Rachel - Commissioned Dog Portrait

A new portrait is about to start, this time of Rachel, a sweet and beautiful one and a half year old poodle/lab mix. Rachel is the recent addition to Diane's family. The proud owner of two other rescues, Charlie and Rosco. Diane was Rachel's foster mom before officially adopting her.

Rachel came from a puppy mill here in southern Ontario. Puppies from mills end up being sold in pet stores and Rachel was no exception. She was sold to a couple and they soon realized that she had health problems. She was returned to the pet store which in turn returned her to the puppy mill. Without any veterinary assessment, the puppy mill owner decided to keep her for breeding, ignoring her health problem. A year later, he realized that she was infertile and wanted to destroy her, but Kimberly Thomas of Kismutt Rescue took her in.

The dogs that are rescued from puppy mills are in the most deplorable state. They are so dirty that their true hair colour cannot be determined with certainty until they are given a good bath. Even then, their coat remains stained from years of stepping and lying in urine and faeces. The dogs can barely see through the accumulation of crust around the eyes. In most cases, shaving down to the skin is the only solution. Being deprived of normal human contact and humane treatment, these dogs are almost ferrel. Rachel was no exception, but on top of that she reeked of urine and her back side, showed bare skin full of red rashes interspersed with patches of urine soaked matted hair (this from mid-back down to her hind legs). A proper veterinary assessment showed that she had an incurable, likely congenital, urinary disorder: a leaky bladder requiring doggy diapers full time when indoors. If Rachel had been fertile, she would have past on this defective gene to some of her pups. Another of so many reasons why puppy mills should be illegal.

After many months of being up for adoption on the Petfinder/Kismutt site, there were no takers. In the meantime, Rachel was becoming Diane's shadow, attentive to her every move.

And of course, having been a foster mom to rescued dogs myself, I know how protective and attached we become to our wards. Rachel became Diane's furry daughter, and became sister to her two furry boys.

Here she is in the safety and comfort of her new home, looking up at her beloved mama Diane while she takes her picture.

Follow me a new portrait journey of this special girl.