A couple months ago I painted Sierra at nine weeks old. I call the painting “Puppy Power” and it can be seen in an earlier post on this blog. Since then I decided to take some time and paint my other girl at the same age so I would have a matching set of my two girls. This is Jasmine. She is one of the best highlights of my life. My husband and I adopted Jasmine into our lives 12 years ago. The day we brought her home, he told me she was my dog and he wasn’t going to get attached. It took Jasmine all of one hour to snuggle her way on to his lap… and in to his heart… and of course mine!
Jasmine became my first agility teammate and together we made our way to a couple of championship titles. Through Jasmine, I was introduced into the wonderful world of agility… a place where I have met so many great people, and painted so many beautiful dogs. Jasmine was also my first subject to paint in my art… and there are many paintings of her around our home as a result. But this painting is going to remain special in my heart as it is a reminder of the time when she first came to live with us, and change our lives for the better. She loved chard and would play with a leaf until she finally decided to eat it, and then come looking for a new leaf.
Jasmine was diagnosed with a couple different types of cancer. The vets told us to expect only another eight months. That was two and a half years ago. She is still making us smile… and cry… at times. And she is still bossing us around all the time! She still runs a little agility with me and we still go for short walks. She oversees Sierra’s training sessions and gets after her when she doesn’t pay attention. She is a dignified lady… and still one of my favorite art subjects. And I’m sure this is not the last painting to be created of this beautiful girl.
UPDATE: It is with heavy heart that I report that our sweet girl Jasmine lost her battle with cancer on December 20, 2014. She was a true highlight in our lives and we will miss her forever. RIP my sweet girl.