Birding in January - 23/52

Juvenile White Crowned Sparrow

Northern Cardinal

Adult White Crowned Sparrow

My Fur Kids - 22/52

Our friend Jenn of The Artist's Eyes is a fantastic artist. We asked her to paint portraits of all of our pups, past and present, and she did a fantastic job!  She perfectly captured each dog's personality! She had painted Rudy's portrait for us last year and completed the rest of the crew for us recently. Jenn makes all of her art ECO friendly (environmentally friendly), which is always a plus!  Check out her site and portfolios - she does more than just painting!

I framed all of the portraits in matching frames and hung them on the large wall so that they are the focal point when entering the house (or sitting anywhere in the living room, dining room and kitchen for that matter).

Here is a picture of the portraits after they were hung.  They are hung in order of when we got each dog.  Hardy and Rudy, the first two, are no longer with us.  I am hanging their tags on the corner of those portraits with ribbon in honor of them. I have Hardy's tag up there now, but have not yet located Rudy's tag since we moved, but I will!  Blue, Lois Lane and Buddy (aka Giant Dawg) are the others three pups.

Goodbye My Hardy Dog

Hardy
December 25, 1995 - January 3, 2011

On Monday we had to say goodbye to our Old Man.  On Christmas Day 2010 he celebrated (as far as we know) his 17th birthday.  Hardy is the first dog Jason and I had together and has been with us since the first apartment we had.  You can read the story of how Hardy found us if you haven't heard his story before.  (All of our dog's stories are on there, except Rudy's, which I intend to add).

Hardy was such a good, sweet, loving dog.  He was spry right up until last week when his vestibular disease and potential brain tumor finally took over his old life.  As he became more disoriented we decided his quality of life was not what it once was and that it was probably time to let him go peacefully.  Our wonderful vet, Dr. Laurelee Rubsch, is a mobile vet who comes to our house to treat the dogs.  This made the process so much easier for both of us and especially for Hardy.  He is now buried next to Big Worm where we can visit him anytime we want to. 

I miss you, Old Man.  You'll live on in our hearts forever.  :*(