I really love little doggies.
I have been a pet owner for over 30 years now, and have with few exceptions enjoyed all of my pets. When I first met my husband, I had three cats, all of which had their own individual personalities, some much more social than others.
Then one day my daughter came home with a stray kitten she had found. He was a very handsome little guy, black and white in appearance; we named him Panda. He was very affectionate and we all loved him. I even immortalized in one of my most famous paintings, “Black and White Cat”. To this day I remember him dearly.
At the time we had an acre of property, including a small barn. This gave me the opportunity to seriously enter into the world of animal husbandry. And I went wild!
At one time my menagerie consisted of over a dozen Netherland dwarf rabbits, two pygmy goats, several ducks and geese. But my very favorite animal at that time was my Alpine dairy goat named Starlene. I formed a very special bond with her by milking her twice a day, but I must admit that doing it 365 days a year did become a bit of a chore.
At the same time we decided we needed a dog After some considerable the deliberation and investigation we chose an English Shepherd female herding dog. We named her Honey, but that was a long way from the truth. She became a very stealthy creature who would unexpectedly lash out against people without provocation. We just couldn’t trust her.
To make things worse, we decided she needed a mate, so we bought male English Shepherd and named him King. Alas, we had again chosen a name that was inappropriate for this unfortunate creature. He became carsick within a few minutes, every time we tried to take him along. Completely lacking in self-confidence, he had bitten a total of 10 people before we had to put him down.
I have also owned two Abyssinian cats both of whom were quite friendly and adorable.
But cats are independent and always do their own thing, including walking across my drawing board, which I find to be quite upsetting. They have another serious flaw: they kill birds. I really like birds and am deeply ashamed when my cat brings one home as a trophy. Another pet peeve of mine is feral cats. They seriously interfere with the balance of nature, especially the birds, and deserve to be eliminated. All things considered, I’ll never own another cat.
But I just love little doggies. Especially those that are intelligent and eager to please you. My last doggie was a little Papillion, a happy little 8 pound ball of fur. Unfortunately, she passed away at 16 years old, following a long illness.
I now enjoy other peoples pets, and have had some wonderful experiences painting them for their owners to enjoy.
My Pet-Portraits have allowed their owners to enjoy their pets for years to come.
Will I get another little dog ?
That will be the subject of another article.
