Image Thread - Pets

One of wife's friend's rescue dog. A little hairless wonder. This poor doggie was so shy and nervous, kept an eye on Momma and the treats. I had to move fast to get shots in between Momma's hand feeding treats and keeping the little guy from jumping off the table. Lots of commotion on set with the parents, my wife and I all around. A lot different then how I typically work which is alone with my super model Tiki.

Well I have to talk about my Stevie Mouse! She has her own hashtag #IamStevieMouse

I found a four week old kitten drowning in a puddle. I thought it was a mouse at first. When I picked her up her eye were all ulcerated and she clearly couldn't see. We thought she was a boy so I called her Stevie Mouse. After a tense few months when Stevie nearly died several times over, shared by many of my artist friends here and my friends on Facebook, Stevie actually pulled through and can actually see pretty well. She posed beautifully for this Christmas Card design at a young age.



It was a shock to realise the other day that it is three years since I found Stevie Mouse. She has turned into the most delightful little cat and she looks after her 'sister' Emmy who has epilepsy. She still features in my work quite a bit of course!



I wrote a book, with lots of illustrations of course that is for sale on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Am-Stevie-Mouse-Dorothy-Berry-Lound/dp/1389611922/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1529409820&sr=8-1&keywords=Dorothy+Berry-Lound

This Healer is a kind and loyal dog. The perfect symbol to portray the faithfulness of all dogs.


I am a magic bunny. I have lived many long happy years performing rabbit related magic. I am very good at what I do. Appearing out of a hat is not as easy as it looks. My owner Michaelus the Magnificent, knew all the tricks. On the left you can see him in action in his younger years. This room is where all the magic happened, I live here now. I remember when I was nothing more than a pet, something they tossed in a cage, that's me as a kid in that oval frame, along with my brothers. I miss my owner and all those wonderful carrots.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

This is my beautiful and sweet Calista! A friend of mine from work found her in the street where we work. Very sick and her eyes were pasted shut. Just a tiny thing and didn't even know how to eat or drink yet, my vet said he thought she was about 5 weeks old. She had an infection in both eyes, an upper respiratory infection, ear mites, intestional parasites and was malnourished and dehydrated. She bounced back pretty quickly and has turned into the most loving kitty. She curls up with me every night and I call her my therapy kitty because no matter how stressed out I am, it all melts away when I'm with her. We just celebrated her 13th Gotcha Day on June 9th.

Luci Lu,

Here's our cat, Luci Lu, who adopted us, weeks after our other cat that had adopted us, passed away, after many years. Luci showed up just a few weeks later, perfect timing. We've had her now for over 7 years......



Here she is helping with my spelling.....



Rich

My precious Skeeter was the model for this tuxedo cat. He passed on in February but will always have a special place in my heart. He was a great cat and lives on in my paintings and photography.

Officially now my favourite thread!

This two paintings are from my Cat Zodiacs Collection which I am planning to finish this year for a Cat Art Calendar.
For the first which is for the sign Taurus, the model was my Lynx Point Riscas, he is a one year old sweetheart.
The second one is the Pisces, remembering my beloved black cat Rebeka , who was my everything for 16 years.
I have more, but I don't want to flood you with my cats ...

This is Thomas. He was my daughter's cat and lived with us intermittently. The funniest thing I ever saw him do was run through my bedroom, the dining room, the living room, the front hallway and through my bedroom again as fast as he could. There are two doors in my bedroom. One into the hallway in front and one into the dining room so you can make a circle in my house. I was eating breakfast at the dining table when I saw this black streak go by twice when he discovered he could make a full circle! Sadly, Thomas passed away a few years ago but his cremains are in a little box on the guest room dresser upstairs.

Had been looking to expand my product/service offerings locally with local pet owners. So, a local pet groomer and I embarked on a collaboration.
For a small fee, I come in a take a few post-groomed pix of a pet...then work it up into something artful. The grooming service get's a free print for their "Wall of Fame", and the pet owner gets to choose from a small selection of images for them to order.

This is Cuddles. :)




~Michel Soucy
Follow me on Facebook

Here's another nice image of a friends dog, that at the time of this photo, was slowly getting ready to go to that Great Pasture, full of Sheep, up in the Sky. She passed away a few weeks later, Tessie, sweet old dog......

Tyla passed in 2012. I lostg Ringo in the divorce and he passed a few months ago

"I'm listening"



We love our pets ... our dogs, cats, birds, horses, and so many of the other wonderful creatures with whom we share our lives. One of the reasons we do is the wonderful way they listen. Here, a tiny maltese girl, my darling Peachie, listens carefully as I tell her all about my latest adventures.

We call her 'Crazy Maizey.' She is my sister's latest adoptee and still gets up to a lot of puppy shenanigans. She is a Basset Hound mix and extremely long but she does have a sweet face and it is difficult to be angry with her even as you see her chewing up your shoe.


Hamish is the 'old man' around our house. He is getting up there in age and doesn't do a lot of running around anymore but he has such a gentle soul.

Loving all the pet photos! The orange kitty is one of my other cats. (I have 4) I got him as a kitten about a month before I got Calista so they are the same age. He's a big boy at 20 pounds and one day I caught him with the remote, wonder what he was watching?? The other picture was taken when they were still tiny kittens, I would find them in all kinds of crazy positions during their naps. I also have 2 Shiba Inu, but they refuse to pose for pictures. LOL

Here's a silly photo of my dog Daisy. We bought a new toilet seat and took a picture of her sitting on the toilet seat when we put it on the couch. I love when she tilts her head like she's listening.

She's so happy to go outside. Me and my hubby were taking her for a walk...well he was taking her for a walk. I was nearby taking photos. It was a warm day so she was panting.

I don't have any pets of my own but there's an abundance of animals where I live just the same. The neighborhood cat (belonging to a house two doors down) likes to explore and hunt around the neighborhood. He has become one of my "convenient" animal subjects. At every house, he acts like it's his own. He'll come and brush up against your leg making you think he's affectionate but most likely is scratching an itch or getting rid of dirt and insects that have hitched a ride. If you try to pet him, he might take your arm off!



* * * * * * * * * *

A fun composite resulting in "Krypto the Superdog", Superman's pet dog in various Superman comics.

The base background picture was captured from a house at the Outer Banks in North Carolina. The dog was captured in a jumping contest called, "DockDogs" (The World’s Premier Canine Aquatics Competition) at the Easton Waterfowl Festival in Easton Maryland. I put the two images together and added the red cape with some digital manipulation. It's now one of my favorite recent processed pieces... "Photo Art", as some people now refer to it.

This is Magnolia, aka The Love Sponge, aka The Fuzza Wuzza:



A few years ago we had all four of the bichons we had at the time at the vet for their annual check up. I was standing at the desk holding onto Magnolia's leash as she investigated her surroundings, when suddenly I felt the leash go slack. I turned around and a woman who hadn't been there two minutes earlier was sitting in the waiting room. Apparently Magnolia had jumped into her lap the second she sat down and demanded belly rubs, which the woman was happily supplying. Love Sponge might be an understatement. Also, she has no shame. Magnolia is sister to Petunia, aunt to Peony, and nightly teddy bear to me.

This is Petunia, aka Her Royal Squishness:



You might not be aware of this, but most dogs and cats love to have their face squished (the technical term is "squishy face"). It's just like it sounds, you take their whole face in your hand and squish as you move about their noggin. Seriously, try it a few times and watch how quickly they get addicted. I discovered this decades ago when I used to squish the face of my cat named Krimpet (for you Tastykake eating Americans, Krimpet was a butterscotch colored cat), and every animal I've owned since, including our cockatoo, loves squishy face. But NOBODY has ever loved squishy face like Petunia loves squishy face. I have, in fact, created a monster. More specifically, I have created a monster who, with disturbing regularity, will sit on me in the middle of the night, start talking to me with increasing volume, and absolutely will not stop until I wake up and dutifully perform what is apparently my one mission in life. Petunia is sister to Magnolia, mother to Peony, and the bane of my already hosed sleep cycle.

This is Peony, newly known as The Golden Child:



Peony was diagnosed with pancreatitis and diabetes as she clung to life last week. This was the last picture I took of her before she had to go to the emergency vet last Tuesday night and stay for three days so they could try to save my baby.

Three days (and two mortgage payments) later this is my little Peony still at the emergency vet, right before she came home to enjoy much squishy face.



Peony is daughter of Petunia, niece of Magnolia, and my precious little Comeback Kid. Also a little derpy.

And yeah, don't feed your dogs Diamond Dog Food.

___________
Susan Maxwell Schmidt
So-so Board Moderator and
Artist Extraordinaire

My beloved dog BoWeevil, ever the optimist, imparting his own special wisdom for the ages.

My little deer-head Chihuahua, Baby-Waby, is the inspiration for a lot of my mental-meanderings-on-paper. While she might not literally be off, barnstorming over hill and dale in a Gee Bee racing airplane from the 1930s, it's definitely where her personality is at from a metaphorical standpoint.

...and here she is, at it again!

(P.S. Hope I got this image transfer right.....It's been awhile.)

Here are Smokey and Sparkles, devoted friends, to each other and me.....rip/traffic!




And, here are brother/sister act, literary cats by names...Oscar, and, Lucinda............rip/traffic,sigh

My most favorite cat, Koko who unfortunately passed several years ago. She and I had a special bond. The first image is my attempt at a watercolor rendering of her. The second (which has sold here on FAA as a greeting card) is a composite of her sleeping with a colorful sunset in the background and her "dream image" one taken when she caught a mouse (isn't that one of the things cats dream about?).

I never met a cat I did not like. All the cats in this thread are lovely. Of course, most of all I loved our own cat who is no longer with us. We immortalized her by creating a couple art pieces. This one, from our Black And White series, is simply called The Cat. Ben transformed her photograph into a digital drawing. We have sold this artwork a few times, however not yet here. When the piece was finished, it made me think of the nature of cats in general, hence the description below that accompanies this portrait.



Is it the beautiful shape of these mysterious creatures we enjoy the most? Or is it their incredible eyes that look at you but never tell you what the cats are really thinking? You and your furry pet are both together and apart and she will always remain an enigma, impossible to figure out.

In this profile portrait of a resting feline you see the posture of strength and alertness, her gaze is intense but the expression on her face is playful. Wouldn't it be great to see the world through the eyes of this gorgeous cat?

Raisa

Art by Ben and Raisa Gertsberg

A very unexpected surprise from my youngest, he weighed just about 1 pound when he arrived. So tiny he spent a good part of the day sleeping in my pocket so he would not be trampled by the big dog or eaten by the cats. At four, he is a very good dog, but it was a challenge getting there.

Hank is taken care of by one of my neighbors. Getting a free meal from time to time.

I'll post another. This is Leonardo. Not really a great photograph but he was one of my favorites.

When my youngest was four I promised him a kitten, but being the middle of winter they were hard to find. We drove about 200 miles into the mountains for this little guy. Driving home with the kitten on my sons lap, (yeah I know he should have been in a crate), he peed, all over my son. So as soon as we got home I ran a bath and got him in the tub. While he was in the tub I decided to bathe the stinky kitten.

I filled the sink with warm water and dipped the him in. Immediately the kitten went limp, his eyes not moving , no heart beat found.. Certain I killed the poor little thing I didn't know what to do except to keep washing it.. Seriously how do you tell a four year old you killed his kitten? I did the whole later rinse and repeat thing all the while telling my son the kitten likes his bath.

I knew I was going to have to tell him the kitten was dead, but decided he would look much better if I blew dry him. As I am doing that, all of a sudden up pops his head and he starts to purr. The vet later explained he did like his bath...he was just totally relaxed. Guess that is where the word catatonic comes from.

I told my wife y'all were putting images of your pets up. She said, "you better don't" - meaning I cannot put her image (a picture of her) up. That is my only "pet".

This is the oldest of our 3 rescued girl kitties....

Miss Jerrie Cat With Watercolor Effect

An OOF (Out Of Frame), also known as OOB (Out Of Bounds) image of a young 4H club competitor leading her horse away. I just thought she was so cute in those fringed maroon chaps and that number sign so large across her back and with her back to the lens, well... You can make up your own story...

This is our little Misty Cat who we sadly lost three months ago at the age of 13 and a half.
We had her and her brother Monty as kittens from Cat's Protection. She was tiny, the runt of the litter.

She was a fiercely independent cat and a great rodent hunter ( the piles of intestines left in random locations less good!)
She played "fetch" like a dog with plastic bottle tops and bits of Playmobil.
My son Michael was always her favourite. She supported him last summer through dissertation writing and final Uni exams. Sitting on his desk almost on top of his laptop enjoying the warmth of the fan.......slowly he edged away along the desk as the laptop overheated, she followed, to the end of the desk, repeat, throughout the day.
She spent winter largely on the top shelf in the warmth of the bathroom airing cupboard, glowering at anyone who looked in. Pushing the creaking door open and surprising someone sitting on the toilet was a favourite move.
Then as I went upstairs to bed, out she would leap, ready for lots of attention! She slept on my tummy, back, shoulder or behind my knees every night........I miss her

Ranger
We inherited from our children. As a pup his owner was deployed overseas and we became his caretaker. We never returned him lol.
When son returned home to new job and living quarters he wouldn't have been able to keep him so he stayed with us.
Great dog but very stubborn and way to protective but we love him anyway.

Here are the rest of our crew, well minus the chickens and duck.

This is Edward, our only cat among 4 dogs. He holds his own though. He is getting up there in years and doesn't play like a kitten anymore but he does sleep on my bed most nights.


Peaches is a smallish Carolina Dog. They are the types of dogs used by Native Americans. She is very sensitive and hates thunder. She can be very sweet and loving but she isn't happy when you pay attention to the other dogs. She has a definite jealous streak.


Last, but not least, is Rosie. She is sort of the middle child. She is a Rottweiler/Husky mix but the only Husky parts visible are one light eye an a small bit of white fur on her back. She likes to think that she can be a lap dog but at roughly 85 lbs. it doesn't work out well.

Here's a better shot of Luci.


Here's our own little(12+lbs!) Luci, next to her buddy, Gorka, the Gargoyle, both looking at me! She actually NEVER sits on this side of the jade plant, but for some reason she did and I grabbed the camera! Her favorite side faces the yard, where she can see what's going on. Most Gingers are males and we're lucky to get her, since she adopted us! I believe someone moved out of the neighborhood and left her on her own and she found us and is now completely spoiled rotten, as it should be!

My little boy Zeus, he is a 4 year old GSD. My sons dog although he lives with me most of the time and wants to play all the time....

This is Leon, my neighbor's kitty. Another grumpy cat! LOL!

This is our girl Glöckchen (Little Bell), my kid picked her name because they still grieved over our other dog Gretchen. I told them every dog deserves their own name and they needed to find a name which is not Gretchen. Well, I think they got their way of naming her! You could not find another name as close as Glöckchen. Glöckchen is mix bread dog, most likely cattle dog, and Kelpie. She was abandoned with 8 of siblings before she was old enough to be weaned from her mother in Ohio. My husband drove 12 hours to and 12 back in the middle of a snowstorm to adopt her from the shelter she stayed at in Ohio. Up to that day she had foster parents bottle feeding her until she was old enough for adoption.

This is Miss Hannah. As regulars of the forum know, I nearly lost her when she was but a pup. She's now 4 and a proper Princess

An image of of kids loving a white husky during a family reunion in Betterton, Maryland. The dog was rescued by my nephew who was on deployment at the time. His wife came up from Georgia to Maryland and brought the dog to the family reunion. The dog has blue eyes and let all the kids love her. In the 2nd picture I digitally removed a leash muzzle which was meant for easier leading of the dog, not to keep it from biting.

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This is my cat named "Derby". He is a rescue cat from Kentucky, thus his name. He was in a high kill shelter there, before the Pet Rescue Group brought him to New York. This was the first photo of him I took when I brought him home two months ago. He has gained some weight since this photo... he eats anything you put in his bowl and devours it all in one sitting. Did I mention he is a biter? THAT is something we are working on. solving his biting issues. He thinks I am "one big toy"..... But he surely is very sweet and loveable!




Here is another photo of Derby posing for the camera:

I LOVE this theme!
Not only do I love animals and had zillions of different pets, now I get to paint them :)
Aren't these two dogs waiting at the gate adorable?
This was a commission painting gift for the pet owner who lives on this ranch.
The pups look like they could be Bernese mountain dog breed with their white markings.

This is another pet portrait that was a joy for me to paint.
Both dogs sitting on a window bench cushion looking outside.
The little brown short hair dachshund, sits upright with ears alert, focuses on something outside.
The black lab is relaxed, lying on its stomach with paws tucked under, enjoying the view.
I can just imagine all the thoughts going on in their canine heads.... the black lab is like "sun feels good on my face, I'm happy" and the little dachshund "is that a cat, a squirrel, I gotta chase it !"

Rodents make me smile, they have the cutest little hands :)
The hamster in this watercolor painting looks like you just caught it with its hands in the cookie jar.
Adorable tiny pink paws, cute little nose, big eyes and funny large ears, a hammy is such a ham!

Okay, just one more to represent the felines in my gallery.
This blue eyed kitten is so adorable, you want to cuddle and hear it purr!

Tabby cats have coat markings of whirls, stripes, or spots.
Their fur can be gray, orange or brown with a mix of white and black.

The ONE thing tabbies have in common: the M-shaped mark on their forehead.

An OOF (Out Of Frame), also known as OOB (Out Of Bounds) technique, along with an oil paint and canvas treatment of two ladies walking their shelties (Shetland Sheepdog) along the sidewalk in historic Easton, Maryland. I was there for the annual Easton Waterfowl Festival in November 2013. Besides the wonderful artwork exhibits around the town, it's a colorful time of year with nice old-town architecture about.

Then, an OOF (Out Of Frame), also known as OOB (Out Of Bounds) image of a cute Shih Tzu on a leash in the yard in Pasadena, Maryland.

Then, an OOB (Out Of Bounds), also known as OOF (Out Of Frame) image of a young lady walking her beautiful Shetland Sheepdog (or Sheltie) along the park trail in Hanover, Maryland.

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Sitting in the lap of luxury, Feather Duster prepares for another exhilarating day… perhaps a bit of preening is in order, followed by an hour or so of primping, and then it will be time for a nap.

As Carlin was talking about Tabby kittens, I thought to share with you this watercolour cat painting about cuddling tabbies. The are not mine, but I have 70+ cat paintings, pets of cat lovers. Some of them were commissioned works, some I painted by my choice because I found the photographs unbelievable cute. This is one of them.

This was my darling Chloe 2002-2014 RIP sweetie...

This is Maya, an Australian Chocolate Red Shepherd purebred, and we chose her from the litter because she was the runt of the litter and so darn cute. She passed away just this past Easter weekend at 16 years old. She had quite the attitude for a little girl but so loyal and protective and of course where we went, she followed, always underfoot.

Meet Red, our six year old Red Footed Tortoise who definitely has attitude. She does not hesitate to let you know if you are a little late in feeding her, she likes to destroy her home and dump her water. She is close to breeding size and age and we are thinking of trying to find a suitable mate for her. It would be awesome to have little tortoises!

The West Highland White Terrier, commonly known as the Westie or Westy, is a breed of dog from Scotland with a distinctive white fluffy coat.

Then, a portrait of a dog I saw at the annual OysterFest in St. Michaels, Maryland.

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2D image of a gal and her pet dog at Downs Park in Pasadena, Maryland. The Dog is on a leash and owner on a skateboard moving down the paved path in the park. The dog isn't really pulling the gal but the image gives that appearance.

One of the High School spring intensive groups went to Puerto Rico to work with rescue dogs and brought back "Ronnie" just in time to leave him with the family and go off to college.




Mutt Black and White - A little sato puppy, mixed breed dog from Puerto Rico.

Satos are usually small dogs under 30lbs. The majority have terrier in them so they tend to be incredibly smart and quick to learn. Many have the instantly recognizable ‘sato’ ears; large ears that stick up.

Here is an obviously old print of my dog , Onyx.

A dog that in spite of his lineage, was abused and became abandoned.

Even though most were afraid of this imposing animal, we became fast friends.

The most gentle being imaginable.

This is Molly, she is Yorkiepoo... 13 years old in this photo...
12 years ago my wife took her away from her abusive owners (neighbors)
and said; "You can't have this dog anymore" then brought her home.

Molly is a happy smart great little dog.
She takes me on a walk of one to three miles everyday.

At another time and another place my constant companion, Jill,.. a Basset Hound:

Here is a digital expression of little Jill

Thank you everyone!!

The week is now up so this thread is closed.