One day out of the blue, Barbara Ross emailed me this photo of 10 year old Opie. It brought tears to my eyes as soon as I looked at it. I emailed back, "I would love to do that as a painting, with his whole soul showing out of his eyes like that."
Barbara agreed, then told me it's been 3 years since a spinal surgery that left Opie paralyzed. She described his great heart and will to recover, and his accomplishments. These photos tell the story, along with Barbara's comments....
10 years old. It was clear immediately that Opie is a well loved dog. Barbara wrote:
"He was waiting for George to get into the van and drive him to his Chiropractic appt. Opie had surgery in '07 to remove a 'mass' on the spinal cord. It left him paralyzed for 4 months before he could walk on his own. It's been a long three years."
"He's a strong minded, rather stubborn, individual. WIth a Heart that is bigger than any dobe I know. He's tolerated so much from the time of his surgery. Don't know of another dog who could have gone through what he has and still be trotting along at 10 yrs of age. He's a people dog. He thinks that everyone that comes to the house is coming to see him."
Opie's first water therapy after his surgery in '07....
"He could not stand or walk, but used his neck and head to get around if someone didn't move him on time. He had to be wheeled to the PT building from where he stayed. He actually lived in the hospital 24 x 7 for a couple of months..."
"This photo was taken a week after he started to walk by himself."
Now we jump back in time, to a win that most dog-owners only dream about, "Best Stud Dog" at the Doberman Pinscher Club of America Nationals. Barbara describes the scene:
"Back in Denver in '06 it sure was a shock when we won the class. Not only to me, but to the handlers with the top twenty dogs, as the audience also. Adrian Woodfork was the judge, and he would pick out a stud dog and his get and place them in the middle of the ring on a diagonal. He kept doing that until he filled the ring from one corner to the opposite one. Then he still had 4 to 6 sets of dogs left on the outside. He moved them again, and then pointed to Esteban and OPIE. What a thrill. ...Faye Strauss called Adrian Woodfork a week after the National and asked him why he picked the dog that he did. He simply told her that the dog and his get looked like they were stamped out... It was 3 mo. later that they found the mass on the edge of the spinal cord."
In only 10 breedings Opie produced 19 Champions, including a number with working titles. In the litters that he has sired, they all inherit his great temperament.
Opie's registered name is CH. Patriots Opposites Attract, WAC.
Dam: CH. Patriots Black Pearls, sire: CH. Cambria's Cactus Cash.
(Photo at age 6, by The Winning Image)
While I was in the sketching stages for Opie's portrait, I got sad news. Barbara wrote:
"Opie is no longer with us. We had to take him to our Vet in N.J. a few days back. He was in a lot of pain and could barely stand without panting. He did walk to his feed bowl for breakfast and didn't leave a morsel of his food. He walked outside to do his business, his body looked great, he was bright eyed and as stoic as could be, even though he was in pain.
I haven't been able to gather the words to put in a message to the Doberman Fancy.........as it still hurts too much to talk about it. Just wanted to let you know."
Now I begin the portrait of a great dog.
This will be a major piece, with a background scene designed to enhance Opie. My concept is a mountain scene, with towering rock faces rising up behind him to symbolize Opie's strength of spirit. (Initial rough sketch shown here.)
I'll be posting "in progress" pics of Opie's portrait taking shape "in real time" over the next three weeks. I hope you enjoy watching the process.
.jpg)
Posts
