About: Dogs and Their People – Paint Kindness, Gentleness, Love.™

Cayden came to us as the worst care of abuse and neglect we had seen in over 400 senior rescues. At 16 years of age, he had somehow escaped the cold, dark shed that he was locked in…..wandering the streets for three days before being brought to the Tuscarawas County, Ohio, dog shelter. They named him “Cayden”, meaning fighter. The shelter contacted our rescue and after Cayden’s stray hold had expired, he was on his way to us.

He arrived with teeth in every direction, rotted and hanging old fur, rotting flesh, and infections; his right ear so infected and closed solid to his ear canal, trying to clean ripped his tender membranes and caused bleeding, and it was impossible to get antibiotics down his ear canal because it was completely closed up; his left ear was also infected and seeping with green pus; he was at least 10 lbs underweight and ate like a dog who has been consistently starved. He was also crawling with hundreds of fleas.

Cayden’s life began once he arrived in our rescue. The dog who had suffered horribly became the heart of our rescue. His grace, his capacity to forgive, his courage, his gentle nature, captured the hearts of everyone who met him and followed his story. His time with us was much shorter than any of us wanted, but the pawprints he left on our hearts remain. Cayden is the essence of why we rescue senior dogs.

The story of our beloved “niece”, Izzie, (written from Dona’s perspective):

“As I sat in the vet clinic lobby, mourning the loss of another of our rescue dogs, I couldn’t help but notice a precious litter of puppies receiving their first vaccinations. In that moment, Baby Stuey, with his tiny paws reached out to me from the box, and I knew that God was sending me a sign. I helped the lady find homes for several of the puppies, but little did I know that one of them, Izzie, would find her way into the hearts of our rescue family and become a symbol of hope and resilience. Months later, I received a call about one of the puppies who had been living a life of isolation and neglect on a chain with no love, no interaction and no friends……and I knew that I had to act. Upon posting that Izzie needed a loving home, Teri immediately responded and we were able to rescue Izzie and give her the happy, loving home that she deserved.”

Teri S.

Photo credit Teri S.

“When I first received my painting, I was speechless. Laurie and Dona didn’t know, but at the time, I was managing alot in life. My father was entering his last few months of life, my uncle that I help out had a stroke, and I was working alot of mandated overtime. As we traveled to get Daisy Mae, I worried that I wouldn’t be a good mommy to this pup. Little did I know how much I NEEDED Daisy. This painting is based on the photo of the day we got Daisy. If you can’t tell, there are tears in my eyes. Daisy has always been there to love and support me, to herd me around, and to ride in the Jeep with me. She is my best fur friend and I’d be lost without her.”

Steph C.

“It’s been some years now since I lost one of the brightest spots in my life. I’ve had, and still have, a lot of dogs. They are my life, my world. The dogs in my life get me out of bed in the morning, and they keep me working hard all day long. I want to provide the best life I can for them, because they are my world. When I met Penelope three years ago, I was already heavily involved in special-needs dog rescue. I had become enamored of the magic of double merles, with their vision and hearing issues, and I had devoted myself to rescuing, training, and finding homes for these dogs. And I also wanted to share these dogs with the world, because they were so inspirational to me, and I wanted others to see their magic. Penelope was also special-needs, but she was different. I saw her photo as she lay paralyzed in a shelter in Cincinnati. An accident caused her to lose her home, and the ability to ever walk again. I couldn’t get her out of my head, so I offered to drive to Cincinnati and see how I could help. I took her to a veterinarian there, who recommended euthanasia. I agreed, but at the last minute changed my mind, and decided to give her one weekend of the best life I could give her.

I stopped and bought her a collar, and posted her picture on Facebook. And she became Facebook famous. Before I knew it, strangers were sending me helpful information, as well as a cart for her, harnesses for her, and such kind words of encouragement. The beautiful border collie with the most amazing eyes was having an impact on people who had never even met her, just as she had an impact on me. So we put her in her cart, and I watched her eyes change to become a proud, hard, border collie. When she was in her cart she wanted

to chase, she wanted to herd, and she wanted to leap into the air and grab frisbees. It was an amazing transformation, and I did everything I could to help her. Her cart allowed her the freedom to run through the yard. We played a modified game of frisbee with rollers, and she endlessly herded our ducks while in her cart.She was beautiful, loving, and happy. I wanted to share her, and so we started taking her to Pawsavers events.She visited kids in schools for inclusion day. She visited homes for developmentally special adults, she visited Girl Scouts, she visited elementary school children and high school kids. She visited Vacation Bible School. She went to expos, events, workshops and competitions. I loved to watch people when they met her. Many cried, everyone wanted to touch her, and she looked at each person with love in those amazing eyes. She did her job, and she did it well.
But life wasn’t perfect. Caring for her was a huge part of my life. She had to go with me if I traveled, because her care was too difficult to leave with anyone else. We struggled to manage infections, sores, and immune system issues. I always knew that her life would not be a normal 15 or 16 years. Being paralyzed caused too many other health issues. And then she started on a path with lung issues that we were not able to overcome. Her passing came very quickly, it surprised me, despite all I knew logically, my heart was not prepared to lose her, and my life without her has been an incredible struggle. But I wouldn’t trade the three years we had for anything. She was an extra-bright star in my life full of many stars. She was a part of me that will live in my heart forever. I know that she’s touched many lives, and I’m grateful I was able to share her. My regret is that more people couldn’t know her because she was amazing. Despite the wonderful three years we had together, when it comes down to it, she was still a border collie in a wheelchair. She loved me and she loved other people but I know that her soul needed to be a border collie, and she could not do that, not in a wheelchair. I try to console myself now with images of her in an afterlife, leaping in the air to catch a frisbee, running full speed across the meadow and rounding up sheep, or ducks, or just chasing other dogs and winning the race, finally. Shine on, my beautiful star, until we meet again, I will forever miss you.” Allison H.

“This is my Cisco (the brown dog). He is my heart dog. Adopted him 7 years ago. He was a bag of bones, terrified of everything. Someone cut his left ear off and beat him. He is the best boy ever and he never stops saying Thank you for his loving home. He will break me when I lose him.” Leslie I.

“Izzy’s puppyhood and life was lived in the worst of the worst, on the end of a chain, in dirt, with no shelter, no attention, no socialization, nothing…thankfully, the woman who had homed her to this nightmare of homes, sought to find her another home and the rest is the fairy tale ending. I like to say she rescued us!

We do not deserve these dogs. I cannot say it enough.” Teri S.

“Max is the subject of this painting, the beloved dog of our dear friend and rescue supporter, Chenoa.

Max was was just too big for his city environment with his first family and needed room to be an Aussie. His first family wanted Max to have room to stretch his paws and run, so he came to live on the farm with Chenoa’s family. Max was a “big red, lovey bear” with human-like eyes, including one just a little more faint than the other.

Living on the farm,Max was a hunter – he hunted moles underground and crunched raccoons. He did have a possum friend he brought back and played with and always let him go

. His favorite place was to lay by the pond and watch the world go by.

Max is still mourned by his family and a large part of the painting process was spent capturing Max’s beautiful eyes.” Chenoa M.

“Rudy has brought over his pig’s ear to share… the very first time he (or any other dog) has done that!

Rudy came from a very high kill shelter ; he was on the kill list because he was terrified, and for a lump. Dona Hall tagged him on his last day of life. A mutual friend fostered him, and honestly, she loved him so much we figured she would be a foster fail. But she did right by him, and recommended Teri; he became her soulmate. He is THE sweetest boy. And we came a little too close to losing him for no reason.” Teri S.