Published at Moon & Dog Press, Tokyo / South Beach. Rick told Charles Froelick that if he was having an "artist's block" he would go find a dog to watch, because dogs are often doing something they shouldn't, they act like they know they've been busted, or they simply do something entertaining.

In 2005, Rick Bartow commented on the Coyote, sometimes referred to as Dog, in his work:
"There are numerous stories regarding coyote: he’s a prankster, a gambler, never satisfied, and a slow learner. I often illustrate aspects of his inability to learn self-discipline. Coyote is always moving, never sitting still, always searching, always hungry. The lessons not learned haunt him, and he wanders."
"Coyote’s lover is taken away to the land of the dead. He begs for her return and his wish is granted only if he can leave the land without touching her. He loves her so much that he cannot resist touching her, so he must leave without her. Coyote is forever roaming the land looking for his lover, hoping for her return, and howling his sadness."
"Bears and coyotes are both inhabitants of this place that my family and I call home.  It’s a logged over back country, berry rich and criss-crossed with beaver dams, and wetlands.  Coyotes are heard if seldom seen and when they are observed they are as the myth describes them "always going”, travelers like my Wiyot grandfather who came north from California and my white grandfather who came west from Idaho.  The bear is a shy ghost in the brush who has been around us a number of times as we were cutting fire wood for our sweat house ceremonies.  The berry bucket used in the piece "Bear with Humor" was my grandmother’s and appears to have been used to mix plaster later in its life prior to my utilizing it as a sculptural element.  The bear piece was inspired by a blind southern folk artist’s scarecrow and Tlingit armor."