Remembering Farley: Browse The Strips

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I received countless letters from folks who told me that their dog hated peas as much as Farley did. I mean, they really hated peas! You'd think an animal that will happily chow down on road kill, old bones, and horse manure would (if covered in gravy) eat anything! --Who knew?

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Lynn's Comments: We were cautioned against letting Farley get too heavy, as this would add pressure to the already stressed hip joint. Putting him on a diet wasn't easy--he would beg for table scraps and I hated to waste them.

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Lynn's Comments: This Sunday page was hastily written as soon as I got home from the car wash. It was a funny incident, but thoroughly annoying as well. I was always happy to vent into the strip whenever something like this happened!

Friday, June 3, 2016

Lynn's Comments: There were no dogs out there to spar with, just a few trees and the schoolyard fence. I was on my own.

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Lynn's Comments: Farley didn't much care if there were squirrels in the yard--he reacted to food and the great outdoors. Any opportunity to disappear into the ravine behind our house, saw him gone. He would eventually be found wet, dirty and blissfully happy--no matter how hard we scolded him. Our next dog, Willy, was a squirrel chaser. If he saw one out the window, he had to be let out before he busted something. Wildly, madly, barking and running as fast as his short legs would take him Willy would chase a squirrel until it was too far up a tree to see any more. He never caught one, of course, and the squirrels loved the comedy of it all.

Sunday December 18, 2016

Lynn's Comments: My mom called these small annoying carpets "scatter rugs." I never really thought about it until I had hall floors to protect, then the word "scatter" made sense.

Friday December 23, 2016

Lynn's Comments: Some of the funniest strips have no words at all. My son did put Christmas balls on the dog's ears and this was the result. I see in the second panel that I only drew Elly in part. Strange how the eye fills in the details that aren't there. In my later work, I meticulously drew everything clearly, and I think I lost this fluid spontaneity.

Saturday January 14, 2017

Lynn's Comments: Our small, black Spaniel, Willy, never barked when a stranger came to the door. He would probably have welcomed an assailant on a dark street, but when the snowplow came up our long country drive, he became Superdog. He was a flea against an elephant; threatening the plow as it advanced and sure he had won when it backed away. He’d bark himself silly every time our driveway was cleared and it always made me laugh!

Tuesday February 7, 2017

Lynn's Comments: Some of our best family times have been when the electricity was out. Not only did it make us creative and prepared, it gave us a break from sound. Until the appliances are off, we have no idea how much ambient sound we live with!

Sunday February 26, 2017

Lynn's Comments: While making a big cuddly fuss over the dog one day, I noticed a wistful glance from my husband. Whether he was cringing at the "dog-ma" of mother and dog or a bit jealous, I didn't know. The scene made for a good Sunday page!

Sunday May 21, 2017

Lynn's Comments: Another embarrassing home truth. I did this, and felt like an idiot afterwards. Fortunately, we lived in the countryside–a good distance away from our neighbours. What made the strip work was the thought: "What if?" What if I had done that in a tightly knit, urban community? "What if?" was a muse I regularly relied on!

Sunday July 9, 2017

Lynn's Comments: We never had a dog when we were kids, though my dad, my brother, and I all wanted one. Mom put her foot down knowing a pet would be another thing she would be responsible for. She said no to a dog, and she ruled the roost. Nonetheless, we dreamed that someday, we'd be able to have this kind of close and loving relationship with a dog. Neither my dad nor my brother ever adopted a puppy, but I did. My first dog was Farley; an old English sheepdog, purchased by my first husband, Doug Franks, and I on a Sunday afternoon drive into the Ontario countryside. He later became the character "Farley" in FBorFW. My next dog was "Willy": a sweet little black Spaniel. Katie picked him out of a pet store window and declared him "family" since he had such big feet. Willy became my pet and constant companion. My mom knew what she was talking about when she said a dog would become her responsibility. Willy was certainly mine, but it was a responsibility that brought me 8 years of fun, activity and genuine pleasure.

Sunday November 26, 2017

Lynn's Comments: Our dog Willy would wait until we had finished eating before he dug into his kibble. If there was the smallest chance of leftovers, he wanted to be sure he had room. I did this strip with compassion and understanding—I wouldn't want to eat the same thing everyday either!

Sunday January 14, 2018

Lynn's Comments: This one strip brought so many comments that I had to have help to answer the mail. It seems that most of us see our pets as part of the family.

Tuesday February 6, 2018

Lynn's Comments: After all the care we put into choosing their food, a dog usually prefers garbage. A garbage-flavoured kibble might be something to consider.