This post is part of an ongoing series featuring items from the newly acquired Santo Domingo collection.
Stephen Huneck was not only an American author but a carving artist, painter, and furniture maker. Originally from Sudbury, Massachusetts he began working in wood when he lived in Rochester, Vermont. He was ostensibly discovered when an art dealer bought a carved angel out of the back of his truck for $1000. After a near death experience with respiratory distress syndrome he began work on the Dog Chapel in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. An homage to dogs the chapel has both human sized doors and a dog door, as well as carved wooden dogs on the pews and stained glass windows of dogs. My Dog’s Brain is about his beloved black lab Sally, which recounts a glimpse into the psyche of a dog and how she spends her days. 
Huneck credited his recovery after his near death experience to his dog, as well as the process of making the woodcuts for the book. 
Tragically Huneck committed suicide in 2010. Art pieces of Huneck’s can be found at the Smithsonian and the Museum of American Folk Art. To look at more of the gorgeous illustrations the book can be found through the Fine Arts Library. My dog’s brain / by Stephen Huneck. New York, N.Y., U.S.A. : Viking Studio, c1997. NE1112.H86 A4 1997 .
Thanks to Alison Harris, Santo Domingo Project Manager and Leo Evangelista Cataloging Specialist at 625, for contributing this post.