Yes , I am a crazy dog lady. And I am not ashamed. I live on 2 1/2 acres with my husband and our adopted 6 dogs and 4 cats. They are all the loves of my life and my inspiration.
I am a painter specializing in contemporary dog paintings. I started Noisy Dog Studio in 2000 specializing in original commissioned dog portraits. Noisy Dog Studio has grown to feature dog art prints and canine greetings cards
P.S. To the offense of my 4 lovely cats, I don't paint cats. For some reason they always look grumpy when I paint them. And no one wants a grumpy cat painting.
I am trying to find peace in my life without Hugo. With him by my side I knew I could handle anything. Just one look at his face and he made everything alright. He was such a special soul. With him gone, life is not the same. If only I could hold him again and kiss his wrinkly face. But I can't and that is what is so hard.
I have nothing new to share. I continue to grieve for the loss of my boy Hugo. I am not sleeping well, tossing, turning and having bad dreams.
Still in shock that he is gone. I want to scream and yell that I want him back.
is how I am feeling these days. I miss Hugo so much. Two weeks since I said goodbye. How could this be? How could he be gone ? How can I not hold him again? His pillow on the couch is empty, I only prepare 5 plates for doggie dinner time, his space between our pillows at night is filled by Albert...all reminders that Hugo is no longer here.
I miss kissing his little squishy little face and telling him that he is the greatest dog ever put on this earth.
Life without Hugo has been difficult. To help with the giant void, I have started painting again. I haven't painted anything since last year.
I am starting on commissions that have piled up throughout Hugo's illness. My clients have been so patient. They have been willing to wait for their paintings while I took care of Hugo.
I am currently painting a very cute Westie named Violet. And I have a labradoodle, labrador puppy, chihuahua, cute mixed terrier, great dane, border collie and a few more paintings on deck. I will share them with you when they are finished.
But the most important thing I wanted to share with you is the reminder to take lots of photos and videos of your dog(s). Don't worry about taking the perfect photo or video, let that constraint go. Just take the photos/videos,you will be happy you did this.
I love looking at all my photos of Hugo. They bring back so many memories. Sure they make miss him, but at the same they bring smiles to my face and reminder me about great times with Hugo. Most of all, looking at the photos reminds me how blessed I was to have had Hugo in my life.
When Hugo was diagnosed with terminal cancer, I bought my flip camera. The videos I took of Hugo through the past 5 months mean the world to me. The DVD of his videos is among my most prized possessions.
I have just begun to be able to look at my videos. Sure I cry and reach out to the screen wanting to touch him, but seeing and hearing him barking for coffee brings me much happiness through the tears.
Sunday evening , one week ago, was the last time I held Hugo. I kissed him for the last time and then in a moment he was gone. I miss you Hugo, you were my constant and with you I knew everything was going to be okay.
I am trying to learn to live my life without Hugo. It is very difficult. Since his terminal diagnosis in November, I have been taking care of him day and night. It is a hard habit to break. I keep thinking I have to give him a pill, take him out or do something for him.
I usually got up with him 3 times a night to take him downstairs to pee due to the side effects of Lasix.
It seems that my body became used to the frequent wakenings because I am still waking up throughout the nights to take Hugo out. For that brief second, when I open my eyes I forget he is gone and then I realize that he is not here anymore. And then my heart breaks again.
It is going to take time to get used to life without my boy. I don't think I will ever get over his death, instead I will have to learn how to live without him.
Yesterday I commissioned the wonderful clay artist Rae Dunn to create a special urn for Hugo's ashes. She doesn't usually do urns, but I took a chance asking her if it would be something she would be interested in and I am honored she said yes.I will take a photo when it arrives.
I have several videos to upload of Hugo, but I haven't had the heart to look at them. I can look at his still photos, but the videos are really hard to look at right now. There is one special video that I took 2 days before he passed. It was the last time he ever rolled around happy like a "rolly polly pig" in his bed. I am so glad I captured the moment.
Wherever you are Hugo, we all love and miss you, especially your dog brother Poe.
My heart aches for Hugo. His ashes came home yesterday...he is really gone. I keep thinking that this can't be real. It must be sick joke and now give me back my boy. But no, he is really gone, and my heart can't take it.
I miss everything about him. I miss taking care of him. I miss his presence in my world. I miss my best friend.
about missing my boy Hugo to write anything right now.
