Champ

I'm a dog man.  I've had plenty of them over the course of my lifetime, from pure-breds to mutts, and I've never had a dog that failed to reinforce my opinion that dogs are one of God's greatest creations.  This is Champ, a yellow Labrador Retriever.  Champ came to us in late May of this year.  He had just turned one, and was still very much a puppy.   The family we got him from gave him up because they felt they couldn't give him the time, love and attention he needed.  That, my friends, is love.  How many dogs do you know of  that are kept outside in pens away from the family, fed once a day, and left alone because they aren't cute anymore?  Too many.  So we got Champ.

Champ is my shadow.  He generally stays by my feet.  If I get up, he gets up.  Wherever I go in the house, Champ will follow me.  Heck, if I move from one chair to another in the same room, he'll still get up and sit at my feet.  He's actually a very well trained guy.  He  knows "sit", "stay", and loves to learn new tricks.  I am having a hard time teaching him to play "Fish", though.  He keeps eating the cards.

He absolutely loves coming to the studio.  If only because that's where we play fetch.  Every morning before I start painting I throw a frisbee around for him to run after.  Then, when I'm totally absorbed in painting, he'll sit at the door wanting to go out.  When he's outside, and I'm totally absorbed in painting, he'll thump on the door wanting to be let in.  Then he'll stare at me because he wants to play frisbee again.

 

Champ remembers when he was a cute little puppy, and can't quite figure out that at 100 pounds, I can't pick him up.  He is in heaven when I let him sit with me in a chair.

Every painter needs a studio dog.  I hope that you too have a companion like Champ.