A tiny dog takes a big walk in 'Hello, Tobi!'

"Tobi a 15-year-old silky terrier with scruffy brown hair and long whiskers walked happily alongside his owner and best friend, Andrea Caceres in New York City one day this past August. He didn't flinch when traffic sounds from the nearby street spilled into the neighborhood park, or when an ambulance with blaring sirens whizzed by. "He's a real New Yorker," Caceres laughed. But the little dog wasn't always so familiar with the big city."

"Tobi was born in Valencia, Venezuela. Back then, Caceres was planning to become a civil engineer. "While I was studying, I started illustrating," she said. "And I started illustrating Tobi." Without ever taking a single art class, Caceres graduated with an engineering degree but she pursued work as an artist. In 2016, as Venezuela's socioeconomic crisis deepened, Caceres moved to the United States and found a position as a textile designer."

Andrea Caceres moved from Venezuela to the United States in 2016 during the country's socioeconomic crisis and found work as a textile designer. She missed her dog, Tobi, who remained in Venezuela for more than two years. To cope, she created a yearlong project drawing a different dog every day, which led to pet portrait commissions and murals. She saved money and eventually reunited Tobi in New York after a complex flight itinerary. Caceres, who trained as a civil engineer but taught herself illustration, published a children's book celebrating Tobi's early walks in New York parks.

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