July 1, 2008
Obviously many, if not all, of our clients are art lovers as well as animal lovers, so occasionally we get special requests to emulate a favorite artist.
For example not long ago we were asked to do a portrait of this adorable Basenji, Tucker. The custom pet portrait was a gift for Tucker’s dad who is a big fan of Van Gogh. This is what our artist came up with.
Not bad, huh?
Then there’s Mojo, a happy boy reportedly always in motion! His dad wanted us to design a portrait as a gift for his mom, and he wanted us to know that she loves the works of
He was hoping we could just use the same sort of vibrant colors and similar texture for his Traditional style pet portrait of Mojo.
We hope his mom likes our use of colors and texture too!
We actually appreciate it when our clients have specific ideas and special requests, it gives us direction and often provides us with new and exciting challenges.
Please contact us if you have a favorite artist and want to know if we can do a portrait of your pet in a similar style.
June 24, 2008
A great “Sanctuary Story” from Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah recently involved one of our favorite clients, Marissa.
It seems that a woman named Macey was hiking around in southern Utah, not far from Best Friends, looking for Native American artifacts. What Macey found instead was a dog badly in need of help. Ava’s leg was caught in a coyote trap. It seemed like Ava had been there at least a day.
In fact, Ava was lucky indeed that Macey showed up at all. This particular spot was at least five miles from the closest home. Macey freed Ava from the trap and then spent a week and a half trying to track down Ava’s family. Ava wasn’t wearing a collar, and no one responded to fliers and newspaper ads. Meanwhile, the vets taking care of Ava thought she would need to lose the injured leg. Macey was not in a position to care for Ava long-term. So after it became obvious that nobody would claim Ava, the pup came to Best Friends to heal. They were of course willing to find or provide her with a forever home and they managed to save her leg! Now she melts hearts on contact!
Then the story gets even better for Ava and for our regular client Marissa, who randomly came across the article about Ava and contacted Best Friends Animal Society/Dogtown. Marissa had spent a week at Best Friends as a volunteer in February so she just contact them to ask how this beautiful golden was doing. Then according to Marissa, “They asked if I was interested in adoption – there were several applicants ahead of me, but I was welcome to fill out an application and be placed on a waiting list. I went ahead an applied; however I didn’t hold my breath.”
Sometime later she was told that the applicants before her had been eliminated as potential new homes for Ava. She was now first on the list and that she and Chloe her lovely Golden that we did a portrait of last year, had passed their home check. “I was shocked! I would need to wait 1-3 months before she could come home due to the uncertainty of her medical condition. At this point amputation was still an option and Ava was fighting a nasty infection.”
Finally Marissa received an email that Ava was released from medical hold and she was free to pick her up and take her home, they asked how soon she could make the 600 mile journey from here in Denver.
Marissa also told us, “To my amazement, I was also notified that since she arrived at Best Friends, Ava’s story was being followed by the film crew for National Geographic Channels’ program “Dogtown” – stay tuned for her episode – scheduled to air this fall.”
So Ava has had quite a reversal of fortune, from being caught in a coyote trap to being the star of a television show and soon to be the subject of a Pop Art Pet portrait of her own!
To date Marissa has comissioned us to do five different custom pet portraits as gifts for friends and family, then finally one for herself of her Chloe, and we are currently working on yet another portrait for yet another gift for another friend for Marissa! Don’t you wish she was your friend too?!
June 17, 2008
We found this great book that gives you great recipes for good dogs! “The Good Treats Cookbook for Dogs” by Barbara Burg.
“It contains more than 50 recipes for all-natural homemade treats for our canine companions. Although not everyone makes, or even buys, high-end food for their dogs, everyone loves to spoil their dogs with treats. But, The Good Treats Cookbook for Dogs contains far more than simple dog-bone shaped peanut butter treats; it provides instructions for making over-the-top human-grade baked goods such as:
* Apple Oatmeal Mutt Muffins
* Salmon and Cheese Bon-Bons
* Coconut-Coated Carob-Crunch Truffles
Unlike other pet books on the market, this book contains full-color photos of all of the treats and adorable photos of dogs doing what dogs do, thinking about food or eating food. This book is as much about the pampered-pooch lifestyle as the baking. The Good Treats Cookbook for Dogs is also the only book that goes beyond biscuits and cookies and contains brownies, bon-bons, biscotti, mini-pizzas, cupcakes, birthday cakes, and more! Also included are special occasion cakes, party tray and gift basket ideas, and tips on throwing the perfect dog party.”
Then again, if you’re short on time (or too lazy) like we are; Barbara also hosts Barbara’s Canine Catering at www.k9treat.com. You can always just order some fantastic, healthy, treats online!
June 13, 2008
For the first time ever we have a real house with a real yard which is a real pain! We are having to learn all about things like fertilizer, etc. and trying to make sure it’s all safe for Kylie. So when we saw this headline from the ASPCA’s website it caught our attention and we thought we should pass it along:
PET POISON ALERT: COCOA BEAN MULCH CAN BE TOXIC TO DOGS
If your dog likes to spend his summer grazing in your garden, his treat-seeking nose may lead him to one danger in particular: the sweet-smelling, but potentially harmful cocoa bean mulch. Made of cocoa bean shells and considered desirable for its eventual degradation into organic fertilizer, this gardener’s choice can be toxic to canines if eaten in large quantities—and some dogs have been known to eat amazing amounts!
In 2007, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) handled 26 cases of cocoa bean mulch ingestion—a third originating in California. “Dogs are attracted to the fertilizer’s sweet smell,” says Dr. Steven Hansen, ASPCA Veterinary Toxicologist and APCC Director, “but like chocolate, cocoa bean mulch can be too much for our canine companions.”
Ingestion of large amounts of cocoa bean mulch, which contains residual amounts of theobromine—a methylxanthine found in chocolate and known to be toxic to dogs—may cause a variety of clinical signs. These typically start with vomiting, diarrhea and elevated heart rate, and if large amounts are consumed, they may progress to hyperactivity, muscle tremors and possibly other more serious neurological signs.
Treatment includes administering medical-grade activated charcoal, bringing tremors under control, cardiac monitoring and preventing further exposure.
“One key point to remember is that some dogs, particularly those with indiscriminate eating habits, can be attracted to any organic matter,” says Dana Farbman, APCC Senior Manager, Professional Communications. “Therefore, if you have a dog with such eating habits, it’s important that you don’t leave him unsupervised or allow him into areas where such materials are being used.”
To avoid contact, pet parents should consider a nontoxic alternative, such as shredded pine, cedar or hemlock bark. These will keep your pooch—and your garden—healthy.
June 10, 2008
We have some current clients who may love their pets nine times more than most.. They wanted to see the big, beautiful, Bonnie & Boomer, their massive Bull Mastiffs, in a very large NINE panel Pop Style portrait!
We were admittedly a little overwhelmed by the prospect of this project, but also pretty excited..
It took a while to get just the right collection of head shots of these two, fortunately these two are excellent models, and their parents are pretty good pet photographers. So finally this is the layout we began working with.
Then, it took awhile for our artist to do our magic - nearly nine times longer than usual - but we were able to put together four proofs for them to choose from. Like this one..
That’s like 36 color combinations, and the most panels we’ve ever done for one portrait. Whew, we need a nap now!
If you’re interested in a jumbo portrait of your pet or pets with 8 panels, 9 panels or maybe even 12, just contact us. We’re your source for super-sized, one of a kind, custom, Pop Style portraits created from your pet’s photos!
June 6, 2008
This is an amazing animal story.. A Bald Eagle named Beauty got a brand new beak! She was rescued three years ago from slowly starving to death in an Alaskan landfill, after a poacher’s bullet removed her beak, leaving her tongue and sinuses exposed.
She was taken to a rescue and hand fed while her caretakers waited in vain for a new beak to grow, until an engineer volunteered to try and make Beauty an artificial beak.
A gold and titanium pin was glued to the remnant of her upper beak to serve as the guide for sliding the nylon-composite, artificial beak into place. It was a success! Beauty looks beautiful again and more importantly can eat on her own!
After spending so much time around humans they’ve determined that even with her new beak in place, Beauty does not belong back in the wild. But she will be traveling around the country, participating in lectures to help teach people not to shoot wild birds.
Plans are in place to construct a more permanent version of the beak, The Boeing Co. and a maker of synthetic skin in California have already volunteered for the miraculous task.
Please read the complete story of Beauty the Eagle with an artificial beak on CBSnews.com.
June 2, 2008
Pop Art is obviously very stimulating, which is why we’ve already had a few inquiries from future clients just waiting to receive their stimulus check to order their custom pet portrait. We find this flattering!
Plus, everybody else is running some sort of “spend your stimulus check with us” special so we thought we should too. So in this Pop Promo, just place your order for any size and any style pet portrait and enter the discount coupon code “STIMULUS” in your shopping cart and you’ll get 15% off your subtotal!
That means you can have a retro Pop Style portrait, or a clever Comic Style, or a tasteful Traditional Style pet portrait created from your pet’s photos, and help stimulate the economy at the same time!
But hurry, this Pop Promo is for an unspecified period of time, so place your order today to stimulate the economy and make your pet a masterpiece!
May 28, 2008
We’re well into disaster season again, fires, and tornadoes have already impacted thousands of families across the nation; and hurricanes are surely soon to follow. Yet a recent article reports that only 40% of families with pets have an evacuation plan that includes their pets. It goes on to report:
The remaining 60% evacuate without their pets and then risk their own lives by returning home prematurely to rescue their animals.
Foresight and planning can protect both pet owners and their four-legged companions.
Julie A. Calligaro, author of “Protect Your Pet With Preparation, How to Keep Your Pet Safe in an Emergency and at Your Disability or Death” offers these steps from her book to protect pets in a fire emergency:
* Include pets in the family’s evacuation plan.
* Rehearse your evacuation plan repeatedly with your family including your dog.
* Have a Pet Safety Kit ready and keep an extra kit in your car.
* Listen to your dog. Canines have the ability to smell smoke long before humans. If your dog is acting strangely, investigate the situation immediately and be prepared to gather your family and pets and follow your evacuation plan.
* Be sure your fire evacuation plan accounts for dogs in pens and crates. Fire experts say the number one reason dogs perish in a fire is because they are confined to their pens and cannot escape.
* Use Pet Rescue Stickers on windows to inform firefighters that you have a pet inside.
* Research pet friendly lodging to have a place to board your pet if necessary.
* Give a key to a trusted neighbor and make sure they know where your pet or pets are likely to be in the house so they can inform firefighters.
* If your pet was in a smoke filled building or if you can smell smoke on his fur take him to a veterinarian. Toxic fumes can be deadly.
For more information about how to protect pets in a weather emergency and at disability or death, visit www.safeguardmydog.com.
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We encourage you to please remember to think of your pets and be prepared!
May 24, 2008
A California company has now successfully cloned puppies (finally). But according to this article from ABC News, you might have to live in the dog house with your cloned puppy to be able to afford it!:
Be sure and click here to watch the video too.
When Mira, husky and border collie mix, was born six months ago, she didn’t just look like her biological mother. She was an exact copy — even down to her personality, according to owner Lou Hawthorne.
A California company has successfully cloned puppies.
That’s because Mira was cloned from her mother, Missy.
“This is just an alternative way of initiating life. And after that, it’s life as we have known it and do know it,” said Hawthorne, CEO of BioArts International, the company that cloned the dog, on “Good Morning America” in a broadcast exclusive.
It is only the second time a dog has been cloned and the first time a U.S. company has done it. BioArts International, which plans to publish its research in scientific journals, sits on the cutting edge of science, in part because it’s opening the door to commercial cloning.
The feat represents a chance for dog owners to keep their best friends around indefinitely in an unconventional way — an interesting proposition for those who view their pets as an integral family member and never want to part with them.
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For those of you who can’t afford to spend $100K to clone your dog or cat, consider having us immortalize them in a custom portrait in our popular Pop Art style, cool Comic style, or our tasteful Traditional style!
May 20, 2008
A great reason actually.. Did you know that spaying or neutering your pet may actually help your pet live a longer, healthier life? According to this article from the NY Times, there are multiple direct and indirect benefits of spaying and neutering:
Giving Pets Long Lives
Q. Do dogs and cats that have been spayed or neutered live longer?
A. “No definitive studies have shown evidence of the extension of life” just from sterilization, said Brenda Griffin, director of clinical programs in shelter medicine at the School of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell. “But the diseases it prevents are very common.”
Also, she said, “Two studies have found that the No. 1 risk factor for a pet being taken to shelter is that it has not been spayed or neutered.”
The many known health benefits for male and female dogs and cats vary by gender, Dr. Griffin said.
“If it is done before she comes into heat, spaying virtually eliminates the risk of breast cancer, the most common type of cancer” in female dogs, she said. In female cats, too, breast tumors are common, and 90 percent of them are malignant. But a cat spayed before age 2 is one-seventh as likely to develop them.
Spaying also prevents ovarian or uterine cancer, uterine infections and other diseases. And it cancels the risks associated with giving birth.
In dogs and cats, males that have not been neutered are at risk for testicular cancer, prostate disease and hernias, among other problems. Neutering also often reduces fighting, roaming and scent marking, behaviors that may land a pet in a shelter, where euthanasia is a risk.
The most recent age recommendation for spaying cats is down to 5 months from 6. That is because female cats are sexually mature and may even have had litters by 6 months. An unplanned pregnancy puts both mother and kittens at risk of being sent to a shelter.
