In early December 2023, displaying My ASL Dictionary to a visiting member of the Salvation Army inspired me to illustrate another hand sign for Dog.
In my list of favourite dogs, the Top Dog is always Snoopy (even as a little kid, I would call all dogs that name), so I finished the ASL picture with a cartoon of the beagle’s creator, American cartoonist Charles Monroe ‘Sparky’ Schulz.
Dressed in a Charlie Brown sweater, with a pencil and pen in his left hand and a Plush Snoopy tucked in his arm, he shows the ASL hand sign for DOG.
Based on the fingerspelling of Dog, the D hand becomes a G hand as the middle finger brushes down the thumb several times, like snapping fingers for a Dog’s attention.
#ASL #AmericanSignLanguage #signlanguage #dog #Snoopy #CharlesMSchulz #Peanuts #cartoon #myasldictionary
Creator of the comic strip Peanuts, Schulz’s art daily inspired readers with his humour and heart as he also inspired other artists, myself included. Growing up, I would spend hours and hours with my Aunt Ann’s copies of his graphic novels, entranced by the stories of his cartoon characters. Good Grief, my favourite toy wasn’t a teddy bear but a giant plush Snoopy.