Memorial Portrait of Duncan, a standard poodle, victim of dog bloat

Here's a memorial portrait I did recently of Duncan, a standard poodle, who taught me about bloat in dogs.  I was able to capture Duncan frolicking on the beach, a perfectly healthy and happy fellow.  I love doing vacation fun photos with dogs, just like this!  This is in colored pencil on paper.  I loved doing the waves!  Duncan, himself, was taken from several photos.  I needed to get his colors right, and the photo of him frolicking on the beach was bathed in very warm sunlight, making him as orange as a pumpkin in some spots.  But I felt his family would prefer to see him more in his typical coloring!

I loved the wind in his wet fur, how he was laughing, and how his paws were caught midstep!  I angled out his leg just a bit.  The fourth is hidden by his right leg!  But his tail is high and wagging, full of fun!

And his eyes I had to get from other photos, I also angled the beach a little less horizontally.

Duncan was a young dog that died from canine bloat.  Large breeds are more likely than small guys to develop this quick killer that not much is known about.  Gulping lots dry food with lots of water and then vigorous exercise seems to be the cause, but there's no definite do's and don'ts besides feeding more than once a day, limiting water at mealtime, and not exercising immediately before or after eating.

If you have a large dog, please read up on this.  Our new pup, Sarge, is one of the breeds that is more likely to develop bloat, so I am thankful for the education.

And I'd like to thank Duncan's sweet humans for the honor of painting his memorial portrait in colored pencil.  I know it will give them comfort.  As much as I'm loving Sarge, I still miss my Otto, and having his portrait to look at makes me remember the happiness he brought us every day of his life.

Want to see more of my custom dog portraits?  I have them in my Etsy shop and lots more on my custom portraits site.  I'd love to work with you for a dog or pet or human portrait!  And it's the most meaningful gift you can give!  Thanks for stopping by!  Robin