Champ, English Bulldog, 9 yrs old
Girl, English Bulldog, 13 yrs old
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| Champ and Girl posing with their custom paintings by The Pet Studio! |
How did Champ and Girl come into your life?
Both Champ and Girl were adopted through local rescues/shelters.
Champ was used as a bait dog for fighting in Miami. He eventually made his way to the local shelter where he was finally rescued and rehabilitated. Champ is now a therapy dog and is the spokes dog for Bullies Against Bullying, an anti-bullying campaign.
Girl was dumped into rescue at the age of 10. She was used likely as a breeding dog and then tossed out when she was too old to produce puppies. Adopting a senior dog is such a wonderful experience. Girl is living out her golden years and being as spoiled as possible.
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| Champcasso creating a masterpiece. |
Champ is also an active member of Dog Scouts of America. DSA is a national organization with local troops scattered throughout the country. One of the things Champ has learned through DSA is to paint. The badge is called Art of Shaping. He doesn't just press a paw print against the canvas or even use a brush in his mouth. By shaping behavior with positive training (clicker and treats), we've transformed the commands 'shake', 'high five', and 'wave' into "brush strokes" (or should I say 'paw strokes'). Champ picks from a line of colors presented to him and he paints his masterpieces with his own creativity. (For about 6 months he refused to use yellow paint!) I really let him use his own creativity to paint. We've done some specialty paintings- like Team Spirit series (which used sports team colors) and Bullies For Boobies (a series of pink paintings to raise awareness for Breast Cancer research). His paintings are ‘pawdigraphed’ and sold or auctioned off to raise money for a variety of causes, including animal rescue and our anti-bullying campaign, Bullies Against Bullying. He is now known as ‘Champcasso’, the painting bulldog. He's been featured on a local TV show multiple times to showcase his painting. You can even follow Champcasso on facebook!
Champ has really touched so many lives. His story of survival is an inspiration and proves that anything is possible. He's brought awareness to dog fighting, rescue, puppy mills, and responsible pet ownership.
Girl has shown people that adopting a senior dog can be so rewarding. She sat in rescue for 6 months with no one interested in adopting her. Now she is adored by so many on Facebook.
There are so many wonderful pets out there who just need you to take a chance on them. Even purebred dogs like English Bulldogs are filling up rescues across the country.
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Stephanie Conrad
The Pet Studio | Owner | Artist
www.petstudioart.com
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