What's the Doggone Story Around Here?

Nick Diana likes dogs. No, that's not right. Nick Diana loves dogs. Hmmm, that doesn't quite do it either. Nick Diana LOVES dogs. There, that's better.

A few years ago, Nick had a client with two great dogs, Mojo and Phoebe. Nick spent countless hours with these two pups, building a friendship greater than he ever could have imagined. Mojo and Phoebe were more than just clients: they accompanied Nick on vacations, had sleepovers, and introduced Nick to all their friends (or was it the other way around?). They became family.

Unfortunately, Nick's client was moving away. Nick wanted to do something that would represent what these dogs meant to him. But what? An average gift wouldn't do. He needed to SHOW her how much they meant. And City Puppies was born.

Nick put together a picture book, and reaction was unanimous: It was terrific. Everybody wanted one for their dogs, and Nick realized everybody should have one for their dogs. And he began to plan how to do it. Nick's first book was in his adopted hometown of Portsmouth, NH. He learned a lot, met a lot of great dogs, and made a lot of mistakes. He took that wisdom and put it into his second book, and hasn't looked back since.

Nick soon realized, though, that he couldn't photograph every dog, in every town, city and state that wanted him to do a book. But he also came to understand that it wasn't his photographing dogs that was important, it was putting the pups in print that mattered. And in that interest, Nick changed his workflow so clients could use their own photos (who doesn't have a great picture of their dog?) and Nick would publish those photos in a local edition. And his clients were ecstatic.

City Puppies is the result of years of dedication to Man's Best Friend. And in that interest, Nick is dedicated to giving back to the dogs who give so much to him. Nick donates both his time and a portion of his profits to the support of dogs in need, and is looking forward to many more years. If you have any questions, thoughts or ideas (or just want to lick his face), please drop him a line.

This Is No Time For a Cat Nap

City Puppies is committed to keeping everything we do local. We encourage you to do that too. We use locally owned small businesses for our design, printing, publishing and apparel. Keeping it local means small towns thrive, not just survive. It means vibrant communities where people have interesting choices for work and for recreation. And it means the money we spend stays in the community we live.  And that's nothing to shake a stick at (but if you throw it, we'll probably chase it).