This was the hardest painting I’ve done in years. It wasn’t big. It wasn’t complicated. It was brutal. Our dog Archie died out of the blue right before Christmas. I started this painting shortly after he died. I’m a huge fan of dogs. We always had dogs when I was a kid. Archie was different than every dog I’ve ever been around. He was virtually perfect in every way.
We got Archie from the local pound when he was about a year old. We picked him up after my pet parrot died. He instantly merged in with the family. That first weekend we took him with us to a local sledding hill. He was totally unfazed by all the people. He was like that. We could bring him anywhere, and he’d just relax and hang out.
To say that Archie was laid back is an understatement. Lets put it this way, I had to mow the lawn around him, then ask him to move so I could finish the spot where he was sitting!
He loved other dogs. He especially loved playing with our neighbors Great Danes and giant Lab Mix. He’d always come back completely covered in dog slobber.
Archie was a speed demon. He would run alongside while we went mountain biking with the kids. He also liked running along while I rollerbladed. Despite his love of running, he really just wanted to be inside most of the time.
Another bonus with Archie was that he barely needed a leash. It was often on more for other people’s peace of mind than our own. We could just let him out the back door with no leash or tie, and he’d do his business and come back in when he was ready. Talk about easy!
Over the years we taught Archie some fun tricks. He loved riding the twisty slides at the park and learned to jump through hoops in the yard. He was tolerant of kids pulling his ears and tail, even though he wasn’t a snuggly dog by nature. He was a saint. He is still very much missed.
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