Mary Beth Stevens
Mary Beth Stevens
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I wish I had a nickel, well, a dollar actually, for every time I said, “I’ll NEVER ________” (fill in the blank – “I’ll never have a dog, I’ll never write a book, I’ll REALLY never paint or draw.”). All of these things were accepted by me as gospel about myself. “I’ll never be that person out walking a dog at 10:00 p.m. on a cold, windy February night.”. I couldn’t draw a straight line, and well, maybe I thought about writing a book, but they say you need to write about what you know, and I didn’t think I knew anything, so that idea always got tossed aside. But Boris Pasternak is right, and thank you, life, for the surprises you have granted me in the last 6 years. The dog came first, and guess what? Walking outside with your dog on a cold February night, surrounded by silence and a deep blue canopy of stars is a rare and beautiful pleasure. Painting and drawing really IS for everyone. The joy and release to be found with a pencil or brush in one’s hand is not to be found anywhere else, and losing one’s self in the process is actually the best part – at least for me.
And the book, well, the book. After telling Tippy stories to my friends and hearing them say, “MB, you should really write a book!’, and out came Tippy Finds a Home. Surprise, surprise, that was followed by Tippy Finds His Purpose, Tippy Learns a Lesson, and now, Tippy Makes a Move. That one little story turned into four books, and has led to wonderful friends, experiences and connections.
And speaking of surprises, in early Spring 2020, my husband, the critters and I pulled up stakes and moved from the Boston area to the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina where two more dogs joined the pack. We’re like Tippy – we found a home!
The Author And Illustrator
Mary Beth Stevens – Author
Mary Beth Stevens is an author, artist and Dog Mom. Much of her professional career was spent in Public Relations and Marketing, and she has degrees in music from Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Boston University. Despite being laughed at by her 7th grade art teacher (shame on you, wherever you are!), Mary Beth has discovered a love for the visual arts, with a special interest in graphite drawing, mixed-media artwork and pastel painting. In 2020 Mary Beth and her family moved to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina where they traded the House in the Woods for a House in the Mountains. When not tending to her pack, Mary Beth also enjoys hiking, gardening, reading and volunteer work – she currently serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors for the Blue Ridge Humane Society.
Susan Spellman – Illustrator
Susan Spellman started her art career as a staff illustrator at a film-strip company. She then began a career as an illustrator of children’s books and magazines, such as Highlights for Children. She has illustrated more than thirty books to date, winning multiple national and regional awards. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Maymount College.
Susan is an art instructor at the Newburyport Art Association (NAA), specializing in drawing and portraiture, and a visiting artist to schools and art organizations throughout New England. While continuing to work in illustration as a career, Susan has also increasingly focused on her interest in fine arts, exhibiting paintings in numerous regional galleries and art organizations throughout the North Shore.
She is a member of “The Newburyport Ten Plein Air Painters,” and of the Newburyport Art Association. She has a studio in Newburyport where she lives with her husband, Jay McGovern. More information can be found on her websites at www.spellmancollection.com for her paintings, and www.suespellmanstudio.com for illustration.
Meet The Mutts!
Suzie’s Backstory
“The little pound girl that nobody wanted…”
The saddest picture ever, am I right? Here she is – pregnant and in the pound in Jasper, TN. Lucky for Suzie, she was spotted by the local rescue organization (Marion Animal Resource Connection – MARC) who arranged for her to be fostered. The day after being sprung from the pound, Suzie had 7 puppies, and three months after that, she and her pups were on the transport to Massachusetts. Once arriving, Suzie ended up in another foster home where she lived for five weeks until we heard about her and went to meet her. She hated us on sight, but her foster assured us that would change quickly so we took a chance and brought her home. She was shy and fearful, but lots of love and training brought her around. She is the sweetest, calmest dog around, and has achieved both the AKC’s Canine Good Citizen standing as well as certification from Therapy Dogs International. She now visits hospice patients and nursing home residents.
Tippy’s Backstory
“But I thought YOU wanted him!”
Yes, despite everything I knew about what to expect when adopting a rescue, I actually uttered the above, when three weeks post-adoption all I wanted was to return to my quiet, calm life. Tippy wasn’t a bad dog, but he WAS a busy dog. Turns out my husband and I had a bit of an O.Henry moment – he’d said yes to Tippy because he thought I wanted him, and I’d said yes because I thought HE wanted him. After coming to THAT sobering revelation, we decided to stay the course and make it work. Which entailed training, lots and lots of training – which eventualy led to bonding. Us to him, and him to us. At age 5, Tippy was surrendered by his owners in southern Mississippi. We’ll never know why, but after getting to know him for the past 3 years and seeing how devoted he is, it’s no surprise that it took him a while to give his heart to us.
Jasmine
Jeanie
Peter
12-year-old sisters Jeanie and Jasmine came into our home as fosters, and they were quite the pitiful sight. (Complete ragamuffins, hence, their nickname.) Their person had died and they ended up in the county shelter, frightened and alone, matted and dirty and sorely in need of a haircut. After one weekend the decision was made to add them to the pack as they fit in beautifully, and despite their sorry state, they were unendingly loving. They had a lot to learn and I’m not sure we’re there yet, but their sweet natures are unchanged. Everyone who meets them loves the adorable, inseparable Muffins.
Time for a truth session. Although the books refer to Toby the Cat, poor Toby died before the publication of the first Tippy book. Peter the Cat joined our family within weeks after Toby left us, but I kept using Toby’s name – sort of a posthumous honor, I guess. Peter is just a great cat. A bit more vocal than I sometimes like (who wants to enter into a heated discussion at 6:00 a.m. with a determined cat?), but he is incredibly affectionate, and the perfect feline to live with a pack of little dogs. Actually, I think he thinks he IS a dog. Peter was another rescue, and he rounds out our multi-species household perfectly.
Read The Books
