July 12, Coal~

And this is Coal~  I haven't had the pleasure of painting a Scotty before~  and here is his story~

"Coal MacTavish was an 11 year old male Scottish Terrier.  We adopted Coal when he was around 6 years old through a rescue organization who saved him from his former life as a breeder dog at a puppy mill. Coal shared our home and hearts until he passed away after spending five years with us.  When we adopted him, we immediately brought him to our vet for a checkup.  The vet said he was infested with several species of worms, had indentations on his teeth because he had been trying to get out of a wire cage, and chronic ear infections, along with holding his ears bent from spending lengths of time in too small a cage.  Thus he had floppy ears rather than the erect ears a Scottie is usually known for.  But he quickly recovered and thrived with our love and care.
Coal was so quiet in his first few weeks with us, we were unsure if he even had a bark.  In fact his primary method of communication was a quiet short growl, a sort of mmmmmmmm sound to get your attention.  Occasionally he made a high pitched scream in response to seeing a squirrel or chipmunk, and we eventually found out he did have a deep loud bark if someone appeared to threaten us.  If you asked him to come in from outdoors or if he wanted to go out, and he didn't want to, he would very intentionally look the other way and ignore you.  In the beginning he would not give us any eye contact and expressed very little physically.  His first body language of affection was expressed through "leaning" against us.  He did not like to be held or to sit on your lap.   But he loved snuggling next to us, and receiving hugs and having his thick fur stroked, or his back scratched.  He was always eager to get a bath.
He was the calmest dog in temperament we have ever encountered.  Each morning, he woke before we did, but he sat by the bed waiting patiently and quietly for us to get up.   When the alarm finally went off he ran up to us to get his morning rub.  When we scratched his back he wiggled and rolled in delight, sticking his butt in the air. While we were away from the house he would lie down at the top of the stairs and watch the front door waiting for us to return.  
He would greet us wagging his tail and sometimes bringing us one of his plush toy babies. The longer he lived with us, the more physically expressive of excitement he became.  When it was feeding time he would bob up and down on his hind legs and then run fast toward the kitchen and run back to us with a couple more bobs up and down like a young colt.  We miss him every day."

8x8 acrylic on wood, sold~