Muttagree

It would also be good to know these things when we're first encountering the dogs at the shelter. Or maybe I just made up a little gimmick because I thought it was cool.

What you'd do is this: First, I suppose, you have to make a pretty accurate estimate of what two (or possibly three) breeds are flowing through the dog. If you have no idea whatsoever, that makes this project pretty difficult.

Then take a really good picture of the dog. By really good, I mean give some thought to the background, his pose, etc. (I'll eventually post some guidelines to taking good dog pics.)

On the Internet, research and bookmark pages that specialize in those breeds of dogs. (If you'd decide to do this project on a regular basis, you might as well have a whole library of breed reference pages bookmarked and ready for retrieval.) Take some time to locate photos that most represent your mutt dog, taking note of colorations, expression, etc. Pull these photos off the Internet (providing they're not copywrited) to use on each side of your shelter dog.

Next, find descriptions of these dogs that you can edit to include a brief but informative synopsis of their characteristics.

Then combine those characteristics to suit your shelter dog. If you're not proficient at this sort of editing, I'll bet you can find someone who is.

Lay out the elements as illustrated in the photo, or make up your own design. I chose a tri-fold because it could be folded to go into a slip-packet. Or design one that could be framed by the future adopter.

You might consider hanging the Muttagrees on the dogs' cages. Or post them in a conspicuous place. Go for the imagination.

NOTE: We'll soon offer a CD or Zip copy of all the popular breeds with narratives and photos, ready to place into your own created muttagrees with information about your shelter animals. If you're interested in purchasing one of these (price to be determined) you might want to let us know ahead of time. Email us at sanctuary@charism.biz