Twin City Dog: Where Rescue and Art Come Together

Maybe this is the case everywhere, but I am often amazed at how wonderful the animal rescue community is in my great state of Minnesota. I have met some amazing people over the past few years, many of them people who have (and continue to) go above and beyond what is expected, just to save an animal in need. But, every once in a while I meet someone who just stands out in the rescue community.

That is exactly how I would describe Chuck Heubach, a man with a very big heart and a desire to help animals in need.

Chuck is the owner and creator  of TwinCityDog.com, an artistic online studio specializing in the creation of animal friendly children’s books emphasizing the humane treatment of dogs.

Franco

I came across Chuck’s work after a friend (in rescue) shared one of his images on her Facebook page. It was a picture of Franco, a dog that had recently appeared on our local news station after he was abused by some kids in Blaine, MN. It was beautiful work and I was intrigued. I immediately went to investigate who had done it and where I could possibly get some images done of my own dogs. Following the Facebook page, I found many other images and a webpage.  And that’s when I met Chuck, the owner of Twin City Dog.

After conversing over email, I found out that Chuck is not only active in several out-of-state Collie rescues, but he is also connected to people I know in Sheltie rescue. In addition, he volunteers his time (and his images) to help dogs who need a little extra help getting adopted. He offers his pictures for free to rescues and shelters with hard to place dogs. .

You will find his images to be unlike anything you have ever seen before. I have shared a few of my favorites below, but I encourage you to take a stroll through his gallery to get a real sense of his talent.

If you are interested in having Chuck do a print of your own pet, just send him an email at Twin City Dog. You can also upload a photo on his website here. There are two pricing options - $50 per image or $30 plus $10 to your favorite shelter in the name of Twin City Dog. Prints are not included, but you do receive a high quality pdf file that you can get printed.

I wrote this post because I love Chuck’s work and because I wanted to recognize him for all the great work he does for dogs.

If you have a moment, please leave a comment and tell him how much you love his work. Thanks!

Waiting for the Mail

Couch Potato

Daisy

A Therapy Dog at Work

Here is one he did of Jasper. Isn’t it incredible?

All images are the property of Twin City Dog and used in compliance with Twin City Dog sharing guidelines.

Wordless Wednesday #140

The doggie joys of digging

Aspen and Daisy

Before I adopted Daisy, I had a dog named Aspen. Aspen was a sweet hound/shepherd mix that I adopted from the shelter I volunteered at. She loved long walks, meeting new dogs, laying in the grass, and rawhide bones.

She wasn’t really interested in chewing on the bones. No. Her joy was in burying them… in the couch cushions, in my blankets, in her bed, and out in the yard. (I used to laugh when she would go through the motions of burying them on the couch, moving imaginary dirt over them with her nose. It still makes me smile.)

When Daisy came into our lives, Aspen had to take special care with her bones. Daisy loved nothing better than to dig them up and carry them around in her mouth. Aspen would bury her bone in a dirt pile near one of my lilac bushes and seconds later Daisy would follow behind her and dig it up. She would often fall asleep with it resting between her paws.

Poor Aspen was beside herself that this interloper had taken to digging up her bones. If Daisy dropped the bone and left it, Aspen would go get it and bury it again. And the dance went on.

Over time Aspen became so concerned about her bones being discovered that she took to laying near the dirt pile, just to make sure Daisy wouldn’t dig them up again. I loved watching her and Daisy trying to figure out how they could outsmart each other.

Since Aspen’s passing, Daisy has had very little interest in digging. There were no buried bones to be discovered anymore. Neither Jasper or Cupcake have shown any interest in burying their bones so why bother?

Then suddenly last weekend, Daisy suddenly started digging at the dog park. I have no idea what made her want to dig, but she looked like a dog that had just discovered the joys of digging for the very first time. She went at it with such gusto that I’m pretty sure I saw her smile as she gave into one last swipe of the paw. I wish I had caught it on video.

Seeing Daisy’s joy that day and then coming across this video on Sunday just seemed  to much of a coincidence. I just had to share it. I wonder if any of you can relate? Do you have a dog that loves to dig or loves bury her bones? 

(P.S. Make sure you catch the cute look at 1:25. It will make you smile.)

Black and White Sunday #35 – The paw of a sleeping dog

My thanks to our hosts for this blog hop You Did What With Your Weiner, My Life in Blog Years and Dachshund Nola.

Unfortunately, WordPress.com doesn’t allow Java script so I can’t provide a direct link to the linky, but you can join here.

Favorite Video Friday – The Greyhound Sneak Attack

I had trouble deciding which video to share this Friday. Did I want to go with slow, sweet and adorable? Or, fast, funny and suspenseful? Such a decision!

I’ll let you see which one I chose, but I will tell you that the first two minutes of this are my favorite,here’s a chase in the middle that will make you smile too. I hope you like it.

Curious about the one I left out? Head on over to my Facebook page to see it. It’s very sweet.

Happy Friday everyone!

Daisy as Good Citizen (A look back)

Today, I am sharing another blog post from Daisy’s blog, “Daisy the Wonder Dog (and how she found her inner Lab)“.

Daisy is my former puppy mill breeding dog that I fostered and then adopted in November 2007.  Even though I don’t write on her blog much anymore, I still treasure the words I wrote back then because they remind me of how far Daisy has come in the past 5 years.

This post was written on November 17, 2008, nearly a year after I first brought Daisy home.

Friday morning was a cold day at the dog park. The dogs didn’t seem to mind, but I certainly did! I was not ready for the bitter wind that came with the low temperature of 15 degrees. Brrrr! Nothing like having your legs go numb while you watch your dog run and play in the woods. As a hearty Minnesotan I should be used to it, but I’m not.  Despite the weather I was still able to enjoy the sun and  laugh at the dogs and their antics.

Daisy’s buddy, Brutus, a 110 lb. Rottweiler puppy was there, as was her favorite pal, Henry. Everyone seemed ready to have some fun. Brutus was looking for a playmate so the chasing and running began as soon as we got inside the park. Daisy really likes Brutus, but I was still relieved to see that she was okay with Brutus stalking and chasing her. I was expecting her to be a bit tentative or fearful, especially after last week. Thankfully, she wasn’t fearful at all.

Last week Daisy got into an “altercation” with another one of her friends over a stick. In past experiences, Daisy has learned that a stick can be a great toy to play a game of tug. Unfortunately, she chose the wrong partner this time. She chose someone who was not open to sharing the stick. On top of it, Daisy thought she would tell the other dog she wanted it and that led to the altercation between them. It  escalated when other dogs in our group also joined in.  In the end, Daisy ended up with a few bites to her head (just above her ear) and one to her backend (by her tail). She is totally fine, but I think she learned that perhaps she should be a bit more cautious about who to challenge when her stick is taken. It reminded me how careful I need to be when Daisy’s gain in knowledge can be.

As her dog mom, it has been fascinating to watch Daisy learn from the other dogs at the dog park this past year. It’s like she’s trying to figure out how a dog should act. Obviously, some things are instinctual, like the constant need to carry something in her mouth (definitely a lab thing to do), but other things she has learned by watching what the other dogs do.  She started picking up sticks and chewing on them only after watching other dogs do it first. She learned how to drink out of the spout of a water bottle after watching other dogs do it. She learned how to roll over on her back and wiggle around in the dirt and wood chips after watching her friend Turbo do it. She learned how to chase a squirrel after watching her friends Prince and Princess do it (luckily she has never caught one, but I don’t think she would know what to do with it even if she did!).

The first time she left my side to go run through the field with some of her friends was amazing. In the past (and still to some degree today), Daisy has always walked beside me or right behind me. The first time she ran off with her friends was a beautiful moment. It’s like she was saying, “I’m free! I’m free!” Her tail went up, she started bouncing along the trail ahead of me and then off she went flying over shrubs and tall weeds. All of this was learned from watching other dogs and then mimicking their behavior.

But that’s also why I have always been a bit cautious with her. In many ways, Daisy is like a tabula rasa, a blank slate, she doesn’t know what she doesn’t know, so every behavior that she observes leaves an impression on her. You can actually see her watching everything the other dogs do and mimic their behavior. She seems to learn from from every interaction. Picking up a stick and then flaunting it in front of another dog so he or she will chase her, is something she learned from watching her friend, Turbo.

Unfortunately, not every dog displays good behavior. Sometimes they are aggressive or possessive, or they jump up on people, or they nip at other dogs. And yes, sometimes they think that their stick has magical powers and must be protected at any cost. It is because of this that I constantly watch Daisy to see what or whom she is observing. I encourage her when she acquires a new desirable behavior and displays it, and I gently discourage her when it is a behavior that I don’t want her to display.

Overall, I Have to say I am very lucky because she really hasn’t picked up any behaviors that have caused me real concern. But it is something I am aware of each time Daisy interacts with another dog. It made me think that in some ways that my role as Daisy’s owner is very much like a mom or dad’s role in raising their children. Parents are  there to set an example for us. They show  us what is acceptable or unacceptable behavior throughout our lives. Although my job is much, much easier than any mom or dad’s, it is something I take seriously. I want Daisy to be a good citizen –  one that interacts with both humans and dogs in a positive manner.

So today, I want to recognize all those parents out there, to both human and animal. Keep up the good work! May your “child” represent the best of you. And, may they make you proud!

Wordless Wednesday #139