Hi. Scoop, the cub reporter from the Shady Pines Gazette. Have I got news for you!

I just found out that there is an art project you have to see to believe. I’ll give you a hint. This is one doggone good assignment for me.  I’m heading over to our local author, Mary Jane McKittrick’s, house right now. Seems Mary Jane has a friend with some  artwork that might just unleash a whole new trend. Have you guessed what it is yet?

Here’s Mary Jane’s friend, Jan Maresh Saunders, with the artist herself – Polly the dog! 

Well, to be clear, Polly didn’t actually do the drawings herself. She had a little help from a friend of Jan’s who clearly has some real talent. Still, it turns out that Polly’s paws are the inspiration for the designs. Folks here in Shady Pines Story Town are buzzing about these creations. It seems when you combine beautiful art, with an owner’s loving connection to their dog, you have a winning combination.

These are original works of art. Do you see how the paw prints make up the flowers?

I’m told that over at the Shady Pines Elementary School the kids are being encouraged to use Polly’s Art as an idea for a project. The art teacher is showing the students how to make something like this by using their own pets as inspiration.

And, you know, the beauty of this is that you can use your cat’s paws if you don’t have a dog. Isn’t that cool?

Wait a minute. I wonder if Harold and Edna Sanders have seen these drawings. After all, there is no more famous cat and dog in Shady Pines than Boomer and Halley. Boomerang, the Australian Shepherd dog and Halley’s Comet, a silver streak of a cat, have their own book series for cryin’ out loud.

Hey, I’ve got to talk with the critters’ parents. If Harold and Edna haven’t seen Polly’s art, they’re missing out. Oh, wow. I just thought of something. Now that Mary Jane has met Polly the dog, maybe the artistic canine will wind up in one of her stories. Wouldn’t that be something? Stranger things have happened in our small Southern town that’s for sure.

You can’t buy Polly’s art. At least not yet. But you can check out the wacky adventures of the Sanders family.  Harold and Edna had no idea how challenging parenting could be ’til they adopted those two rascals. You can find out more about the Mom’s Choice Gold Award-winning Boomer and Halley books HERE

Loving connections is the Shady Pines Way.

-Scoop out.