Retiring Wildlife Columnist Says Good-bye

Newspaper colleagues and Tony LaRussa, the former baseball manager and founder of the , honored Gary Bogue in the newsroom in Walnut Creek on Thursday.

“He has raised mountain lions, found homes for thousands of neglected pets and brought in millions of dollars for wildlife and land preservation,” the Times said in a story covering Bogue’s retirement, which was .

Bogue was known for his connection with his readers all over the world, but especially for his knowledge of everything related to animals, domestic and wild, in the East Bay.

The Contra Costa Times story noted that the New York Times once called Bogue “the Ann Landers of California wildlife.”

In a farewell column published Thursday, Bogue called his 42 years on the job a “team effort.” Connecting with readers was at the core of what he did long before the Internet came along and made "interactivity" and "crowdsourcing" into buzzwords.

The Times said that in addition to the Walnut Creek-based Animal Rescue Foundation, “, and credit their organizations' success and impact to Bogue and his dedicated readers. They estimate that he has single-handedly helped to raise several million dollars for the four groups.”