I had a side-career as a house-sitter in my mid-to-late twenties. There were a handful of families that trusted me enough to live in their homes and care for their pets while they went away on vacation. I didn't realize at the time what an honor it was to be so trusted. All of the houses were nicely appointed. My favorite ones had extensive libraries that I enjoyed as I would peruse their collections of books. One family had a pool. Another family had horses (that I only fed but did not ride).
The dogs were always nice company. There was the elderly, deaf standard poodle, BeeGee that required daily medication. But she was a gentle soul and liked it when I took her outside in the lovely landscaped grounds. She'd enjoy the Summer breeze coming off of the adjacent lake. I would sketch her and some of the surrounding scenery.
Brandy was a slightly overfed German Shepherd. Her masters left micro-wave-able meals in the fridge for her for each day. She's dozing in my sketch that I've posted with this writing.
I think my favorite canine of the bunch was Peaches, a Golden Retriever. We would walk around the 5-acre property to check fences and just enjoy the Fall weather.
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| My sketchbook drawing of Peaches the Golden Retriever |
The featured sketch at top is from 1988. I was dog-sitting for this couple who were actually in a temporary suburban home while they prepared to move out West. I did a sketch of their living room. It wasn't a large home but they made it very comfortable and visually pleasing. The post card was to my then fiance (now wife). My charge, Brandy, a German Shepherd is in the foreground. I liked the design of the place and wanted to capture it in a sketch. I used different colors of ball point pen and a gold colored Sanford Expresso Pen.
© O. Douglas Jennings. All rights reserved.
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