Business at Gnomon Copy has gone to the dogs. Literally.

"They've made themselves our mascots," Skip Brightbill, part owner of Gnomon Copy, 130 W. College Ave., said of the five-dog team that roams the photocopying store. "The dogs are a part of our staff."

Passers-by on College Avenue can see these four-legged friends at their posts in the store's black-rimmed bay window. Until, of course, someone inside has a better offer -- particularly of the edible sort.

"We keep a box of (dog biscuits) in the store," Brightbill said. But many people bring in treats for the dogs, including muffins and bagels from the bakery next door. The biscuits help protect the dogs' health.

"(Dexter) was getting fat," Brightbill said.

The five-dog team is composed of a Cairn terrier, a schipperke, a Westie terrier and two Scottish terriers, and they answer to Dexter, Coby, Buster, Towser and Maggie. These downtown dogs make their pads in the homes of store owners Brightbill and Wayne Pawell and employee Brent Frank.

The dogs take their public relations jobs seriously. Besides attracting street-side customers with their canine good looks, the dogs take their tales to local radio stations as stars of Gnomon spots. They even did a TV ad once.

"Hi, this is Dexter, one of the famous Gnomon Copy dogs. They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but the folks at Gnomon Copy have learned a few new tricks," Dexter told radio listeners.

"From our vantage point in the window, we supervise the making of labels, transparencies, color copies . . . we still need the humans to actually run the machines, but we're really the ones that are in charge. So remember, when you need quality, efficient service, come to the dogs, and we'll take good care of ya. Roof!" Towser said in yet another radio spot.

Using the dogs as "spokesanimals" makes memorable advertising, but if you think Gnomon Copy is simply exploiting these dogs, you're barking up the wrong tree.

"We never had any designs of using them that way," Brightbill said.

He said sales representatives at radio station WBHV-FM, noticed the dogs in the window and suggested featuring them in radio spots.

But before the fame, the partnership began about 10 years ago when Brightbill brought his Westie puppy Duffy to work so that he could housebreak him. Duffy thrived in the busy environment.

Duffy has since died, but the other five dogs, including Duffy's son Buster, carry on the Gnomon Copy tradition. Each dog has its own set of tricks, Brightbill said.

Coby climbs from the window ledge onto a purple stool, and then onto a high counter by the door. From there he can greet customers as they enter the store.

"He hasn't figured out how to get down yet, though," Brightbill said.

Buster's specialty is ball-catching. Customers often bring in tennis balls for him and sometimes even go behind the counter for a quick game or two.

One semester a couple of women even took the dogs for occasional walks and visits to the dorms, Frank said. He said many University students tell him about the pets they've left at home, and stop by during the day to give the dogs a hug.

Frank added that he's heard that terriers are popular breeds, and customer comments support this.

"Just today, one woman said, 'I have one just like that one,' and the woman behind her pointed at another dog and said the same thing," Frank said.

Christmas is the dogs' busiest season, when much of their day is spent receiving gifts from regular customers. For many years, one woman patron presented each dog with a silver dollar. Squeaky toys, dog biscuits with red ribbons, embroidered coasters and tins of cookies fill the doggies' bags daily.

"They make out like banshees," Brightbill said.

The lucky dogs make a point to share their good fortune with others. Brightbill said for about two years the dogs made monthly visits to an area nursing home.

"(The residents) would light up when the dogs came in," Brightbill said.

The dogs have even brushed noses with celebrities.

Last fall Peter Marshall, former host of Hollywood Squares, visited State College to act in a play on campus. While he was rehearsing, his wife explored the town with the couple's terrier puppy in her arms. The dogs at Gnomon Copy drew her into the store, and before long she was promising to bring her puppy and her husband for another visit.

The Marshalls still keep in touch with their friends at the store, sending pictures of the puppy.

Brightbill said the dogs attract friends.

"Everyone seems to see them in the window and smile," Brightbill said. "By now, people are so familiar with the dogs that they wonder if they're not here."

"I like them being here," said Pranav Shah (graduate-computer engineering).

"They're cute," said Chris Hassinger (graduate-mechanical engineering). "The first time I saw them I thought, 'Are they real?' "

Yes, they are real. And how much are those doggies in the window?

"I couldn't put a price on them," said Frank. "I wouldn't sell mine for anything."