The two dogs of Two Dog Press are Harry and Mitchell. Harry was trained and bossed around by our founding dogs, L. "Mac" MacPherson, who left us in 2002, but is still very much with us in spirit, and Maynard, who we lost to cancer in 2003. Harry and Mitchell are not much help in the office, but they enjoy supervising the shipping process and like to have their picture taken. They also frequently voice opinions about UPS and FedEx drivers who don't carry dog biscuits.

We like to think that behind every great dog-related company is a great dog. Mac's entrepreneurial puppy adventures led him down many paths, some more rewarding than others, but contributing to Two Dog Press was among his most significant accomplishments. A handsome, always hungry yellow lab, Mac was particularly pleased that part of his job at Two Dog Press was to test dog food recipes (a responsibility that Harry has happily inherited). Mac loved poetry, walks on the beach, and peanut butter.

Maynard Minus Music, a charming, vivacious black lab, was always busy with special projects. He was particularly obsessed with artistic endeavors involving rocks -- moving them from the shore to strategic locations in the woods. (We have a small stone wall created from rocks he retrieved from Blue Hill Bay. It's a wonderful memorial to a special dog.) In his prime, Maynard was an outstanding fulfillment manager because, in his mind, the process of picking and packing books was remarkably similar to retrieving rocks.

Maynard loved swimming, stuffed animals, and beef chews. He almost met his namesake, trumpet great Maynard Ferguson, in March 1997, when the jazz legend's tour took him to Maine. But the little lab couldn't stay awake long enough.

Harry is a lot bigger than he was in these puppy photos, but he's still so cute. A very distinctive, almost white yellow lab, Harry loves snuggling, car trips to town, and Goodie Ships filled with cheese. He is our self-appointed director of quality assurance and carefully inspects every Two Dog package before it ships. So if you find a cream-colored dog hair or two in your shipment, you know Harry's given it his paw print of approval. Harry is also a registered therapy dog.

Mitchell joined our pack shortly after Maynard died. They had a chance to meet for a few minutes at the kennel where we were interviewing puppies, and Maynard must have somehow imprinted the 7-week old Mitchell with much of his spirit. Mitchell is very much his own dog, but there are so many times when he reminds us of Maynard in his youth....Mitchell is currently our Director of Spirit and a therapy dog-in-training. Mitchell loves rolling in snow, rolling in sand, rolling in grass, belly rubs, and meat.