Although I'm tempted to start off Pets, 2008 BlogHer-style with an in-depth analysis of how and why Internet commenters mistakenly killed off blogosphere dog rockstar Chuck because Heather (aka Dooce) and Jon Armstrong got a new (adorable, oh dear, so cute) puppy, I will not.

I was also tempted to write a whole post about pet resolutions, but Yvonne DiVita at Scratchings and Sniffings did a great job of that already. Entirelypets.com has another one and Phyllis Schwartz aka AlphaDog at Newsvine posted one that made me smile just a bit. I'll just say that when human beings resolve to cut back on drinking, a toilet usually isn't involved, and that the bottom line on pet-care resolutions makes them not much different from the human kind: make sure they eat well and get exercise, spend your time and love on them as well as your money and try to avoid the REALLY humiliating clothing.

That last one was from my dog.

With that business taken care of, it seems that the Internet runneth over with pets and their pictures, both new and in the news. Besides new Dooce-addition Coco, Karen Rani and family just adopted Mylie, whose breed is still and may ever be in question. Both sites already have more than enough cuteness to melt the hardest of hearts. (Any new cats, horses, snakes or other pet varieties out there? Who am I missing? Stand up on two, four or no legs and be counted.)

But let's just hope that if anyone cares to "borrow" a photo of these new Internet pet celebrities, they ask first. The December flap over Fox News's use of Tracey Gaughran-Perez's photo of her pug, Truman, on an NFL broadcast led to coverage in the Washington Post.. Her updates on "Trumangate" or what she also calls Dog Photo Kerfuffle 2007 have raised interesting questions about the protection of work published online, no matter what - or who - the subject is or how close to deadline an intern desperate for an image of a pug in a Santa hat might be. (Oh, not the old 'I needed a pug in a Santa hat and I was on deadline' saw again. Let's punch it up for '08, shall we?) My favorite quote from Tracey involved her channeling the new network television star Truman:

Despite appearances, life has continued on pretty much unchanged here in the Sweetney household since Dog Photo Kerfuffle 2007 began its reign of terror. Well, except that Truman now has an agent, and is working on his memoirs and shopping a couple screenplays around. Confidentially, I must admit that I'm growing tired of his ceaseless shrieking to “GET HOLLYWOOD ON THE PHONE!” and bi-hourly calls for Red Bull and curly tail massages. But beyond that, it's all pretty much business as usual. Oh, but did I mention Truman's going to be on the next season of The Surreal Life? I think he'll make a fine Vern Troyer replacement. snorfle.

In these still relatively early days of mass online personal publishing, these things will continue to pop up, and some will have precedent and some will not. That's why I pay attention to the folks who are setting them, and even though I'm a regular reader, right now I'm paying even closer attention to Tracey (and Truman).

There certainly are enough pet photos online to choose from, and whole sites added to Photoblogs.org recently.

Sarah at In Questo Momento has some beautiful shots of animals, and says photographing them is one of her passions. (I love her macro work here.)

meeyauw Barton's Daily Photoblog included this sweet photo of her cat, Buddy, in the snow, and daily photos of other wildlife and scenery (pretty!) in Vermont. There are lots of cool pictures of birds in her daily images. And although I can't tell whether it's a BlogHer or Him, I'll go equal opportunity here and point out FreakyCat, a very nice cat photoblog out of Denmark.

So how to get these great shots, anyway?

Marta Acosta, author and blogger, will interview Nancy Levine of Wilson the Pug and auther of the Tao of Pug, among other books, about how to get the best pet shots possible. Digital Photography School has a post of ten pet photography tips,

Seen a great pet photoblog - or just plain blog - lately? Please share! I personally can't get enough, so I hope you'll help me out.

Find Laurie White's blog at LaurieWrites, and the life and times of Punkinhead the Boston Terrier in his Flickr set.