"Kuzya"

This sweet golden retriever is Kuzya.  My brother has commissioned this painting for his lovely wife's birthday. Kuzya passed away 2 years ago and is greatly missed. Here is her story from my brother, Jon.


Kuzya - Sveta and I like to follow crowds sometimes. You just never know what you'll find. So we followed a crowd to the park near the Nebraska Humane Society. They had Golden Retrievers doing really advanced tricks. I was impressed. Then this guy came up to us and said the NHS had a Golden Retriever that was going to be destroyed because nobody wanted her. I begged Sveta to go look with me. There she was. 9 months old,  skinny, very awkward and lanky. She was trying to get people's attention but nobody was interested. The family gave her up because they had a newborn baby and were afraid. The rest is kind of a blur to me. We took her home that day, she ran to every room upstairs downstairs, then came back to us at the door and sat on my foot. We were officially adopted. I had no intention of getting a dog that day.

Kuzya was our little girl in a fur coat. goofy and photogenic. Kuzya was our comforter, protector and entertainer. She always wanted to play. Kuzya had to be everywhere we were. She helped Sveta get through law school by staying awake while Sveta studied. 

When she wanted to go for a walk she would bring us her leash. I taught Kuzya how to get her leash off the hook and carry it to me.

The last week of her life I carried her around the house and placed her next to me where ever I was. She barely had enough strength to hold her head up. I was carrying her through the kitchen and she raised her head and grabbed her leash. Sveta and I went to tears.

Kuzya loved the pool. She figured out how to use the raft.

6" x 6" oil on cradled board