Meet Paco! This amazing little guy is 16 years old!! That's right, 16. And he still accompanies dad to work! I've never met a dog that looked like Paco, and frankly, most people haven't. Whenever mom takes Paco out, they always get asked: "What kind of dog is that?" and she always replies they don't know. He is the most unusual little fellow you'll ever see; part Ewok and part Koala bear perhaps? Either way, this darling dude couldn't get any cuter.
Announcing the FIRST piece in a new body of work, "Party Animals!"
I'm presently taking an advanced painting class at West Valley College and last week our assignment was to do a "humor painting" - basically paint something funny. I had just gotten back from a business trip in Washington D.C. and had completely forgotten that my homework was to bring 5 prep sketches for this assignment. Oops! I quickly thumbed around the pages of my brain for inspiration. (Of course when you're trying like hell to think of something funny you never can). Then I went flipping through my iPhone and came across a photo of Chubby's birthday. Perfect! I went right to work and ended up with this guy, a pied Frenchie who looks a bit baffled. A party? Do I have to wear this goofy hat and howd dis ting in my mouf?
When I stepped back the end result gave me a chuckle. I hope it does the same for you. Stay tuned! I hope to do a party cat next...
Some fantastic news: at the urging of Best Friends Animal Society, the HSUS will convene with folks at Best Friends to discuss the fate of Pit Bulls in fight bust cases. (Best Friends is in Utah and is known for their TV show "Dogtown." They also took in over 20 of the Vick dogs). The meeting is slated for April. Let's PRAY HARD FOLKS! My hope is that Mr. Pacelle addresses the ignorance about the breed within his organization and makes aggressive changes toward seeing the fates of these dogs improved wherever possible, especially when his organization is involved.
Fight bust dogs with sound temperaments should be given a chance at life!
It seems despite the success of the Michael Vick case, there are animal welfare organizations who prefer to assist in twisted, Machiavellian-style executions in the name of "justice." At the urging of the Humane Society of the United States, Wilkes County, North Carolina sentenced 146 Pit Bulls (including puppies) to death today. (Article here)
I first fell out of love with the HSUS after Wayne Pacelle declared that the Vick dogs should be categorically euthanized based on the reports from officials from his organization citing their high levels of aggression and the preponderance of "less-violent Pit Bulls who are better candidates to be rehabilitated." See article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Pacelle never recanted this statement even after scores of reports verified that mere weeks after Vick's dogs were released to rescue organizations and placed in foster homes they were found to be exceptionally loving and dog friendly. Over ten different individuals ranging from rescuers to certified behaviorists assessed the Vick dogs for hours on end before deeming them safe to be released to the public. All these folks found no such problems with the dogs. Perhaps Mr. Pacelle needs to re-evaluate the officials on his staff who are giving him such erroneous information?
Of course, nobody needs Mr. Pacelle's apology and frankly, it doesn't surprise me that he hasn't. The outrage here is that the HSUS routinely involves itself in investigations to arrest and convict dog fighters. It joins forces with local law enforcement, pursuing these criminals for months or years at time as was the case in Wilkes County. These investigations frequently if not always end in the death of all Pit Bulls involved, often at the behest of the HSUS.
Yep, you read that right. The HSUS pioneers these witch hunts to arrest dog fighters (all in the name of ending animal cruelty, of course) only to finish their "noble" work by advising the judge to kill all the dogs they just "saved."
In this particular case according to Winston-Salem Journal, "Representatives of The Humane Society told the judge that the dogs should be destroyed, because they had been bred for generations to be aggressive." Read the article here.
Gee, that sounds familiar.
And to think if HSUS' "experts" had been at the forefront of the Vick case, I might never have known Leo, one of Vick's dogs who is now a certified therapy dog and lives happily with three other dogs. Read about Leo at the Our Pack site.
Not to mention that the logic simply doesn't follow. Because they had been bred for generations to be aggressive? These representatives have conveniently left out the fact that Pit Bulls have been bred for generations to be HUMAN-RESPONSIVE and HUMAN-SOFT by the very fact that they were bred for dog fighting. Dog fighters could not make use of dogs that wanted to bite THEM. They needed dogs that would do their bidding until death, that could be handled despite extreme pain (you don't think they actually took injured dogs to the vet, do you?). Voila, the Pit Bull. Inherently human-gentle despite its vicious ancestry.
If you donate to the HSUS I urge you to reconsider. There are organizations who need your money greatly...and they aren't calling for the death of potentially adoptable dogs simply because of their ancestry.
Darling Wally is no longer with us; his owners wanted to commemorate him with a portrait. His mom suggested the phrasing "Have a Dog!" as a way to brighten up his portrait (for fear they'd cry otherwise, they miss him so much!), and I think it's a terrific touch.
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About Me
Stephanie Lam
Stephanie is a San Francisco Bay Area artist & pet lover who creates vibrant paintings based on a variety of themes. Her favorite parts about the creative life are the constant stream of new projects to work on and the small surprises when she steps back from the canvas.
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