About the Artists, Dennis and Frances. Update: As of December 2024, we have retired and closed the business. Although we miss hosting overnight stays and making our chainsaw carvings, as they say, all good things must come to an end. What hasn’t ended is the big beagle as an Idaho Roadside Attraction and our memories of everyone we’ve come to know through him! It was such a fitting surprise & endcap to our career to receive last year the Idaho Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Tourism. 
We are husband and wife artists working at Dog Bark Park which we founded in 1997. Dennis, a self-taught chainsaw artist, has been carving for over forty years. Frances joined him in the business twenty-nine years ago.
Our “big break” came in 1995 when our carvings were sold on QVC television. We did nothing but carve wooden dogs for 18 months (our children barely remember seeing us during those days!), made what seemed like a bundle of money, invested it all in developing and building Dog Bark Park. Here, visitors will find us happily creating our art until, like the pine we use, life about returns us to the earth.
At Dog Bark Park we specialized (we’re now retired) in creating folk-art style wooden carvings. see our Chainsaw Art/Gift Shop page. We create many different breeds and poses of dogs.
We received the 2003 Take Pride in Idaho Cultural Tourism Award for a large carved art exhibit depicting the story of Seaman, the dog who accompanied Lewis and Clark on their exploratory journey to the Pacific two hundred years ago.
Media stories about our art, Dog Bark Park & the World’s Biggest Beagles have appeared nationally & internationally – HGTV, Ellen Show, London Times, Today Show, CNN.com, The Washington Post, and National Geo for Kids to name just a few.
“The Ultimate Dog House” – HGTV
Look for the story of Dog Bark Park, Sweet Willy – A Noble & Absurd Undertaking in the near future. Beginning in March 2024, souvenir copies with updated content will be available at our studio gallery/gift shop as well as from our web gift shop (click on the blue Souvenirs box).
We welcome your visit to our Dog Bark Park studio. Come experience all our dogs, large and small wooden ones, plus to see other outdoor and indoor art we’ve created over the years! Our studio is open on an irregular basis, making it a good idea to contact us ahead of your visit.
