Dog Book - Softcover

Weinstein, Emily Eve

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0974627917 ISBN 13: 9780974627915

Publisher: Beau Soleil Pub, 2003

When art and compassion converge, there is no telling what kind of magic will spring forth. In the case of author/artist Emily Eve Weinstein, that convergence results in her latest labor of love, DOG BOOK. In DOG BOOK, Weinstein showcases her original oil paintings and her related tales of dogs found on highways and in shelters, of dogs abandoned and then rescued, even of dogs that rescue others.

From the unadoptable mutt who finally finds a home to the Search and Rescue dogs of 9/11, DOG BOOK offers us a compelling and often amusing glimpse into the life of over 60 remarkable canines and their people. Combining captivating prose with oil paintings and pencil drawings of her subjects and inspired by those subjects she so intuitively portrays, Weinstein masterfully manages to bridge the gap between artist and essayist. "Each dog became my muse," Weinstein says. "Animal neglect and abuse are all too common. My greatest hope is to educate without lecturing or serving a double dose of saccharine. I hope my readers find themselves in my words and images and join in helping make this a better world for all beings. All of my subjects display courage—whether it is the courage to give human caregivers a second chance or to search through the rubble of the decimated World Trade Center. This book is about awareness and hope."

CAT BOOK and soon DOG BOOK will be used for fund raisers nationally through animal rescue groups, no-kill shelters, and those that hope to become no-kill shelters. "I wrote this book so more homes would open to more strays," Weinstein says. "So many people’s lives have been touched by animals, lives that would have missed out on so much had the dogs been needlessly euthanized."

One such dog is Bugsy, a senior cocker spaniel, who had been orphaned. In Dog Book in the story entitled "Divine Intervention," we meet Bugsy when a decision is being made, whether to euthanize or neuter him. A client passing by takes him to her job at the Renaissance Nursing Home. Thereafter, for the last three years of his life, Bugsy brings joy at Renaissance as a therapy dog. Then there is "Saint Ginny of Long Island," a touching, strange, funny story of a schnauzer-husky-mix that rescues cats:

Out on one of their first walks, Ginny starts pulling and barking. Three men up ahead are kicking something about. Ginny lunges at them. Dang, it’s a cat! Phil yells at them to quit as he charges at them with his gimpy arm inside his leather jacket. Ginny breaks free to snap at their fleeing feet. With them gone, she tends to their victim by tenderly licking his bruises. The black cat is named Vogue and comes to live with Ginny and Phil. "Hey, I thought you didn’t like cats?" "Ginny is very persuasive."

These dogs’ stories serve as living proof that given a chance, time and the proper attention, even the most unlikely stray can find a home.

Weinstein also pays tribute to the 350 Search and Rescue dogs and their handlers who came from all 50 states in the effort to locate 9/11 survivors and to the NYPD dogs that stayed on after the others had left. She offers a glimpse into the amazing work of these canine heroes, how they braved the most dangerous of conditions in hope of finding life beneath the smoking rubble where the twin towers of the World Trade Center once stood. One painting shows a black and tan German shepherd carefully navigating a fallen beam amidst smoldering debris in search of remains. The animals were often singed, bruised, cut by the end of the long search day; yet, revitalized, they would always return to the heap to resume their mission.

DOG BOOK will delight those who appreciate fine art as much as it will a general audience and animal lovers alike. Some of Ms. Weinstein’s work from the book, including paintings and story passages, can be viewed on her website at weinsteinart.com.

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From the Author:

Dog Book is a natural step after Cat Book, although the art work is very different. With this latest project I’m taking a large series of photos and then composing the image by doing several pencil sketches. Then I transpose my ideas to board. When the painting nears completion, the canine subject visits my studio and I do the final touch-up live, which takes me 45 minutes to four hours. Treats, of course, help greatly.

For this project I went to the local shelter and adopted the quintessential mutt, a dog that encompasses all breeds. She is very athletic, and her personality is loving, protective, adventurous, friendly, perceptive. Why ever did I wait so long to adopt another dog? I truly forgot how much joy, love and exercise a dog companion brings into one’s life. Going away has not been a problem. She happily stays with friends that have dogs and a fenced yard. The positives far outweigh any negatives.

Dogs inspire loyalty, play and adventure, but their uncanny ability to sense things makes them invaluable. Not long ago, less than tow years old, China gets me out of bed at 12:30 am by pacing and whining. Once out, she pulls me determinedly in the opposite direction from the way we normally go. There before us is our neighbor lying prone. The ambulance arrives quickly; she is now making a good recovery from a stroke. China often astounds me.

My subjects are not simply all the dogs and people I knew before or were led to. A chapter is devoted to the rescue K-9s of 9/11. Then, in order to raise funds for Animal Haven in Queens, NY, another chapter in the book is being auctioned off, with the winning bidder’s dog to be included. Most recently I met the incredible Ginny, the dog that rescues cats. Thus, to understate it, creating this book has been a huge adventure, one I hope you’ll share with me from the beginning to the end. Happy trails!

About the Author:

Emily Eve Weinstein is originally a native New Yorker, presently residing in North Carolina’s Triangle area. Her formal art studies were principally at Academie Charpentier in Paris, West Surrey College of Art in England, and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, where she earned her BFA in painting.

Emily has had dozens of solo shows, and her art has been seen throughout the country. She is the recipient of numerous grants, her most recent from the Durham Arts Council for the Emerging Artist, Mary Biddle Duke Foundation for the Hayti Heritage Square Mural Project, and the Eno River Mural, Culture & Animal Foundation for the Animal Shelter Mural.

Emily's work experiences include four artist-in-residencies (Oregon, Nevada, New York, and North Carolina); she has taught portraiture, landscape painting, mixed media, mural painting, and faux finishes; she has originated two businesses—Pet & People Portraiture and Murals-By-Many; and she is proprietor of Zia's Gallery (named after one of her cats). She has also lived in a van/studio for three years while painting the unwinding scenery of America.

Emily is also the author of MOON BOOK (Discovery Press, 1999) and CAT BOOK (Beau Soleil Publishing, 2002).

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