No one among canine devotees contests the widely held sentiment that dogs are the finest companions one could choose. And, each dog lover would claim to have a very special dog, a brilliant dog, a beautiful dog, the noblest of all creatures indeed.

My two pups, Mango and Blue, are, however, somewhat more special than others (like “More Equal Than Others,” in my own wry tribute to George Orwell). I do not intend to offend you, dear reader, with what appears to be a most extravagant boast. Really, I do not mean to offend at all but they really do have a very uncanny ability. Perhaps it is because they are littermates and have inherited this curious trait genetically, or perhaps because they are uniquely blessed by The Dog God. Notwithstanding, they can ponder a work of art, their abfabfave thing to do, and enter into the artwork itself. Literally enter the artwork. Their peers, even others dogs with whom I have had the pleasure to share my home, stare at the TV or squirrels or the food bowl, but not these two. They tilt their heads, remain fixated, and disappear into the canvas.

“That’s preposterous,” you say. I would say the same if I hadn’t witnessed this magical occurrence for myself rather regularly. And to prove it so, I am including some photographs I have taken as evidence (I still believe in the evidence of photographs, though I am vastly outnumbered by supercilious theorists). They not only enter the painting, collage or watercolor; they sometimes meet the artist within the frame. That encounter is completely out of view to me, I am sorry to say. When they come back out, though, they tell me tales that no one could invent so convincingly.

I just show them a print they love and poof. The first time was with one Mr. Andrew Wyeth. Blue went in, looked back at me, and lay down in the matted grass, most likely, the same grassy spot where the girl in the picture had lain. I fumbled for my camera phone and quickly snapped the shot. Of course my pictures cannot match the quality of the paintings themselves, but they do serve as a humble record of these extraordinary events. What I love most are the stories my dear pups tell me upon their return.

Let me begin at the beginning, with Blue’s adventure with Mr. Wyeth. Afterwards, Mango joins in with her accounts. The rest, well, reader, get cozy and enjoy the stories and pictures you will not find elsewhere.