This is our dog, Maggie. Hands down, she is the best dog in the entire world. Universe even. She’s sweet, friendly, and just like the rest of us, a little bit quirky. I mean, this dog is weird in many ways. For one thing, she’s always licking us. I’m talking prolonged tongue baths for our feet and drive-by licks where she walks to you, licks once, then keeps on going. For another, she doesn’t care about squirrels or birds but chipmunks; she’s obsessed. We call her the Chipmunkinater. In her nine years, she’s caught only five, which is remarkable considering she goes in the absolute opposite direction of her prey as soon as we let her out the door. Oh, here’s another one, when we board her at doggie daycare and check the webcams, she’s easy to spot because she’s the one always following the human. Wherever they go, she goes. It’s like the smallest conga line ever. Speaking of humans, she loves them so much that no two shoes are ever in one place because when she gets excited to see anyone, she runs to grab the nearest shoe. That’s how she greets you. And my personal favorite quirk is the way her tail wags when she’s excited to meet anyone, particularly new dogs. It’s more like a propeller that’s going to lift her off the ground bottom first than a general wag. It’s incredible, and so is she. Maggie makes our family complete.

I once heard a statistic that every fourth resident of Alexandria is a dog. Considering all the dogs that shop at Red Barn Mercantile and Penny Post, I believe it. To celebrate our furry family members, next weekend we are thrilled to host Rachel Lofton, the illustrator behind and owner of Fable & Sage, the sweetest line of dog (and some cat!) breed notecards. On August 28, from noon to 5pm, Rachel will be in the store demonstrating her process and taking orders for custom illustrations of your canine (or feline) friends. For $125 per illustration, you will get a digital file of the illustration. Custom prints of varying sizes, flat or folded notecards, and a small selection of notepad styles will be available to purchase through Penny Post. 

When you order online or come to the shop, provide us with a picture of your pet for Rachel to use as a reference. Because dogs don’t generally sit well for a portrait, Rachel will finish the illustration at home and send the digital file to you and then to us if you would like anything printed. (Turnaround time will be determined by the demand).

Visit our website starting August 23 to order your illustration and printed pieces, or stop by the shop (furry friends are always welcome!!) next Sunday. I’d like to say Maggie will be there, but she’d lick everyone.