Our Dog Pack toon is about a group of dogs and their friends who have a keen insight into human foibles. All of the dogs in the pack participate in dog sports including agility, nosework, and herding. In sports and at home, the pack tries to negotiate life with human rules and behaviors that often make no sense. The dogs in the pack often conclude human does not know much. Read on if you dare.
Kelly Boyer
Kelly started her love of dog sports as a teenager in 4H learning obedience with her Sheltie, Ian.
There was a long stretch of time when college, job and family meant that dog sports were put on hold. When the human kids grew up enough to get a puppy, we welcomed Bonny into our lives. Between Little League and Youth Soccer, she managed to train Bonny in agility and has been competing for over 10 years. She ventured into the sport of nosework when a new to her Australian Shepherd joined the family.
She enjoys photography and has used this artistic side of the brain to stretch into drawing.
Additionally, having a little bit of knowledge about Photo Shop has been helpful to bringing the cartoons to life.
She is enjoying her new puppy whose silly antics are pure comedy.
Laurie Leach
Laurie is a dog lover, dog sports competitor, and author. She has driven sled dogs, dabbled in obedience, run hundreds of miles around the agility ring, fallen in love with nosework and is trying, trying, trying to learn herding.
She has owned sled dogs of all sorts, Papillons, Shelties, Border Collies, and one lone Labrador.
But drawing? It never crossed her mind until one recent morning when she woke up having made a decision from out of left field to become a cartoonist. Huh.
She is excited at the prospect of meeting other folks who love dogs as much as she does and who are also amused about our complex relationship with them.
Poppy
Poppy is the grumpy matriarch of the home pack. She told human early on that while she could soar like a butterfly, she did not want to do agility. She found her love in nosework and Frisbee. She considers herself the smartest of the pack. She has a rigid code of ethics that few live up to. Her philosophy is that if things can go wrong, they will. She is often horrified at the antics of the other dogs and humans.
Five
Five is the exuberant, extroverted member of the pack. For a border collie, she is considered dim-witted by the rest of the pack. This does not stop her from being loud and garrulous. She finds no event too small to bark at. She occasionally challenges Poppy’s role as the head dog. Then she forgets what she was doing. Five could be an agility rock star except she has never noticed she is part of a team with human.
Cyder
Cyder is a tiny Labrador from hunting lines. Despite her genetics and having earned her Junior Hunting Dog title, she hates cold water and duck feathers in her mouth. She is happy that her life turned to nosework where she is a dynamo. She is also competing in agility where she will try anything if the payoff is a tennis ball. Cyder does not aspire to pack leadership, and she negotiates pack dynamics without ruffling anyone’s fur.
Lola
Lola is one complicated girl. She is a 12 pound wonder who one minute challenges the neighbor’s German Shepherd through the fence, and the next minute she seems to see dead things. She is most confident when searching for odors during her nosework outings. Since she has never met a doggie treat she didn’t like, rewards make her hyper focused on her work. Cuddling is her favorite evening activity.
Hobbs
Hobbs is the youngest member of the Leach household. He is a bred to herd cattle, and he sees no reason to go around anything if he can go through. He is enthusiastic about every event during the day: You are taking a shower?? Yes. Yes. I will attack the water. You are sitting in the yard? Yes. Yes. Let me get every toy and put it right under your chair. He has been training in herding since 4 months old. He has debuted in agility and is starting to understand that he needs to jump rather than gather the obstacles. He delights in making Poppy roar at him and nibbling on his beloved Cyder.
Dot
Dot is the youngster of the pack and is learning the ropes of being a well-mannered adult dog. She doesn’t quite understand why everyone doesn’t love a large leaping ball of fluff. She has made good strides in learning agility and is especially enthusiastic about the game of tug that follows training. She enjoys romping in the field, and her hard wiring tells her that she is supposed to gather up the resident sheep although Kelly does not seem to agree.
