Boots

I haven't posted any artwork in awhile, so I thought I'd start off again with a portrait of Boots, our Shetland Collie, or Sheltie. He's been with us now for about 3 1/2 of his almost 7 years, and he has quite the personality. Before he was part of the family, he was involved in a little "dust-up" with our Australian Shepherd mix, Henri. We found out that his previous owner was soon to enter an assisted-living facility which did not allow pets. So our plan was to take him to the vet to make sure he was okay, and then try to find a good home for him. Well, after about 2 days, we decided he wasn't going anywhere. Henri "made-up" with him and they are now best buddies, and Sheba is so mellow that she was agreeable to the new arrangement as well. As I state on my website page for Boots, he's quite the clown prince, although we have learned that a Sheltie trademark is their barking. He barks at everything, doorbells (even on the TV), cars, birds, people going down the river on kayaks, planes flying overhead at 20,000 feet, you name it! Another of his unusual traits is his "clacking". He clacks his teeth together when he is playing or excited, almost like barking without the noise. Quite funny, and I've never seen it before, so I can't say if it's a Sheltie trait or strictly a Boots trait. This portrait was done in graphite, and is available as notecards and prints on my website, and on a wide range of products on my CafePress storefront, which you can access through the link on this page (under the "Links" heading).