maddie the coonhound.

it's the classic story:
boy meets girl. girl dumps boy. boy's grandfather dies.
boy adopts a coonhound from petfinder.
boy + dog hit the road to visit all 50 states within 365 days.
boy discovers dog has charming, odd talent.
boy begins photographing dog balancing atop unusual things.
boy posts photos. boy gets book deal.
boy + dog hit the road on book tour.

ok, maybe not the classic story. but still a good one
about photographer theron humphrey & his dog maddie.

theron, having lost his girl & his grandfather,
quit his day job & decided to go cross-country,
documenting the stories of people he met along the way.

but just before he left, he adopted a canine companion. maddie the coonhound.
& as they began their journey together,
theron realized maddie was a good poser & a great balancer.

so he began putting her atop things. many, many things.
& he posted the photos up on instagram. & they went viral.
so, at the end of their 65k+ -mile road trip, they got a book deal.

the book, maddie on things:
a super serious project about dogs & physics, was published april 1st.
but theron + maddie's book tour began march 8th, at austin's south by southwest festival.

& yes, they are road-tripping it all around america again.
& yes, they are working on a new project, called "why we rescue."
here's why theron says he rescued maddie:

"maddie taught me that i should wake up every morning & be grateful.
she taught me that committing to something & sticking to it is how we grow.
most of all, she taught me that standing on things, everyday objects, can be incredible.

she's my best friend."

this time around, theron is snapping shots of maddie doing things
rather than "just" standing atop stuff.
here's a sampling of both types of maddie photos ... full of awesome.