SAN DIEGO – The latest San Diego Pet Expo, reportedly the area's largest pet adoption and education event, has come and gone–last January's installment, held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, featured several seminars and more than 100 exhibits centering on pet food, toys and health. A Vegas-style bird exhibit, a petting zoo (at which kids got a chance to meet zebras face to face) and San Diego's Chopper the Biker Dog (who rides his own Harley) rounded out the two-day showcase, which has been going strong in one form or another for 35 years.

It's important to note that the expo's proceeds benefit several local animal shelters and rescue groups. The fun and entertainment, it seems, acknowledge the less superficial angles to the pet environment; and while it's reassuring to know that San Diego has scores of resources for pet owners and animal advocates, the reasons behind their creation illustrate the desire to provide a voice for a community that can't speak for itself.

We at San Diego Pets see a unique opportunity to become a serious part of that voice. Under the ownership of Dean Publications and new editor/publisher Casey Dean, the monthly magazine will feature pieces that speak to the joys and dilemmas of pet ownership and the less visible elements that weigh into both. Pet shop legislation; regulatory issues on pet food (on which Americans spend $12 billion a year); how pets figure in federal disaster preparedness: Unseen elements like these play a vital part in the pet-owner relationship, and San Diego Pets will address these issues, as well as present fun features on unique animals and their owners, with the same level of commitment.

The first entry, set for publication Monday, April 4, will include a cover story on renowned dog whisperer and canine psychologist Cesar Millan, who has stated that dogs can achieve life balance only when humans do the same. Another feature involves Ocean Beach's Sunset Cliffs Animal Hospital, which operates out of an environmentally “green” facility and whose opening roughly coincides with the 250th anniversary of formal veterinary care.

Dean Publications recently acquired San Diego Pets from San Diego Community Newspaper Group, Inc., publisher of several general-readership newspapers that cover the local coastal communities.

San Diego-area residents are deeply interested in the issues that touch on their nonhuman counterparts; the pet expo's 35-year record of success is evidence of that. Another expo installment will come around in October—and we believe the new San Diego Pets will have garnered an indispensable place in the pet ownership community by then. See you in April!