i'll save an extended post about all my pets for an afternoon when i have a bit more free time. but this thread reminded me of an errand i have to run this weekend for an xmas present for my stepdaughter, Casey. we have a basset hound named Bruce and they're very close. Bruce is getting up there in years and i can see her get down when his age comes up in conversation. she knows he's not going to be around forever.
sometime this past year she was roughhousing on the floor with him and i took a couple crappy iphone pics. despite the quality, one looked cute and captured a lot of their relationship:
i commissioned a virtual artist,
dax gordine, to adapt the photo as an illustration. it was a real J5 experience - super responsive, asking for other photos of Bruce and Casey to make sure he got things right, and the price was ridiculous considering this is his primary profession and he's basically doing this as a lark and a favor. he sent the below illustration and i'm taking it for framing this weekend at a local shop here.