Pop Art Pet Unleashed

Archive for February, 2009

We are admittedly still in the throws of grief since losing Kylie, and we have found ourselves spending time on petloss.com. There we found this beautiful essay by Crystal Ward Kent.

When you bring a pet into your life, you begin a journey – a journey that will bring you more love and devotion than you have ever known, yet also test your strength and courage.
If you allow, the journey will teach you many things, about life, about yourself, and most of all, about love. You will come away changed forever, for one soul cannot touch another without leaving its mark.
Along dao, you will learn much about savoring life’s simple pleasures – jumping in leaves, snoozing in the sun, the joys of puddles, and even the satisfaction of a good scratch behind the ears.
If you spend much time outside, you will be taught how to truly experience every element, for no rock, leaf, or log will go unexamined, no rustling bush will be overlooked, and even the very air will be inhaled, pondered, and noted as being full of valuable information. Your pace may be slower – except when heading home to the food dish – but you will become a better naturalist, having been taught by an expert in the field.
Too many times we hike on automatic pilot, our goal being to complete the trail rather than enjoy the journey. We miss the details – the colorful mushrooms on the rotting log, the honeycomb in the old maple snag, the hawk feather caught on a twig. Once we walk as a dog does, we discover a whole new world. We stop; we browse the landscape, we kick over leaves, peek in tree holes, look up, down, all around. And we learn what any dog knows: that nature has created a marvelously complex world that is full of surprises, that each cycle of the seasons bring ever changing wonders, each day an essence all its own.
Even from indoors you will find yourself more attuned to the world around you. You will find yourself watching summer insects collecting on a screen. (How bizarre they are! How many kinds there are!), or noting the flick and flash of fireflies through the dark. You will stop to observe the swirling dance of windblown leaves, or sniff the air after a rain. It does not matter that there is no objective in this; the point is in the doing, in not letting life’s most important details slip by.
You will find yourself doing silly things that your pet-less friends might not understand: spending thirty minutes in the grocery aisle looking for the cat food brand your feline must have, buying dog birthday treats, or driving around the block an extra time because your pet enjoys the ride.
You will roll in the snow, wrestle with chewie toys, bounce little rubber balls till your eyes cross, and even run around the house trailing your bathrobe tie – with a cat in hot pursuit – all in the name of love.
Your house will become muddier and hairier. You will wear less dark clothing and buy more lint rollers. You may find dog biscuits in your pocket or purse, and feel the need to explain that an old plastic shopping bag adorns your living room rug because your cat loves the crinkly sound.
You will learn the true measure of love- the steadfast, undying kind that says, “It doesn’t matter where we are or what we do, or how life treats us as long as we are together.” Respect this always. It is the most precious gift any living soul can give another. You will not find it often among the human race.
And you will learn humility. The look in my dog’s eyes often made me feel ashamed. Such joy and love at my presence. She saw not some flawed human who could be cross and stubborn, moody or rude, but only her wonderful companion. Or maybe she saw those things and dismissed them as mere human foibles, not worth considering, and so chose to love me anyway.
If you pay attention and learn well, when the journey is done, you will be not just a better person, but the person your pet always knew you to be – the one they were proud to call beloved friend.
I must caution you that this journey is not without pain. Like all paths of true love, the pain is part of loving. For as surely as the sun sets\sunsets, one day your dear animal companion will follow a trail you cannot yet go down.
And you will have to find the strength and love to let them go. A pet’s time on earth is far too short – especially for those that love them. We borrow them, really, just for awhile, and during these brief years they are generous enough to give us all their love, every inch of their spirit and heart, until one day there is nothing left.
The cat that only yesterday was a kitten is all too soon old and frail and sleeping in the sun. The young pup of boundless energy wakes up stiff and lame, the muzzle now gray. Deep down we somehow always knew that this journey would end. We knew that if we gave our hearts they would be broken.
But give them we must for it is all they ask in return. When the time comes, and the road curves ahead to a place we cannot see, we give one final gift and let them run on ahead – young and whole once more. “Godspeed, good friend,” we say, until our journey comes full circle and our paths cross again.
——————–

If you or someone you know is also suffering through the loss of a pet we recommend the online support group on petloss.com. You may also want to do a search for pet loss support groups you can attend in your area.

We have an affinity around here for what we like to call those little white dogs – Jack Russell Terrorists and mixes thereof (like our dear Kylie). So when we discovered Russell Rescue, Inc. online we were very pleased.

ussell Rescue, Inc. (RRI) is a national network of volunteers dedicated to placing unwanted, displaced or abandoned Jack Russell Terriers into permanent homes. They are of course funded by general, tax deductible donations and they also have a spotlight page featuring specific terriers in need, like Noni.

Noni was rescued from an unfortunate home foreclosure situation where she had not had appropriate vet care and had not been spayed. This ten year old had had multiple litters of puppies, she had unattended lumps and bumps, and was badly in need of dental work. A foster mom with Russell Rescue, Inc. saw to it that Noni received all the care she needed, spending about $1000 of her own money.

But in the terrier spotlight section of RRI you can make a donation that goes specifically to help a dog or a foster person like this. We personally made a little donation to help Noni on her way then felt rewarded the next day when an update was posted that Noni has found her forever home!

Pop Art Pet encourages you to seek out an animal rescue locally or online that touches your heart, and please donate your time or some money today. We know its not easy in the current economy but that’s why the need now is so great.

We love HGTV! Don’t you love HGTV? Who doesn’t love HGTV?! Well as much as we love HGTV, we didn’t even know that they had a blog until a friend told us.. “Hey, your pet portraits were featured on HGTV’s blog!”

The blog is appropriately called Design Happens, so we went looking and sure enough there we were, in a feature titled Creature Comforts along with some other Pop-ular pet portrait artists. In referencing our custom pet portraits they selected an oldie but a goodie for an example of our Traditional Style artwork created from your pet’s photos.

This adorable rottweiler puppy, Gracie, was rendered with a soft colored pencil style effect which suited her photo and her personality perfectly.

We are flattered to have been included in this little story suggesting that pet lovers be clever when they adorn their space with their pet’s face. And of course we encourage you to do the same with a whimsical work of art created from your pet’s photos in our Traditional Style, Pop Art, or Comic Style portraits!

DOGS DESERVE BETTER is a nonprofit organization dedicated to freeing the thousands of dogs that are left chained outside at all times by educating their caretakers and encouraging them to let them in the house where they belong.
And this week, February 7th – 14th, they are sponsoring Have a Heart for Chained Dogs Week. They are asking people to send them addresses of homes and families in their neighborhoods where they know the dog is left on a chain. Then they will send them a valentine’s day card to plead the dog’s case.
2009 is the 7th year of the campaign and their goal is to send out 12,500 cards! Visit their site to see how you can help support this great cause and/or make a donation, and read their success stories!