Meet Zelda – the newest set of paws in my house. She’s a real ham for the camera and is such a little fire cracker. If you decide to pet her, beware. You’ve committed. She’ll bay and squeak at you should you decide to cease back-scratching.
She sleeps on her back, snores like a trucker, and is the velcro-iest dog you’ll ever meet. This painting really captures her. Her foster mom wrote about her in her Petfinder profile, saying that Zelda (then Sugar) will bond with anyone who shows her love. That could not be more true. Have you met a 60 pound lap dog? You’re looking at one. She’ll park it right in your lap and settle in like she’s known you for her entire life.
We started the search for Zelda to alleviate the isolation anxiety our older dog was experiencing after our move to a new house. Poor Zeke would howl until his voice was gone and pace for hours until someone, anyone came home.
Then came Zelda. The two have become fast friends, even though she’s much younger and more rambunctious than my old man dog. He sleeps by her crate every day when I go to work and will look for her when she’s gone on a run with me. She has become everything he needed, and we gave her a place to call home forever.
Now, what does this have to do with my painting? Well – the rescue Zelda came from has an annual fundraiser. They have a big spaghetti dinner and Chinese auction to raise money for the rest of the year to fund their rescue operations. To give back to the wonderful people who do this work, I donated a custom pet portrait to be raffled off. The winner’s piece will appear on my website after it’s done. Zelda was perfect to use as a sample piece – this rescue saved her. Now she in turn can help fund the saving of other dogs to come.
