distribution to pet consumers at pet shops, vets, groomers, boarding kennels, pet events, pet-friendly cafes and pet services, we also have a large number of subscribers who get three copies of each issue so they have two to share with friends (see our coupon on the opposite page) and we're also read by the pet industry trade and used by them to market to retailers and other outlets. This year, we will be distributing 1000 copies of this Urban Animal at the PIAA Pet Expo which is a trade fair at Darling Harbour, not open to the public, but where over 100 exhibitors evangelise their wares to well over 1000 professional attendees September 12-13.

When we debuted this magazine in 2004, many in the industry said we'd never last. The major multinational food brands didn't believe our 'no-advertorial' policy would persevere, but we've stuck to our guns and remained true to our readers rather than taking the easy money. Advertisers who had been pandered to with deep discounts, 'distress-ad' rates and 'last-minute deals' as well as backhanders and 'cash for comment' editorial thought we'd drop our prices, but we never did. As a result, we survived the times when competitors slit their financial throats to stay alive, but perished.

We've gone overseas to pet conventions to report on what's new and on the horizon. In this issue, you'll see a report from the Parrots 2008 Convention in Brisbane which is a fantastic event every two years. We've also stayed away from celebrity coverage but who can resist the Girls (And Dogs) of The Playboy Mansion article we got from Hilary O'Hagan, the former editor of departed 'Hollywood Dog', with photos from top pet-snapper Chris Ameruoso, who also has a pet magazine 'Pawprint' in Los Angeles, with a wonderful shot of the three Playmates from E! Entertainment and Channel 9.

We continue our very popular series on pet nutrition which has run over the past six issues with a feature on feeding your dog, cat or even ferret bones (my birds get select ones!) preceded by our Cuisine de Critters which hip you to a few new books and a recipe for Tofu Meat Loaf. There's also a look at booking pet-friendly accommodation online in Internet Interpet and much more.

But my favourite, being the Bird Guy, is the interview and photo feature on "Australia: Land of Parrots" which is a must-have doco in High Definition DVD that even those who are not featherlusters or twitchers (as birders are called) will adore.

Phil Tripp
Urban Animal Publisher

That chestnut question about whether owners start to resemble their dogs cropped up the other day. A girlfriend was showing me a series of pictures on YouTube and we were in fits of laughter looking at the similarities between owners and their dogs. I don't think for a moment that I resemble a Dalmatian. I hardly ever wear black and white combined and am especially cautious wearing black as it seems to be a magnet for those sharp little white hairs Dalmatians shed 24/7.

With my wavy red hair I would more resemble a Cocker Spaniel than Dalmatian. I do have freckles and Dalmatians have spots, so I guess there is some parallel there. A friend of mine has Schnauzers and both her and hubby have thick heads of salt and pepper greying hair. Another friend has a Whippet. She loves nothing more than to go for brisk runs and she's built fine like her dog. Another friend of mine spends time in the gym working on his upper body strength and conditioning and he now has the same proportions as his staffy. But thankfully one of my besties, who has a Pug, looks nothing like her pushed-in bracci princess.

Then there are the accessories that people buy for their dogs that are often extensions of their personalities. Toughed-up macho studded collars on commonly viewed tough dogs’Äìthe much maligned bull breeds. Or sparkling Swarovski crystals blinging off Malti-shih-tzu-oodles toted around the shopping strips in the eastern suburbs.

Another interesting element to dog ownership is the cliques breed enthusiasts find themselves drawn to. Whether it be Daschund days at Centennial Park or Pug parties down at Cafe Bones, there are some interesting breed-specific groupies out there. As a 'Dalmatian person' you might think that I would have a swag of spotty schwag-like Dal figurines and other paraphernalia. I don't allow it through the doors but I confess my mostly Dalmatian-dˆ©cor-free home has a couple of mugs given to me over the years. These mugs are often used carrying caffeine on my morning dog walks. It's in the vain hope that I'll trip and smash the eye-offending chunk of china.

I do get mildly excited when a magazine does a breed profile on Dalmatians. I always like to read what the 'experts' have to say. A recent 'Dog Fancy' magazine featured the coach dog in their profile pages. They listed the personality of a Dalmatian as "alert and lively, intelligent and empathetic, sociable and fun-loving", and from where I sit, that's pretty spot-on. Thinking on this for a moment I realised that this character description pretty much describes me. So, looks aside, perhaps there is some real truth in the notion that dogs and their owners resemble each other.

Lisa Treen
Urban Animal Editor