12/30/2023
Many of the Doberman Planet viewers have been asking for an update on Arlo since his retirement from YouTube over a year and a half ago and up until now, I’ve spoken very little about Arlo’s status. I’ve been focusing my efforts on bringing other Doberman owners’ stories to the world instead, while also educating others about this magnificent breed.
The reason I’ve spoken so little about Arlo since his retirement is that our story together is a rather difficult one for me to talk about and it still affects me on a deep level. However, because I decided to share Arlo with the world so publicly, for so long (as a means to educate, break stigmas, and help other people) I do feel as if I owe all of the amazing Doberman Planet fans a direct update.
At about the time of Arlo’s retirement from YouTube, I found myself in the middle of a lot of extremely difficult changes in my life all at once. I’m a very private person (believe it or not) and certainly didn’t share my personal struggles with the world like I did other aspects of my life. I found myself in the middle of a divorce, selling the home that I loved and never wanted to leave, and lots of questions surrounding what life would look like for our family moving forward.
I did notice stress in Arlo building around the time all of this was unfolding, which was very much the case as I described in his retirement video. What I didn’t describe in that video, however, was the other aspects of my personal life that were changing so quickly at that time and in such a traumatic manner. These other aspects were likely a significant cause of additional stress in Arlo at that time, as was regular weekly filming. In an attempt to take some pressure off Arlo, I made the decision to retire him from YouTube. This was one variable I could control that I felt could benefit him. A handful of months later, my divorce began. Everything was in upheaval and it was certainly frightening waiting to see how all the pieces would land.
I’m so thankful every day that all of that is over, but unfortunately, through this major transition time in my life, I no longer have Arlo and can no longer film him or share him with the world as I did before. That’s why you haven’t seen him on the channel since his retirement. Although I do not wish to discuss the private details of by far the most trying and difficult time of my life, I do know that Arlo is being taken care of and I have faith that he’s being loved as deeply as I loved him.
I will say that it has broken small pieces of my heart every time one of my viewers asks me for an update on Arlo, and now you know why I haven’t been able to show him on the channel. I haven’t responded to those comments asking for updates because frankly, it’s incredibly difficult for me to talk about that time in my life.
Although I intended to keep the details of this jarring transition in my life completely private, I do realize the position I am in. So many of my amazing viewers care so deeply for Arlo, and that means the world to me.
I do miss Arlo deeply. However, I still see this as an opportunity to transition this amazing channel along with my wonderful and extremely supportive viewers to a channel all about THEM. Not just about me. I never wanted my channel to only showcase me and my dog. I really wanted a channel to showcase all Dobermans. A breed that has brought so much joy into my life, my children’s lives, and so many others for so long. So that’s what I plan to do with Doberman Planet. Give it ALL back to the breed, to the owners and the real champions of this breed, as a way to support and promote what is one of the most underrated dog breeds of all time.
You can support this mission if you’d like by sharing your story with our audience here.
Thank you for your understanding surrounding the difficulties of all of this and why I haven’t spoken about this until now. I am so thankful for you, whoever has taken the time to read this statement and to care this much about Arlo and I. You have no idea how much that means to me. I hope you’ll continue to support Doberman Planet and watch our videos, even if it’s not just all about Arlo anymore, and it’s instead about what is, in my opinion, the most amazing dog breed on this planet as a whole.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart,
John Walter
DobermanPlanet.com
