Hey, guys. Time for another fun article. Let’s ease up the stress from the week. A few weeks ago, we talked about our favorite dog movies.

Do you remember what many of them were? One of the main favorites was a movie called “Marmaduke.” My family went to visit Marmaduke, and his creator, this week. My boys were thrilled to see the dog from one of their absolute favorite movies.

If you have kids (or even if you don’t), there’s a huge possibility that you have either watched the movie with Owen Wilson or read the comic. Or, maybe even both.

The statue is not heavily advertised, but it has been built for quite some time now. That’s what I wanted to share this with you today (you can see photos of the statue on my professional Facebook page facebook.com/specialistamberdrake).

The Creator

The creator of Marmaduke was Brad Anderson. He was a cartoonist, born in Jamestown, in 1924. He grew up in Portland, not far from town, and graduated from Brocton in 1942. Our area is so proud of him, beginning in 2016, July 16 was officially crowned Brad Anderson Day.

Although Mr. Anderson began drawing in high school, it wasn’t until 1954 when Marmaduke was created. What’s particularly interesting about when he first began drawing is, Marmaduke was first drawn in one of Brocton’s landmarks, the Bailey Building.

Surprisingly, Marmaduke was created to resemble a giant version of a Great Dane. But, that’s not the breed Mr. Anderson received his ideas from. Marmaduke was actually developed from the need for his mother’s Boxer to continuously want to be a lapdog (as most large dogs do).

If you take a look through his comics, you may notice local landmarks in Chautauqua County, along with mentions of his friends, family, and other common places in our area.

Sculpture in Brocton

The best part of the sculpture, in my opinion, was Mr. Anderson was able to meet the sculptor prior to his passing in 2015, explaining what he would like the sculpture to look like.

The sculpture contains both Brad Anderson and Marmaduke. Brad Anderson is attempting to draw on his paper as Marmaduke nudges at his arm (as if he was ready for another round of play time).

The sculpture is a beautiful tribute with many memorials surrounding it. I highly encourage you to visit with your family. And, if your kids haven’t seen the movie, have them watch the movie and surprise them with the statue.

Brad Anderson

There was a quote that struck me, not only on his advertisement for the statue, but in several other places I would like to share with you here. The quote comes from a letter Brad wrote about his life with Marmaduke and how he wants you (the reader) to perceive him:

“I have enjoyed doing Marmaduke who resembles a very big Great Dane, but he’s really a cartoon dog and so are all of his dog buddies, but they resemble different breeds which made it fun for me to draw. In the beginning, I wanted Marmaduke to take on the characteristics of a real dog, so he walks on four feet and doesn’t talk. He’s not a talking dog who says cute or funny words. Also, Marm is not into politics, religion, or whatever. He does like to sleep in his master’s bed or chair, bury bones in the back yard, stand on his dog house and look into the neighbor’s yard, ride in the car, watch cartoons and animal shows on TV, play with the kids, visit the retirement home, go for a walk, and chow down dog food. Marmaduke had a lot of real dog habits that led him into funny situations. It seems to me that dogs are more popular than ever, and I anticipate Marmaduke will continue creating laughs, chuckles, and smiles. Always think of Marmaduke as a real dog who ended up in the comic pages.”

Of course, we also have to send out a huge thank you to Jerry Boltz, the chair of the Marmaduke committee for continuing to make his memorial full of life following the completion of the sculpture.

Time to go visit. The address to the sculpture is 87 W. Main St, Brocton.

Until next time.