One Year of Jonathan’s Journal: A Retrospective
In November of last year, I started drawing my dog as a cartoon. The sketches were drawn up on scraps of paper laying around the house, loosely keeping track of Jonathan’s adjustment to his new home and the many twists and turns that came from it. I’d leave status reports on the white board on our fridge with a Jonathan doodle, stating whether or not Jonathan was a good or bad boy that particular day — all so my partner and I were on the same page of Jonathan’s progress. It was just something to keep my mind at ease during the chaos. As a graphic designer/artist/illustrator/generally right-brained person, it was a habit I have always had; my notebooks at work were mostly just filled with sketches I had drawn to keep calm and focus during day-long meetings.
Fast forward to this exact day last year: I was sitting in the passenger’s seat of a rental car en route back to New York City, tapping “Create New Account” on Instagram. I had just spent Christmas at my parents’ house in Pennsylvania, and out of boredom, I redrew those sketchbook doodles on my iPad to keep as an archive. I wrote short stories underneath the drawings like a journal prompt, recalling all of the daily frustration and ultimately proud moments of Jonathan’s accomplishments. I knew I’d be able to look back at these in the future once he got the hang of things.
That was when I realized that other people could relate to these illustrations. I had already created this record of visual journal entries for myself, and I could easily collect them into an Instagram for fellow new dog owners to possibly discover. So, on the long trek back to NYC, I created a new account, called it “Jonathan’s Journal” (Who doesn’t love alliteration?), and hit “post” on the first handful of drawings just as we were crossing the George Washington Bridge. I felt extremely vulnerable. I was a little embarrassed at the possibility of people I knew finding it. Was it a stupid idea?
Here we are a full year later. I’ve been wanting to write this post for weeks leading up to this one year anniversary, but I haven’t been able to quite figure out what I wanted to tell the world about this dog Instagram account. Overall, I don’t know if a blog post will be able to properly express how incredibly grateful I am for what I have learned, the people (and dogs) I’ve met —virtually and in real life, and the opportunities this has created. I still can’t grasp how many eyes my illustrations and stories have reached, but I’m mostly amazed at how it has completely changed my own life.
The first Jonathan Instagram drawing vs. today’s style.
If it weren’t for Jonathan’s Journal, we wouldn’t have gotten to know many of our neighbors in Astoria, and Jonathan may not have met some of his best puppy friends. My parents would have never rescued their sweet Treeing Walker puppy, Lucy, if I had not found her adoption post on Dogstagram. If it weren’t for Jonathan’s Journal, I would still be in a toxic job, feeling lost and unfulfilled. In the last year, I have “found” myself as a designer and illustrator, pushing myself with this passion project, developing a new illustration style for myself, and ultimately realizing I needed a career shift for my own mental health and happiness.
Even though Jonathan’s Journal has mostly served as a side project, it gave me something to look forward to after long 9-6 work days that left me burnt out and, frankly, a bit depressed. Being able to create art on my own terms about something I cared deeply about gave me a sense of purpose. Why I didn’t start my professional career in the pet world in the first place, I will never know, but now I know I can never go back. I don’t think there’s another environment where the people involved truly love what it’s about. I’ve never seen a colleague in fashion be so head over heels over a rack of clothes like a pet store owner cares about dogs that aren’t even their own. No matter what I end up doing, whether it be designing dog treat packaging or just drawing pet portraits the rest of my life, I know this is the direction I am meant to be in. Realizing this, thanks to this little Instagram account, was the solace I had been looking for ever since I graduated college.
Originally published December 26, 2019.
I have always been passionate about animals but have struggled with the feeling of not being able to help them. I’m the type of person that can’t go near an animal shelter because I will start crying immediately at the thought of sad animals without homes. It’s hard to comfort animals when you’re the embodiment of anxiety. Only a truly special kind of person can be the one to drive and physically save stray and abused dogs. I know that couldn’t be me thanks to how often sad dogs make me cry. But, because of Jonathan’s Journal, I have finally found a way to help animals in one way or another. I’ve been able to raise money through my artwork to send to rescues and shelters. On the other hand, I’ve had hundreds of conversations with dog owners about their dogs’ stories and struggles. The conversations are almost identical: the person either had or is currently going through the stressful transition of bringing a dog into the home (especially a rescue dog, or a stubborn hound). They felt like they were failing because it seems like everyone they know has the perfect dog, but Jonathan’s stories showed that they were not alone.
These DMs alone made it clear to me that nearly everyone is going through the same problems but no one is talking about it. It is part a result of the modern phenomena of social media (see: Instagram is Not Reality), where the snapshots young people see on a daily basis are only-positive, always-spectacular, and always-perfectly-posed filtered images. It’s no wonder so many new dog owners think they’re doing something wrong, when in truth, they’re just living the reality that having a dog is really hard.
An early post about the struggles of training a hound dog.
Of course, all of this was not thanks to the good boy himself. I always say Jonathan’s stories write themselves because of his giant hound-y personality. He has the type of face that is so humanlike, you can tell exactly what he’s thinking, and it is usually some iteration of sassing back or purposely ignoring. I’ve watched him become a proud confident boy who trots into new environments like he owns the place. If I scroll back through my old drawings, I am amazed at how far he has come compared to this time last year. Although he is still a bit defiant, his listening and obedience skills have improved tenfold. This time last year, he would howl alone for an hour straight even if we just went around the corner to get the laundry. Now we can leave him without a worry because he loves being in his crate that much. I can’t help but pat myself on the back for keeping track of all we have gone through with him — especially since you can’t always catch those bad moments in photos.
A year after creating this account and hoping maybe someone would relate, I can say that as long as I’ve helped one person feel less alone while raising their dog, I have accomplished my goal. I guess it wasn’t a stupid idea. I have created something I am incredibly proud of. Frankly, that’s more than I could’ve asked for. Thank you to every single person that has supported Jonathan and I along the way.
Left: Jonathan shortly after adoption and his first weeks living in the city. He was extremely underweight, had pink eye and hookworms, and was generally a bit of a mess. Right: A happy, healthy, Jonathan recently enjoying the views in Manhattan.