Nobody who’s been here for more than five minutes needs to be told that Durangoans love dogs.
Go to just about any trailhead, and you’ll see plenty of evidence of man’s best friend. Some of it may even stick to your boots.
So it was an obvious fit for M. John Fayhee, who is plugging his new book, Colorado Mountain Dogs, to stop here Sunday on his 10-city tour of Colorado towns where people are said to love their dogs.
The book is rooted in Fayhee’s days at the Colorado-based Mountain Gazette, now a web-only entity. In 2006, the periodical asked its readers for submissions of dogs in the mountains for a special spread. Fayhee was inundated with 500 photos.
For five years, the Gazette, which Fayhee edited for 10-plus years, ran a mountain dog issue. Ultimately, by saving the best photos through the years, Fayhee has put together a full-fledged book.
Fayhee said in a phone interview last week that before recently moving to southwest New Mexico, he spent 24 years in Colorado, much of it in mountain towns.
“It’s almost like a mandatory accessory.” Fayhee said. “You know: You move to the mountains, you get yourself a four-wheel-drive vehicle, you get some skis and you get a dog.”
Durango and the San Juan Mountains are well-represented in the 133-page book, which is comprised not only of photos but of essays from several other writers. It also includes dog sayings and dog wisdom.
One of the essays is from Tricia Cook, a former Mountain Gazette correspondent and recently of Silverton although she since has moved to Washington state. Cook writes about the pain of losing one dog while welcoming a puppy into her life.
As one might expect, the 160-plus photos are varied – dogs on the trail, in lakes and creeks, on snow, in snow and doing the unexpected. From an original pool of 2,500 photos, which was fairly easily culled to 500 “serious” contenders, Fayhee carefully picked dogs in a variety of settings and from a variety of towns around the state.
What he thought might be a two-week project turned into two months.
“It was definitely herding a lot of cats,” he joked.
There is another angle to the book. Fayhee, whose last two dogs have been rescued, hopes it inspires readers to donate to an animal shelter or adopt a rescue dog. Each of his 10 stops benefits a local animal rescue group.
In Durango, Fayhee’s stop at Maria’s Bookshop on Sunday – being dubbed “Fayhee’s Fidos” – will benefit the La Plata County Humane Society.
johnp@durangoherald.com
If you go
In conjunction with M. John Fayhee’s appearance at Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main Ave., a fundraiser/adoption will be held with the La Plata County Humane Society from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday at Maria’s.
Dogs will be available for adoption at half price. Puppies will be in the kids’ room. Samples of Zuke’s treats will be available to take home. (Attendees are asked to not bring their own dogs.)
Fayhee’s presentation and slide show about his book Colorado Mountain Dogs will begin at 1:30 p.m. at Maria’s. He also will sign copies of the book. One dollar of the proceeds from each book sold will go to the La Plata County Humane Society.
