COVERDOG: ADVANCE-BRED PUPPY SHOWS MUT TO WORLD

Captured on film wrinkling his brow, tilting its head and with the tip of its pink tongue sticking out, the Tosa Ken puppy Hunter Mylo is downright irresistible.

Irresistible enough for the photo taken by Advance dog breeder Marilyn Olson Neville to capture the cover of Bloodlines, an international journal on purebred registered dogs published by the United Kennel Club Inc., the second largest all-breed dog registry in the United States.

"It's one heck of an honor and a shock," said Neville about the photograph she took being selected for the March-April Bloodlines magazine cover.

Neville, who emphasized she is purely an amateur at photography, said getting the shot of the month-old puppy that appeared was mostly luck.

Neville, who raises the rare Tosa Ken breed, takes a lot of pictures of all her dogs as they develop to document their growth patterns. And she thinks many of the photographs turn out well. But she knew the picture of Hunter Mylo was special the minute she clicked the shutter.

"When he stuck his tongue out and turned his head, everything was just perfect," Neville said. "I got goosebumps when I saw it."

Last year Neville saw an article in Bloodlines requesting that breeders send in photographs of their dogs that the magazine could use with articles.

Neville said sent in about 20 photos and four have been used, the cover shot and three pictures used on inside pages. She said a fifth is scheduled to be used on the cover for a UKC Premiere 2000, a magazine for the kennel club's national dog show in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Neville, who volunteers as teacher of a puppy obedience class with Canine Companions, said she does try to take photographs that capture a dog's character and personality. To do this, Neville tries different lighting and camera angles, keeps the backgrounds simple and takes lots of pictures.

Neville said she and her husband, Micheal B. Neville, have had Tosas about eight years.

"My husband was looking for a unique breed that everyone didn't have," Neville said. After doing some research, the breed he settled on was Tosa Ken, a breed that was developed in Japan in the late 1800s.

Neville, who with her husband helped develop the Tosa Owners Service Association Inc., said she loves these dog, but, like any breed, Tosas aren't for everyone.

For one, these are big dogs. Hunter Mylo, captured on film when he was a small, month-old puppy living with the Nevilles in Advance, is now a 2-year-old, 150-pound dog owned by Michael and Pam Solazzo of New York state.

Tosas grow to be 23 inches to 36 inches tall at the shoulder, Neville said.

They are also "dog dominant," Neville said, explaining Tosas aren't tolerant of other dogs challenging them.

On the plus side, they are natural guardians, she said.

"They are also one of the most people-affectionate dogs we've ever known," Neville said.