Wayne Brock pets his dog Thunder on Thursday Sept. 26, 2013 near an image of his late dog "Jake" which he said appeared in the wood grain of a post in his backyard in Mobile. Artist Corky Goldman of Mobile, who is also Brock's neighbor, was commissioned by Brock to make a sketch of the image. The artwork is on display at Mobile Arts Council. (Sharon Steinmann/ssteinmann@al.com)

Wayne Brock shows where an image of his late dog "Jake" appeared in the woodgrain of a post in his backyard in Mobile on Thursday Sept. 26, 2013. (Sharon Steinmann/ssteinmann@al.com)

MOBILE, Alabama – From the medieval believers who saw Jesus on the Shroud of Turin, to modern-day folks who claim the Virgin Mary visited them via grilled cheese sandwich, and have the pictures to prove it, the human race has a long, strange relationship with pareidoila.

Pareidolia is the psychological phenomenon in which people see a face, usually of a religious icon, in a random place.

And the images are usually presumed to be forged by some heavenly force.

Now, Mobile has its own case of pooch-based pareidoilia.

Retired Port City fireman Wayne Brock has beheld the friendly face of his deceased dog Fowl River Jake, on a wooden post in the backyard of his West Mobile home.

"I don't have any pictures of Jake so God gave me one," Brock said. "Jake was a treasure. He was such an inspiration in my life and now he still is an inspiration."

A few months ago Brock decided he wanted to memorialize his Yellow Labrador Retriever and his lumber likeness, so he commissioned his artist neighbor Corky Goldman to sketch the dog and his divine image.

When the two met to discuss the project, Brock couldn't show Jake to Goldman, but he could let the artist see the wooden image for himself.

"My impression was that it was a fair likeness of a dog and that it meant something to him to find that in his garden and he obviously had strong feelings for Jake," Goldman said. "I was happy to do the picture for him."

Whether or not you believe in God-given images of dogs, there's no denying that Brock's faith in Jake's wood-face inspired an astonishing work of art.

The Fall Juried Show for the Mobile Art Association

Where: Mobile Arts Council, 318 Dauphin Street

When: Through Friday, Oct. 25. There will be a reception on Friday, Oct. 11 during LoDa ArtWalk.

More information: 251-432-9796, www.mobilearts.org

The finished drawing is currently on display at Mobile Arts Council as part of the Mobile Art Association's Fall Juried Show.

An opening reception for the show will take place at ArtWalk on Friday, Oct. 11. The award ceremony for the show will commence at 6 p.m.

Combining his talent with Brock's infectious, undying passion for his pup, Goldman produced a piece capturing the joy of a loyal and well-loved dog.

He depicted Jake in Brock's magnificently verdant and vibrant backyard garden, where the two spent so much sweet time together.

Goldman said he initially thought the sketch would be a simple project taking no more than a week to complete. He underestimated how involved he would get in the process.

Artist Corky Goldman of Mobile, poses with his drawing, "Dog of my Heart" on Wednesday October 2, 2013 at the Mobile Arts Council. (Sharon Steinmann/ssteinmann@al.com)

"It took about two months to actually finish the drawing," said Goldman, who usually works in watercolors. "I made it more of a work of art than I anticipated. This had a lot of time and energy and work put into it."

The drawing, titled "Dog of my Heart," is contained within a piece of Brock's past; a bisected wooden window frame from the home of a Waynesboro, Miss. land-owner.

Brock was brought up in Waynesboro by his grandparents, and his grandfather was a sharecropper on the landowner's estate.

"The frame has such an unbelievable connection with my childhood," Brock said

Goldman accomplished this memory-packed piece without ever having met or seen Jake. Goldman said he looked at Yellow Lab pictures on the Internet to help him render his vision of Jake.

Goldman conjured an image of an irresistible canine companion.

"It just makes you wish you had a dog like that," said Tutta Cone, president of the Mobile Art Association.

The warm and fuzzy feelings the depicted dog instills show just how succinctly Goldman captured Jake's spirit.

"Everybody wanted Jake and Jake loved everybody," Brock said. "He was just drawn to people and people were drawn to him."

Do you see what I see?

Brock first beheld the wooden vision of Jake about four years ago while he was relaxing with Jake outside the cabin in Brock's backyard.

"All of a sudden I saw the perfect image of Jake in one of the support posts of the cabin," Brock said. "We both stared at his image. Then I told Jake 'if you pass before me I am going to bury you here and the post will be your headstone.' "

Jake died two years later at the age of 16. Brock made good on his burial promise, and now Jake is one with the garden.

"He's still here. There ain't no doubt about it," Brock said. "I come out all the time and talk to Jake. I say 'Jake, good morning. Everything is going good.'"

Eyes, mouth, ears, tongue, and even a dog tag. Brock sees it all in the shapes on the wood. Brock also said a heart recently appeared around Jake's left eye.

"He is still sending his never-ending love," Brock said

Brock and his then-wife adopted Jake when he was just 6 weeks old. Brock had never had a dog before. Brock's wife at the time decided the couple could use a canine friend.

She saw an ad in the paper for yellow Labs available in Moss Point, Mississippi, and the couple went there to meet their prospective pup.

"When we saw him we had to have him," Brock said of Jake. They brought the baby home to their house on Fowl River and dubbed him "Fowl River Jake."

"He was a special dog," Brock said. "He was never pushy. He was just one wonderful partner."

About half a year after Jake joined the family, Brock and the young dog had a dramatic bonding experience. Jake fell off the pier behind Brock's home and almost drowned in the river.

"I was able to get him up on the third go-down. I grabbed him by the collar," Brock recalled. "He was OK, but he was afraid of water forever."

Jake and Brock managed to find plenty of ways to play on dry land.

"He loved balls. He could catch a ball better than any short stop on the Yankees team," Brock said. "No matter where I took him walking he would find a tennis ball."

Brock said his family and friends adored Jake, and would often drop in for the sole purpose of playing ball with him.

Jake also had two four-legged buddies to pal around with. A few years after welcoming Jake into his life, Brock adopted two other dogs, Precious and Thunder.

They're both still alive, and are dealing with numerous health problems. Brock attends to them as thoroughly and lovingly as he did for Jake when the Yellow Lab's health started to fail.

Late in Jake's life, he suffered from kidney problems and severe arthritis. Brock took him to Auburn University's veterinary hospital many times for treatment.

And Brock made sure Jake was in proper Tigers attire when they went.

"I stopped by an Auburn (sports paraphernalia) store and got two Auburn scarves and tied them together," Brock said. "I said 'Jake, I know you're an Alabama fan, but I'm putting these two scarves on you because we're going to Auburn."

Despite Brock's best efforts, the time came when Jake couldn't fight his illnesses any longer. He perished in his sleep two years ago.

But not even death could break the connection between Brock and his best friend.

Jake is still making his papa proud.

"There's not many dogs that can be honored at ArtWalk at the Mobile Arts Council," Brock said. "Now he's in lights."