Welcome to Bay Woof, May 2021

Greetings Dog Lovers,

This month, Bay Woof celebrates art, dogs, and all the creativity canines inspire in us. 

Of course, we think dogs are art, in and of themselves. As muses, they’re priceless - always changing, always revealing a new aspect to their individuality. Plus, they’re usually right next to us so, as models, they’re pretty darn convenient. 

SF-based creative director Paul Kellerhals leads our May art features, revealing how the infamously cheesy “dogs playing poker” painting changed his young life. Local diva and new Empress of San Francisco Juanita More! tells all about her dog Jackson and how his image came to dominate the city. Josh Norem, a former SFer known as The Furrtographer, shares tips on the best ways to take a great photo of your furry pal. And the good folks at the Museum of the Dog in New York City offer a thumbnail tour, including sculptures of California canines that will have you feeling right at home in the Big Apple on your next post-pandemic holiday.

The art theme extends to some of our regular columns, too. Editor S. Emerson Moffat’s Nose for News compilations never fail to crack up the BW office crew; we hope you feel the same with this month’s installment about Doobie Smoking Art Dogs. Also on the art beat, Cyd True of True Training 101 makes the case for dog training as modern art in the Monthly Woof column.  

Elsewhere in the issue, our Ask Dr. Dog column offers life-saving tips on how to protect your pup against the deadly parvovirus from PAHS, Shelter Zone highlights Oakland Animal Shelter’s “Dog Town” and their new approach to fostering, and SF SPCA’s Dr. Jeannine Berger lets you in on how to choose the right trainer for your dog. Commission Tails recaps a fascinating presentation by local wildlife rescue group WildCare, with practical guidelines on how to respect the nests of our wild animal neighbors. Of course, Mr. Smarty Pants Knows continues his entertaining font of dog factoids, and Amy Luwis’s Red and Howling comic is as beautiful and heartfelt as ever. 

The late Bob Ross could have been speaking for artists or dogs when he said, “We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents.” Whether your pup is a Rembrandt, a Picasso, or just a classy painting on velvet picked up at a yard sale, we hope you’ll enjoy all the dogs and art you’ll find in this month’s edition of Bay Woof. 

– M Rocket
Publisher

About the cover: Photoshop illustration of pet store window, Black Nose Trading Co., by M Rocket, © Bay Woof 2021

Columns from the May Pack