DROOL – Issue No. 3

BY B I X B I — I S SU E N O. 3

DAMN NEAR PERFECT Fresh meat. Zero meat meals. Simple ingredients.

Plus, industry-leading nutrition and digestibility without the insane price. It really is the closest thing to perfect dog food.

DOG FOOD

BY BIXBI—ISSUE NO. 3

EDITOR-IN -CHIEF

James Crouch

MANAGING EDITOR

Alynn Evans

EDITOR-AT-LARGE

Chris Nelson

CREATIVE DIRECTION & DESIGN

TMBRWN

DESIGN PRODUCTION

Jennifer Roberts COPY EDITOR

Christian Glazar DIRECTOR OF MARKETING

John Webster

NO BAD IDEAS EDITORS

Rachel D’Agostino Melissa Van Vactor

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Alynn Evans, Dylan Gordon, Chris Nelson, Donny O’Neill, Elana Scherr, Yelena Sophia CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Shayan Asgharnia, Dylan Gordon, Mark Steines, Rob Williamson CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

Kyle Bryant, Linny Cam, Alex Cech, Evan Lorenzen, Saylor Petzoldt, John Vogl BIXBI Pet PO Box 7327 Boulder, CO 80306 303.666.1070 No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any shape or form without written consent from BIXBI. For general inquiries, story and photography submissions, contact us at droolideas@bixbipet.com. © 2021 copyright BIXBI Printed in the USA

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ISSUE NO.3

32 Q&A: Cynthia Erivo

“... THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT HOW THEY SENSE WHEN I’VE GONE THROUGH A ROUGH TIME, THEY’VE BEEN RIGHT THERE. THEY COME UP TO YOU AND THEY LEAN AND THEY LOVE YOU, AND THAT’S THAT. THEY’RE SPECIAL, SPECIAL BEINGS. EVERYBODY SEEMS TO FALL IN LOVE WITH THEM, IT’S RIDICULOUS. MY MOTHER USED TO HATE DOGS, BUT THEN I GOT CALEB, AND NOW WHEN SHE CALLS, SHE ASKS ABOUT CALEB BEFORE SHE ASKS ABOUT ME...”

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Norbs is Adorbs When Julie adopted Norbert, she didn’t realize how much joy this three-pound pup would bring the world.

Ranchlands Long days on the ranch require intuition, loyalty, and grit — all qualities the working dogs of Ranchlands practice daily.

Dylan & Bruno Having grown up with horses, Dylan Gordon has a special way with animals. But even that didn’t prepare him for all the ways this Baja mutt was going to change his life.

The Animal Carver Artist Tim Racer creates intricate wooden sculptures, bringing the stories of deserving rescue dogs to light.

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Doggone Double Take Get lost in John Vogl’s illustrations of everyday items and you just might find exactly what you were looking for.

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Theo the Brave Big mountain skiers Elyse and Cody welcomed a tiny Yorkie into their adventurous lives – and it’s only gotten better.

Issue No.3 Cover Portrait of Caleb, Cynthia Erivo’s beloved Maltipoo, LA-based photographer Shayan Asgharnia.

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

SOMETIMES THE BIGGEST LOVE COMES FROM THE SMALLEST DOGS

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PHOTO GRAPHS, LEF T TO RIGHT: COURTE SY OF CODY TOWNSEND & ELYSE STAUG STAD, DYL AN G ORD ON, AND MARK STEINE S

R O X Y, M Y 5 5 - P O U N D L A B M I X , I S T H E

Far Left: Dressed to impress, Theo waits for his world class skiers to sit down and relax. Left: Bruno doesn’t shy away from adventure, whether that be chasing his owner on a motorcycle or riding along on horseback. Above: As a three-pound therapy dog, Norbert is a small dog with a big impact.

first thing that comes to mind when I think of a perfect dog. I can ski with her, bike with her, and skateboard with her trotting alongside.

So, I haven’t always understood other people’s relationships with small dogs, but after many years in the pet industry and encountering so many small dogs in the office, I’ve come to understand their appeal. As I read through this issue of Drool, I am charmed by small dogs like never before, and am reminded of all the big love that can come in these little packages.

We meet a goofy three-pound therapy dog that’s brought more joy to folks in nursing homes and children in hospitals than I could ever imagine; the stacks of fan mail pile higher than he is tall. We meet two of the top skiers in the world, who travel long distances with a teeny Yorkie, and when the adventure gets too big for the pup’s tiny legs, his parents pick him up and carry him along without skipping a beat. We meet Bruno, a charming Wheaton terrier mix who adventures on motorcycles and horseback, and we meet Caleb and Gigi, who provide endless love and support to actress and singer Cynthia Erivo. At a working ranch in New Mexico, the long days aren’t as arduous if you’ve got a dachshund in the saddle, peering out at herds of cattle while warming your hands and heart.

More and more, I understand small dogs. I no longer see them for their size, rather, I see them as companions who want to be close to us, just as we want to be close to them. While I have enjoyed adapting Roxy to my busy and adventurous lifestyle, I can’t help but think of all the ways dogs integrate so perfectly into each of our lives. Their intuitive sense of emotion and exceptional personalities make us all a little more human.

Cheers, James Crouch

He doesn’t beg. He doesn’t dig.

HE CLEARS COFFEE TABLES WITH A SINGLE WAG OF HIS TAIL. He’s damn near perfect.

Fresh meat. Zero meat meals. Simple ingredients. Plus, industry-leading nutrition and digestibility without the insane price. It really is the closest thing to perfect dog food.

DAMN NEAR PERFECT

DOG FOOD

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“... EACH TIME A CLIENT TELLS ME THAT I’VE TRULY CAPTURED THEIR FURBABY’S SOUL, IT MAKES ALL OF THE WORK WORTH IT ...”

Alex Cech

Oil painting on canvas www.painted-paws.com

Cooper, 2019

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LEARNING CONFIDENCE AND CARING FROM A SMALL DOG WITH A BIG HEART

WORD S BY ELANA SCHERR

PHOTO GRAP GHS COURTE SY OF MARK STEINE S

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IS ADORBS

IS ADORBS

IS ADORBS

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N O R B E RT A LWAY S L O O K S

like he has just told a joke, and he’s waiting for you to laugh. He knows it’s a bad joke, a pun probably — he seems like the kind of guy who would enjoy wordplay — but no matter how bad a groaner it was, he thinks it’s hilarious. His little eyes sparkle, his tongue pokes out the corner of his mouth, and his ears — furry dishes almost the size of his whole head — twitch forward.

You can’t disappoint him. “Good one, Norbie, high-five,” you’ll say, but then you better lean down, because even Norbert’s highest five is only a few inches off the ground. He’s a big personality in an itty-bitty, three-pound doggie.

“I tell people he has a big heart, even though he has this tiny body,” says Norbert’s owner, Julie Steines.

“I got lucky when he came into my life. Really, he changed my life.

Changed everything about it.”

When Steines started combing the adoption pages in 2009, she

was just looking for a little company. “I was alone and I thought I just wanted some companionship,” she says, “but I was really looking to have some more purpose in my life.” Steines had never had a dog before. She hadn’t grown up with pets and hadn’t spent much time around them, but she was ready for a friend. She started looking online and when she saw Norbert on a Petfinder.com profile, she knew he was the one. “I just fell in love when I saw his photo,” she says.

Norbert’s birth was a bit of a surprise to his previous owners. He was the sole puppy in an unexpected pregnancy, and with his unknown parentage and teacup size, it was important to find a safe, attentive home for him.

“I was a perfect match for him,” says Steines. “At the time, I was by myself in a tiny studio apartment in Boston, Massachusetts. I worked from home, and I could take him

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Norbert loves being around people, so it only made sense that Norbert passed his therapy dog test on the first try. He and Julie have been volunteering ever since — visiting schools, hospitals, and nursing homes.

everywhere with me.” Norbert was in California, so the little guy took a big plane ride to get to his new owner. She says she still remembers picking him up at the airport and the taxi ride back home. “I was looking at him, and he was looking back at me with these big eyes, and I was both bewildered and very thrilled, like what do I do now?”

Norbert made it easy on her. He was house-trained by the first day, rarely barked, and enjoyed earning treats by learning tricks like high-fives and yoga moves. He was so sweet and mellow that people around Steines noticed, and suggested she look into therapy dog work. She knew nothing about therapy dogs, but after researching it, she realized that Norbert’s stuffed-animal looks and gentle personality made him perfect for the job.

Most dog owners would probably say all dogs are therapy dogs, but if you want your pup to be

official, there are classes to take and tests to pass before a dog can become registered as a therapy animal. Once they do — “Norbs passed it the very first time,” says Steines — dogs and their owners can volunteer at schools, hospitals, nursing homes, airports … anywhere people might need a little doggy love and a reason to smile.

Therapy dogs aren’t the same as service dogs, which are working animals, such as guide dogs. Therapy animals are more for comfort.

Think of the difference this way: service dogs are medical professionals who keep you healthy, and therapy dogs are volunteers there to cheer you up. Even without all the training a service dog gets, therapy dogs can do a lot to help people, and that appealed to Steines — and to Norbert, too. “He liked going places and seeing people. That’s important. It isn’t just about the owner wanting to do it and having a well-behaved dog,”

“...HE LIKED GOING PLACES AND SEEING PEOPLE. THAT’S IMPORTANT… THE DOG NEEDS TO GENUINELY ENJOY IT...”

she says. “No matter how smart or well-trained they are, the dog needs to genuinely enjoy it.”

Norbert did, accompanying Steines on a visit to a friend in a nursing home, where both he and the residents had a wonderful time. When she saw how delighted people were to have Norbert’s company, she wanted to bring that joy to as many as possible. “People just loved him, and it kind of went on from there. We got registered as an AKC Canine Good Citizen, and then with Pet Partners, which is a really wonderful therapy dog organization. I’d recommend that anyone looking into therapy dog work start there. I also got him registered as a R.E.A.D. dog,” a program where children can improve literacy by reading books to animals. Norbert was a hit everywhere he went, and he was gaining an online presence too.

Steines’ brother suggested making a social media profile for

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Above: The cover of Norbert’s first book. Below: Over the years, Norbert has collected numerous thank you notes and fan mail. The note below is from a student at Weymouth Elementary School, where Norbert has visited several classrooms.

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All Norbert wants is to be close to people. Little does he know, his impact reaches far beyond snuggling up in a lap. Between his strong social media presence and books, people from around the world get to know how sweet Norbert is.

Norbert. “He told me, ‘Make a Facebook page, you could make other people smile,’” says Steines, who did, posting photos of wee Norbs in teensy sweaters, getting a bath, next to flowers as big as he was. “This was probably 10 years ago,” she says, with a bit of the shock we all feel when we realize how long ago puppyhood was.

“He was still a little brown puppy back then.” That’s right: Norbert did a magic trick as he grew up, going from a handful of brownish raccoon to the white-and-gray pom-pom he is today. It happened during the first two years of his life, says Steines, so slowly she didn’t even notice at first. “He made this transformation.”

Inspired by Norbert’s incredibly positive effect on people, Steines decided to pursue one of her lifelong dreams. “I had always wanted to publish a children’s book with my mother,” she says. “She is an artist, and I thought I could write

“...NORBERT’S MANTRA — IN HIS BOOKS AND IN THE WORK WE DO — IS THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE BIG TO MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD...”

it, and she could illustrate it.” With help from Norbert’s online audience, Steines and her mother, Dr. Virginia Freyermuth, self-published Norbert: What Can Little Me Do? in 2013. Norbert wasn’t just keeping Steines company, he was helping her start a company.

“When I started Polly Parker Press with my mother, I was working full-time still, but I wasn’t happy.

What I loved was responding to people on Norbert’s Facebook page, seeing what joy he brought them, and working on his book, so I just quit my job. I wouldn’t suggest other people do that. I didn’t really have much of a plan, but I had faith in what we were doing. Everything kind of worked itself out.” Norbert’s book won nine awards and quickly sold out, and soon there were television appearances and newspaper and magazine articles.

More books followed, including a joint effort with another fuzzy internet star with a saucy tongue-

poke, the beloved kitty, Lil Bub. Norbert’s online store couldn’t keep his stuffed Norb toys and greeting cards in stock, and with every sale, Steines made sure that there was an element of charitable donation involved.

“Norbert’s mantra — in his books and in the work we do — is that you don’t have to be big to make a big difference in the world,” she says. “I think his audience really sees that in him and understands and identifies with it, and I hope that he can inspire other people.” Certainly, Steines feels that her own journey with Norbert has been one of self-discovery and giving back. “Norbert’s first book is about a little dog who finds his unique gift, his way to make people smile, but I think it’s about me too. Y’know, I was a small kid growing up, and I needed to find a way to make life fulfilling. Volunteering with Norbert, it changed the entire trajectory of my life.”

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THE ALPINE MASTIFF

FROM THE WESTERN ALPS AROSE ONE OF THE LARGEST BREEDS WE KNOW TODAY: THE ST. BERNARD

W O R D S BY A LY N N E VA N S P H OTO G R A P H S COURTESY OF LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

A S T. B E R N A R D D O G I S H A R D

to miss. Weighing in at an average of 140 pounds, they are probably asked “Who’s a big dog?” about as often as “Who’s a good dog?”

Both are usually true. Revered for their protective nature and patient personality, these guardians take both work and rest very seriously.

Several large breeds developed over thousands of years, mainly to protect homesteads and livestock, but the St. Bernard’s story is a bit different, starting on an ancient path high up in the Alps.

The Great St. Bernard Pass connects the Swiss town of Martigny to Aosta in Italy. The route is well above the tree line, with winter temperatures dropping as low as -22 degrees Fahrenheit and snow packing up to 32 feet. A dangerous journey year-round, the route can be particularly hazardous in the spring, when avalanche season is in full swing. Regardless, pilgrims and travelers from as far back as ancient times used this pass to access Rome.

Around 1050, the archdeacon — later canonized as Saint Bernard of Menthon — established a hospice

and monastery at the highest point of the pass, 8,100 feet, to aid weary travelers on their distressing journey. In the late 1600s, large guardian dogs were brought to the hospice to protect the property.

However, it wasn’t long before the monks began breeding and using these dogs for a different task: mountain rescue. The monks cross-bred alpine mastiffs and spaniels, refining their features to this very specific use and climate. The dogs needed to be hardy and capable of enduring harsh weather, but friendly and gentle enough to welcome weary travelers. Though smaller in stature than the dog we know today, their size gave them the strength to traverse deep snow while locating people lost in the drifts through their keen sense of smell. Named after the saint who founded the hospice hundreds of years before, the St. Bernard dog has since become the national dog of Switzerland and a legend around the world.

It’s estimated that these monastery dogs saved thousands of travelers on the pass over the

centuries they lived and worked at the hospice. The most famous was Barry, who rescued more than 40 people on the pass. Most remarkably, Barry found a small boy in the snow, and carried him on his back to safety. In his honor, there was always one dog at the hospice named Barry. The last recorded St. Bernard rescue on the pass was in 1955. Several dogs remained at the hospice until 2004, where they have since retired from their historic, legendary duties.

While the St. Bernard is many things, a bartender isn’t one of them. Legend has it that St. Bernard dogs carried brandy in a small barrel around their neck to warm the people they rescued.

While there is one written account of this — and several depictions in paintings — it was not, in fact, the norm. But don’t let a myth keep you from raising your glass to this enormous and empathetic creature. We look to dogs for so many things: love, companionship, and security. It’s no question that the St. Bernard provides all that in a supersized version.

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Opposite: Views of Switzerland in the Photochrom Print Collection (between 1890-1900). Top Left: Ten trained show St. Bernards arranged on a tiered platform (between 1880-1890). Top Right: Dogs of St. Bernard rescuing a traveler, after a painting by Sir Edwin Landseer (around 1880). Bottom Left: Two St. Bernards in the Swiss Alps with traveler (1934). Bottom Right: Pet St. Bernard at an estate (between 1917-1928).

20—29 BRUNO ABREO WHEN PHOTO FALLS WITH A STRAY DRO OL N O. 3

WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY DYLAN GORD ON

9 O FROM OJOS NA OGRAPHER S IN LOVE A BAJA Y.

This idyllic studio belongs to creative photographer Dylan Gordon, pictured here with a can of beer in hand and a furry shadow at his feet.

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Bruno is an adorable, go-anywhere, do-anything, ride-or-die kind of dog that everyone dreams of one day finding and loving.

WHEN I FIRST MET BRUNO,

he was tied up on a short line in the corner of a yard in Abreojos, Baja California. The house belonged to a lady named Maria, who smiled warmly and invited me inside to enjoy her delicious homemade fish plates. Abreojos is a typical Mexican fishing village with only one ‘’restaurant’’ and no tourist attractions to speak of — but it is a damn fine spot for surfing, which is what brought me down there. When I found myself at Maria’s house, I bounced between eating dinner and hanging out with Bruno, the shaggy little ball of fluff tied up outside, looking for an ounce of attention.

Looking into Bruno’s eyes, I knew he had a special kindness. I grew up on a horse ranch on the Central Coast of California with all manner of animals large and small, and at a certain point, I learned how to read an animal’s demeanor to an extent that isn’t quite tangible. Bruno threw me for a loop; he had a good

head, a sweet heart, and an almost human-like presence — and he was heart-crushingly adorable.

At the end of dinner I found myself asking Maria, in my pisspoor Spanish, to tell me Bruno’s story and to consider selling him to me. She told me that she had found him on the street a few weeks prior and wanted to give him a good home, and she wouldn’t let me offer her any sort of compensation.

I told her that I should sleep on it and asked to come back the next day with a decision; now it seems silly to me that I even waited that long. The next day I took a couple of Polaroids with Maria, Bruno, and myself, and then Bruno and I hit the road in my van for the first time.

It’s been five years since I found Bruno, and now he goes almost everywhere with me, except when I travel overseas for long-term photography assignments or expeditions. He is my little shadow, and often I find myself looking around in circles to see where he is, only

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Bruno is as comfortable on the seat of a vintage BSA motorcycle as he is in the saddle of a running horse.

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The adventures of Bruno and his beloved boy, Dylan, are far from over.

The two are restless soulmates who seek out the unknown, and always stay by the other’s side.

to realize he’s already at my side.

I never have to think about where he is or if he’s getting into any mischief — unless there is a pizza nearby, because it’s his favorite food, and he knows how to get it. I can’t seem to find a trail too long or mountain too large for him to bag, even with his short little legs. I don’t know many other dogs that have ridden horses and motorcycles, surfed, pretended to be a mountain goat, or enjoyed countless nights of camping or hogging the bed in five-star hotels.

I’ve had a lot of dogs over the years, and a few were special; the others, not so much. Bruno, though, has something else: a few extra ounces of spark. He has a way of seeming like he’s more than a dog or my “pet,” and he’s helped me through some of the hardest years of my life — and shared some of the most special moments I’ve experienced.

Bruno is one of the best friends I have, and I’d go anywhere with him.

He has lived a lot of lives by my side.

Sometimes I find myself wondering about the lives he had before I met him, and about the stories he would tell if he could — and if he would tell them to me in Spanish.

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She doesn’t bark. She doesn’t dig.

SHE HAS FOUR DOG BEDS AND STILL SLEEPS ON THE COUCH. She’s damn near perfect.

Fresh meat. Zero meat meals. Simple ingredients. Plus, industry-leading nutrition and digestibility without the insane price. It really is the closest thing to perfect dog food.

DAMN NEAR PERFECT

DOG FOOD

WORDS BY CHRIS NELSON

PHOTOGRAPHS BY S H AYA N A S G H A R N I A

SPECIAL BEINGS [ A CONVERSATION WITH THE IMPOSSIBLY WONDERFUL

]

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32—41(Q&A)

CYNTHIA ERIVO

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THE ACRONYM “EGOT” DESCRIBES

the rarest, most diversely talented Hollywood entertainers who, throughout their careers, managed to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony Award. As of now there are only 16 individuals worthy of this designation — including Mel Brooks, Whoopi Goldberg, Audrey Hepburn, and Andrew Lloyd Weber — but before long they’ll be joined by 34-year-old Cynthia Erivo.

After making her Broadway debut in 2015 as Celie in the critically acclaimed revival of The Color Purple, Erivo won the Tony award for Best Performance by a Lead Actress in a Musical, a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program. Erivo then moved from stage to screen, and her portrayal of abolitionist Harriet Tubman in the biopic Harriet (2019) earned her two Oscar nominations.

Most recently Erivo played a savant investigator in HBO’s thrilling miniseries, The Outsider, and then perfectly captured the magic of Aretha Franklin in National Geographic’s Genius series. Now Erivo is focused on releasing her debut solo album and growing her newly founded production company, Edith’s Daughter, with a mission to tell the stories of those who are often overlooked and underrepresented.

The incredibly talented Cynthia Erivo shares her life with two adorable pups, Caleb and Gigi.

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WE CAUGHT UP WITH ERIVO

to learn more about her splendidly meteoric career, and how she is supported by her three-year-old Maltipoo, Caleb, and 10-monthold Yorkipoo, Gigi: DROOL: How did Caleb and Gigi find you?

ERIVO: Caleb, I got three years ago when I was on the set of Bad Times at the El Royale (2018). The line producer had two dogs, and I found myself constantly going to her office and saying over and over again, “I really want a dog of my own.” One day she said, “Let’s go get you a dog. There are loads of people around that can help you if you need it, and if the dog needs to stay with me, they can. So, what kind of dog do you want?” I don’t know why I wanted a Maltipoo, but I knew I wanted one, and we looked everywhere for the right dog until one day this Facebook ad pops up with this tiny little dog in someone’s backyard, and I was like, “That’s the dog. That’s him.” When we called, the lady said a couple was coming down that day to look at him, and told us that if the couple didn’t take the dog, she’d let us know. We waited and waited, and then a call comes from this lady.

She said, “They liked him, but they’re not sure,” and I said, “Well, I’m sure.” We went the next day to meet him, and he was the sweetest, sweetest little thing — playful and quiet, but still wanted to be close to me. When I picked him up, he fell

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asleep, and I fell in love. He’s been wonderful. When you’re traveling a lot, and when you’re on set, and you’re by yourself a lot, it just helps to have a being that is only really made of love.

Gigi happened because I felt like Caleb should have a sibling. She was adorable and silly and playful, and still is … the total opposite of Caleb.

Caleb needs to be in view, but he can be at some distance if he wants to be, but Gigi just wants to be right next to you all the time. They’re both really, really sweet beings who have changed my life for the better. There’s something about how they sense when I’ve gone through a rough time, they’ve been right there. They come up to you and they lean and they love you, and that’s that. They’re special, special beings. Everybody seems to fall in love with them, it’s ridiculous. My mother used to hate dogs, but then I got Caleb, and now when she calls, she asks about Caleb before she asks about me.

D: During the COVID-19 lockdown you recorded your debut album, which comes out this fall. Tell us a little bit about your writing and recording process.

E: There’s a song on the album that’s seven years old, and there’s a song on the album that is three or four years old, but a lot of it I wrote during quarantine over Zoom. I recorded everything, re-vocaled everything in my house or in the house I was filming at in Atlanta.

Every song is a link to who I am, the people I’ve met, the people I love, and what I’ve been through.

It all starts with a melody. Someone plays something until they find a melody that sticks to me, and when it sticks, I’ll just ask them to keep playing it over and over again.

That melody usually gives me the lyrics for the top line, or the lyrics

“...WHEN YOU’RE ON SET, AND YOU’RE

BY YOURSELF A LOT, IT JUST HELPS TO HAVE A BEING THAT IS ONLY REALLY MADE OF LOVE...”

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Cynthia got Caleb to keep her company. Then, she got Gigi to keep Caleb company. They have such different personalities, yet are both so fun to have around.

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“...LEARNING ABOUT [ARETHA], LEARNING ABOUT THE WAY SHE USED MUSIC TO TELL HER STORY WAS A REAL JOURNEY, AND ONE I’LL NEVER REALLY FORGET...”

for the verse … verse or chorus, I can’t tell you which comes first, it depends on the day. Sometimes a song tells me that I need a bridge, sometimes it tells me that I don’t need a bridge; it always depends on the day. There’s a song that I wrote in an hour and 15 minutes, and no song took more than three hours to write. I don’t know why … maybe it’s because I’m impatient. It’s also because when I get an idea, it comes almost fully formed, and I don’t want to leave the space until I’m finished. I know what I’m writing about. I know the story I’m trying to tell. I just have to find the words to tell it.

D: In The Outsider, you played Holly Gibney, an eccentric investigator of the supernatural who is on the spectrum. How did you prepare for that role?

E: Building the character of Holly started with her hair. I wanted her to have braids, because it felt like something she could do herself when she’s on her own. It’s also a very specific thing about Black women that we learn how to do when we’re really young. I knew that I wanted Holly’s rhythm to be slightly different, because this was an opportunity to shed light on Black women who are on the spectrum — I just hadn’t seen that before. She is a quick thinker, but when she’s nervous, it stops her in her tracks, so she has to stop and start, stop and start, and go back again. I wanted her to have uniformity in the way she dressed.

She’s usually in a button-up, with very specific colors, and she never wears jeans. Her nails are always pink nude, almond shaped, and very tidy. I was very specific about all of those things, because while they’re very small details, they informed how she moved, how she spoke, what she did. Right down to her shoes — shoes really matter,

because it changes how you walk.

You can tell a lot from how a person walks into a room.

D: From Harriet Tubman to Aretha Franklin, how does it feel to portray such important, powerful, influential women of color, and are there any women of color you hope to play in the near future?

E: I feel like my particular mission in this life is to keep telling stories of the Black women who have either never graced this earth and are fictional, or who have graced this earth with the work that they did and changed it because they were here. Aretha had nearly a 70-year career, and I got to tell a little bit of that. She really was one of the heroes of mine who taught me how to tell a story through music.

Learning about her, learning about the way she used music to tell her story was a real journey, and one I’ll never really forget. For me, it’s about those people who have left an imprint on my life. One woman who keeps coming up for me is Miriam Makeba, a South African star who crossed boundaries and was able to get into the American music world by just being who she was. I knew of her because my mom was obsessed with her music, and I loved her fashion sense and how she infused Eurocentric fashion with Afrocentric fashion, and the way she combined the two to make something that was very much her own. “Pata Pata” became one of the most famous songs we’ve ever heard, and it was sung in Zulu.

Another story I want to tell is of Sara Forbes Bonetta — a princess by all accounts. She was a young Nigerian woman who, in the mid1800s, was taken to London as a gift for the British queen, and because of who she was and how brilliant she was, became the goddaughter of the queen. These are the stories I’m going to keep telling.

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“...MY INTENTION WITH THE MINIATURE ART IS TO GET AS DETAILED AND ACCURATE AS I CAN BY EYE WITHOUT THE USE OF ANY MAGNIFYING INSTRUMENTS ... TRYING TO CAPTURE THE SUBTLE NUANCES OF EACH DOG I DRAW IS NOT ONLY AN EXCITING AND CONSISTENT CHALLENGE BUT ALSO FEELS LIKE A COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS JOY, BECAUSE I GET TO STARE AT PICTURES OF DOGS ALL DAY...”

Evan Lorenzen

Pen and graphite on paper www.artandsuchevan.com

Purebred Yearbook, 2020

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*Art to scale

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DOGGONE DOUBLE TAKE I L LU S T R AT I O N S B Y JOHN VO GL

When you love dogs — I mean, really love dogs — you start seeing them everywhere.

A cinnamon roll reminds you of your pug’s tail. You mistake a poodle puppy for your childhood teddy bear. The sliced mushrooms in your omelet most certainly resemble a golden retriever’s curious nose.

Before you worry that reality as you know it has gone to the dogs, ask yourself: is that really such a bad thing?

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NUZZLE THE KIND, BARK AT THE GREEDY, AND BITE SCOUNDRELS. STRAY ISN’T THE HEARTWARMING DOG MOVIE YOU MIGHT EXPECT.

W O R D S BY C H R I S N E L S O N

S CENE S FROM STRAY, A MAGNOLIA PICT URE S RELEA SE .

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PHOTO S COURTE SY OF MAGNOLIA PICT URE S.

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STRAY IS A 72-MINUTE, no-narra-

tion documentary that follows three stray dogs as they wander the streets of Istanbul. An official selection of the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, Stray is now streaming on online platforms, but don’t expect some arthouse version of Homeward Bound; it is an exploration of the human condition and what it means to live without status, security, or home.

In 2017, film director Elizabeth Lo traveled to Turkey — a country that once supported the mass killings of street dogs, until widespread protests transformed it into one of the only countries where it is now illegal to euthanize or hold captive any stray dog — and when Lo arrived in Istanbul she met Stray’s first canine protagonist, Zeytin. The dog ran by her in

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a busy underground tunnel and then led her to Nazar — another street dog encamped with a trio of young Syrian refugees who are living on the streets — and Kartal, a shy puppy living on the outskirts of a construction site.

“For six months, I followed Zeytin with a camera and stabilizer every day while one of three indispensable Turkish co-producers on the film recorded sound on a bidirectional microphone to pick up overheard conversations,” Lo says.

“At the end of each night of filming, we’d place pet-tracking GPS collars onto Zeytin or Nazar so we’d be able to locate and find them the next morning. We learned very quickly that it was impossible to plan or schedule the lives of our stray subjects. Surrendering to their will, my producer and

Zeytin is a very independent dog.

She was selected as the canine protagonist of the film because she was one of the few dogs that didn’t follow the cameras back.

I decided Stray would be an experiment in what would happen if we left a film’s narrative up to dogs.”

Stray forgoes a traditional plot with impact and intent, as the most interesting parts of the film are not the dogs but rather the humans who exist on the edges of these dogs’ lives. The New York Times film critic Jeannette Catsoulis wrote it best in her review of Stray: “[The film] builds a subtle, cross-species commentary that’s more than a little melancholy.

While never directly political, Lo’s camera is there when the animals encounter a women’s march for equality and, later, when the refugees connect with boatmen who share their own migrant past. The filmmaker’s eyes may rarely leave the dogs, but what she’s really looking at is us.”

THE BRAVE

A LARGER-THAN-LIFE ADVENTURE DOG WHO IS SMALLER THAN MOST SQUIRRELS.

WORDS BY DONNY O’NEILL

PHOTO GRAPHS COURTE SY OF CODY TOWNSEND AND ELYSE SAUG STAD. RIGHT: PHOTO GRAPH BY BL AKE JORGENS ON

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Mountain towns are usually the domain of large-breed dogs, but for professional big mountain skiers Elyse Saugstad and Cody Townsend, a two-and-a-half-pound Yorkie named Theo is perfect.

All smiles on a powder day: Cody doing his best to keep up with Elyse at Mica Heli Skiing, Revelstoke, BC.

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PHOTO GRAPH BY BL AKE JORGENS ON

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FAR RIGHT: PHOTO GRAPH BY MING P O ON

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Below: Just another day in Alaska for Elyse. Middle: Cody and Elyse call Tahoe home for obvious reasons. Above: The couple that skis together, stays together.

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Theo serves as a fantastic snow depth marker, adds scale for salmon fishing in Alaska, and tucks neatly away in Cody’s waders.

HOW DO TWO OF THE MOST BADASS

professional skiers on the planet end up with a tiny dog that can fit in the palms of their hands? Snow athletes in mountain towns typically seek out huskies, retrievers, or other large-breed dogs that are built for backcountry adventuring, but skiers Cody Townsend and Elyse Saugstad found their match with a two-and-a-half-pound Yorkshire terrier named Theo, who turned out to be the perfect dog to fit their lifestyle.

Townsend says, “We travel so much as professional skiers, so we kind of need a portable dog.”

Townsend is best known for his online web series, The Fifty, which follows him on his quest to climb and descend all of the ski lines featured in the book, Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America. His partner, Saugstad, won the overall title on the 2008 Freeride World Tour (FWT) — the top big-mountain competition circuit — and she is a two-time Powder Magazine Best Female Performance winner; she stands amongst the best to ever click into a pair of skis.

“One of the cutest things is just watching Cody with Theo,” Saugstad says. “Theo is this adorable little dog and Cody just melts for him.” She says that when grown men walk by and see Theo, they can’t help but comment on his indisputable cuteness. Saugstad continues, “If we’re in a public place and walking around with him, he’s this tiny, proud little dog … a proud little walker, he likes to get his strut on.”

Theo has an Instagram account, @theothebrave, and the name fits. In the backyard of his home in Tahoe City, California, Theo enjoys hunting squirrels and chipmunks.

He goes outside and scans his territory before taking off after the

first rodent he sees; sometimes he spends the entire day doing this, even in the wintertime. Theo will even go after squirrels that outweigh him, earning him the title, “Theo the Brave.”

In truth, Theo’s bravery extends far beyond the backyard. The pup has accompanied Townsend on a few of his travels to remote parts of North America for The Fifty series, camping in the back of his dad’s truck. Theo is always bundled in fashionable jackets and has heating pads to stay comfortable in colder climates, but still, his small stature and lack of fur make him very temperature sensitive, so nights in the British Columbia backcountry can be challenging. “One night we slept in the pop-up tent on the back of my truck,” Townsend recalls, “and I heard Theo in the middle of the night trying to drink water, only to find that his water bowl was completely frozen over.”

In the summer months, Townsend trains for The Fifty by scaling Squaw Valley Ski Resort and the surrounding mountains, and often Theo accompanies him.

“People are always impressed and a bit dumbfounded that Theo can go so far,” Townsend says. “He’s hiked with me to the top of Squaw Valley probably 10 times. He loves going for hikes, and he crushes it.

And if he doesn’t, if he gets tired, I throw him in my pack.”

Theo’s thirst for adventure is matched only by his affection for his parents. There’s a lot of stress that comes with being a professional skier — from the dangers faced on each adventure, to the loss of close friends, to the intensity of making a living on expeditions in the mountains — but no matter what happens, Townsend and Saugstad can always rely on Theo to lift their spirits.

“No matter how bad of a day you have, you walk in the house, you see him and he’s excited to see you and … Ah, man, it’s just so adorable and so awesome that you just can’t help but smile,” Townsend says.

“Through this pandemic, through life issues, there are so many times where you just look over at Theo and start smiling. Dogs are magical like that.”

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“...IF I HAD TO HANG OUT WITH A PRETTY GIRL OR A YAPPY CHIHUAHUA THAT WANTS TO BITE ME? I’LL PICK THE GIRL. IF I COULD HANG OUT WITH THE SAME GIRL OR A TEAM OF HUSKIES IN THE SNOW? WELL LET’S BUNDLE UP BECAUSE I’LL BE WITH THE HUSKIES...DOGS AREN’T AS COMPLICATED AS PEOPLE...”

Kyle Bryant

Hand carved wood www.kylebryant.art

Chewie & Yoda, 2018

She’s smart. She’s pretty.

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IN 1989, WHEN DUKE PHILLIPS III

NOTHING FAZES THE HARDWORKING DOGS OF RANCHLANDS WORDS BY ALYNN EVANS PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF RANCHLANDS

purchased his first 15 Beefmaster cows, he had no idea his venture would grow into the large-scale cattle and bison operation, spanning multiple states and ecosystems, that is now known as Ranchlands. With an emphasis on self-sufficiency and conservation, the Ranchlands team oversees multiple ranches across 300,000 acres of the American West, aiming to preserve both the land and culture in a way that will last for generations to come.

Through it all, Duke and his team have always stayed true to their core philosophy of working to live with the land. Ranchers teach each other to create and maintain a sustainable business that complements the ecosystems they live and work within; the cattle, for example, have been thoughtfully bred to be well acclimated to their specific environment. Ranchers not only depend daily on each other, but also on their horses and trusted working dogs, who remain loyal to their handlers and the job at hand. As Duke has demonstrated for decades, everyone has a say when you choose to work with the land — giving the hardworking dogs of Ranchlands something to bark about.

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The Mendano-Zapata Ranch is nestled in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado.

Scenic meadows, aging cottonwood groves and the Great Sand Dunes meet in a dance of landscapes that support an array of wildlife, bison, and cattle. Kate, the manager of Zapata Ranch, is often on the move with cattle, stopping regularly — if only briefly — to recognize the vast and changing landscape around her. She’s always in good company: wherever Kate goes, her trusted cattle dog, Pearl, is not far behind. A few years ago, Pearl lost an eye after being kicked in the face by a cow, but it didn’t faze this working dog; she wants nothing more than to receive praise for a job well done.

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DEUCE

Deuce, a Hangin’ Tree Cowdog, belongs to Chico Basin Ranch foreman Jake, and the two are inseparable.

If you see one of them, you’re sure to find the other close by, whether the task at hand involves moving cattle, fixing fencing, or waiting for bison to come in. If it were up to Deuce, he would always be in the action. But to keep him out of harm’s way, Jake has trained him to stay at the truck. By way of compromise, Deuce often positions himself on the truck so he can keep a watchful eye on Jake and the animals.

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RASH

Sometimes your most trusted partners on the job aren’t even human.

Rash is a border collie who can seemingly read the thoughts of Duke Phillips III, CEO and founder of Ranchlands. When Rash and Duke gather and move a group of cattle, it’s like watching two dear old friends working side-by-side, each all too familiar with the other’s strengths and quirks.

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PUNCH

Long days in the saddle can quickly turn a romantic vision of ranching into the sore reality of blisters and an aching behind. Those lucky enough to visit MP Ranch in New Mexico often don’t have as many miles on horseback as Punch, Duke Phillips III’s dachshund, who rides along in a custom leather seat behind Duke’s saddle. Punch isn’t expected to be a working dog, but he definitely isn’t coddled. While he sometimes whimpers in envy at the cow dogs on foot, being an accomplished canine horseback rider is nothing to cry about.

PEPE

Thick plumes of dust gather as the sound of heavy hooves beats against the nearly frozen ground — but this time it’s not cattle. A herd of around 2,000 wild bison spends 51 weeks of the year grazing on 100,000 acres in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado. One week of the year, they are rounded up — by plane, horse, and motorcycle — to the barn at Zapata Ranch for their annual checkup. As the bison enter the chute, whispers of instructions from the foreman cut through the cold November air. Everyone is expected to be quiet, including Pepe the cattle dog, who sits in the shade of the chutes, patiently waiting and watching over his beloved owner, Kate.

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TICKLES

With motorcycles used to check miles of fencing and helicopters sent up to direct large herds of cattle from the air, ranching today doesn’t always look like it did in the past. The most successful ranchers choose the right tool for the job — and it’s at the heels of cattle where Tickles, an accomplished herding dog, outshines any modern technology. When he isn’t working, Tickles never turns down a good swim in a cow trough, no matter the weather, and he isn’t afraid to hitch a ride on a motorcycle alongside his beloved owner, Duke Phillips IV.

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“...PLANTS, FOOD, KIDS, THEY’RE FINE. BUT, YOU KNOW HOW IF YOU STICK YOUR FACE INTO YOUR DOG’S ARMPITS THEY ALWAYS SMELL LIKE POPCORN AND SUNSHINE? THAT’S MY DOUBLE RAINBOW...”

Linny Cameron

Thread on cotton @NofriendsPetClub

Izzy, 2020

D R O O L — I S SU E N O. 3

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She loves everybody. She’s always happy.

SHE SNORES LIKE A FREIGHT TRAIN. She’s damn near perfect.

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DRO OL N O. 3

THE ANIMAL

“IT’S BETTER THAN STUFFING YOUR OWN DOG”— SCULPTOR AND DOG RESCUER, TIM RACER.

WORDS BY YELENA SOPHIA PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROB WILLIAMSON

Most people look at a piece of wood and think of a tree, but Racer sees a world of dogs and animals made by his own hands.

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DROOL: Where are you from? Are you a morning person or a night owl?

RACER: I’m the son of a pianist and a ballplayer from metro Detroit. I’ve always been a night owl; I can still remember the first time I was allowed to stay up until 1:00 in the morning, around the age of five, and I loved it. I could rarely fall asleep until midnight as a child anyway — maybe that’s why I believe in things like ghosts.

D: Who was the first dog that modeled for you?

R: When I decided to give carving a try, I started with our fine bulldog, Sally. She was a pit bull from a local shelter whose time was up, so we took her home and she changed our lives dramatically — a great specimen for a carving, for sure.

“ T H I N K T W I C E A B O U T TA K I N G O N dog carvings,” was the advice that Tim Racer’s mentor passed on 17 years ago, when Racer started his career as a sculptor. As fate would have it, disregarding that advice is what led Racer down the unique path of becoming a professional carver. “I’ve found myself in a nice little niche creating portraits of people’s dogs, and fortunately, have always had work on my plate,” he says. Most of his work consists of noble carousels and rockers that somehow make the world feel like a kinder, happier place. His latest work, however, immortalizes two special dogs with difficult past lives that have earned them a sculpture of their own. We sat down with Racer to better understand his creative process, his deep passion for rescue dogs, and his upcoming projects.

D: You and your wife, Donna, co-founded a pit bull advocacy group, BADRAP. What kind of impact has the organization had since it started?

R: We’ve been blessed to be part of an evolution of acceptance for the dogs. When we first started, I think we were viewed as extremists or rebels who viewed pit bulls and their mixes as “just dogs” who needed a little extra help to get a seat on the bus with other dogs.

Two decades later, after a lot of work and thousands of individual successes and stories, the dogs have amazingly become one of the top five most popular breeds in the country. They sold themselves once people gave them a chance.

It’s an exceptional feeling to have played a part in their history.

D: Too often, pit bulls have been associated with dogfighting. How serious is this problem today?

R: Organized dogfighting — now a felony in all 50 states — is much

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Owners can recognize incredible details on their dogs, so Racer pays attention to each and every body part of his carvings to make them uniquely lifelike.

“...I THINK WE WERE VIEWED AS EXTREMISTS OR REBELS WHO VIEWED PIT BULLS AND THEIR MIXES AS ‘JUST DOGS’ WHO NEEDED A LITTLE EXTRA HELP TO GET A SEAT ON THE BUS WITH OTHER DOGS...”

“...I THINK MY OBSESSION WITH DETAIL JUST COMES NATURALLY, WHETHER IT’S DOING ART OR TELLING A STORY — SOMETIMES TO A FAULT...”

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less common than it used to be, but it still exists. Abusing dogs this way on a smaller, street-level scale still happens, and probably always will to some extent. Humane education work that helps kids view dogs as sentient beings is an ongoing need to help curb any kind of abuse, including dogfighting.

D: What are you working on now?

R: The piece that I’m finishing up right now is the second dog in a two-dog carving commission, Uba and Jamie. The dogs lived together and were great friends, and both of them are dear to me since they’re dogs from BADRAP. Both dogs survived large-scale dogfighting cases and came into our adoption program after Donna and I worked with Feds to rescue them. The black-and-white dog, Uba, was from the infamous Michael Vick dogfighting case, and his girlfriend, Jamie, was from one of the largest dogfight busts in U.S. history. One of our volunteers, Letti de Little, adopted them and commissioned me to carve them both. Uba is still alive and is one of the last remaining dogs from the Vick case, which was late 2007. Uba still has a lot of energy for a 15-yearold dog. He was the second dog we evaluated while in Virginia, and we were thrilled that, although he was frightened — like so many of the dogs from that case — he was a dog that we’d take into our program without question. That meant a lot to us since dogs from fighting

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A notepad where Racer keeps a very accurate track of how many hours he puts into his work for each project.

cases were being systematically destroyed, and our goal was to change that policy.

“...MY VERY FIRST COMMISSION WAS LOCAL AND SHE IMMEDIATELY BROKE DOWN CRYING WHEN I PULLED THE SHEET OFF. THANKFULLY, THEY WERE TEARS OF JOY...”

D: Why did you carve Jaime and Uba in a mid-air jump?

R: Since Uba and Jamie were such good pals, my idea was to design them together as a single piece that showed them interacting as they used to do. Uba’s looking up in his pose, and since Jamie was such a wild child, always jumping around and pestering, it was natural to have her jumping over him as they gaze at each other. Her leaping, twisting gesture was the most challenging pose I’ve carved to date, but I think it captures her spazzy personality to a tee. The finished piece brings back a lot of memories from all the dogs we’ve known who survived incredible odds, and knowing that Uba’s and Jamie’s doppelgängers will be happy and having fun together for all eternity is especially heartwarming. I’m grateful to have had a client who was willing to make this piece a reality.

D: Has anyone ever reacted in a way that surprised you when they received their finished piece?

R: I ship most of my pieces around the country, so I don’t get to see my clients’ initial reactions, but my very first commission was local and she immediately broke down crying when I pulled the sheet off.

Thankfully, they were tears of joy.

D: Your works showcase fantastic attention to detail and immaculate color range. Where does that come from, and who are some of your influences?

R: I think my obsession with detail just comes naturally, whether it’s doing art or telling a story — sometimes to a fault. I try to make myself simplify at times, but that

might not be so apparent. Color has always been my thing; later in life I realized that I was using complementary colors when I was quite young, then I had to learn to tone them down a little. Shockingly, two of my very favorite artists were more of an influence than I imagined: Tamara de Lempicka and J.C. Leyendecker. Two different people on Facebook have mentioned that my carving work reminded them of these artists.

Several times I’ve looked at my carving strokes while roughing out a piece and noticed the unintended influence of Leyendecker, but never imagined anyone else would possibly notice it.

D: What have you learned about dogs through your work?

R: Since reading years ago about the notion that dogs domesticated themselves, I’ve looked at dogs through that lens. With a great study group at hand, I finally just started asking all the dogs that come through BADRAP’s program if it was true — and they unanimously agreed. You can’t argue with that.

D: What project do you hope to take on next?

R: I have more dog commissions ahead of me, but I’m really excited about carving a cat. A really big cat: a mountain lion. We live in the Oakland Hills next to a lot of open space, and at times we have mountain lions come by the property.

One killed a deer 30 feet from our place a while back, and it thrills me to know that they are still out there, doing their thing so close to us. I’ll put other native California animals on the carving as the trappings: gray fox, raven, dusky-footed woodrat, maybe a gopher snake.

We have room in our house for one more carving, and this is it.

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Racer uses English, Japanese, and Swiss tools in his work. The most special are the Swiss set that he purchased from an estate sale that belonged to one of the famed Swiss “Black Forest” carvers from the 1800s.

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“...DOGS HAVE A FANTASTIC SENSE OF PERSONALITY THAT TRANSLATES SO WELL INTO DRAWINGS. MY OWN DOG, CHERRY, IS LIKE A REAL LIFE CARTOON CHARACTER THAT WILL ALWAYS INSPIRE MY ILLUSTRATIONS...”

Saylor Petzoldt

Digital Media @saylorillustration

Hambone, 2021

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In Issue 4 of DROOL, we’ll meet Brock and his canine co-pilot, Lucy, who together have traveled more than 60,000 miles in a 996-generation Porsche 911 Carrera 4S.

“THIS IS A BOYHOOD FEVER DREAM COME TO LIFE: A PORSCHE 911 THAT GOES FROM ZERO TO 60 MPH IN FIVE SECONDS, FITTED WITH A ROOFMOUNTED CAMPING TENT THAT IS SPACIOUS ENOUGH FOR THE DRIVER AND HIS ADORABLE GOLDENDOODLE. ” P H O T O G R A P H B Y @ C O N N O RT O D AY

T

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