My Dog Victor (The Tired Sheltie)

10" x 8" Oil on panel
Private Collection
Houston, Texas

Today's painting is a portrait of my dog Victor. He has a lot of personality, but like most dogs he likes to sleep a lot. In this painting, he is tired and not really bothered by the attention.

My family has always had Shelties for pets. Of course, that means we think they are one of the best breeds. Not too big, friendly, and smart. Victor came to our family as a potential show dog, but he has a placid personality and unfortunate baby teeth that let his tongue hang out (a serious fault for a Shetland Sheepdog.) For the first few years of his life his buddy and Alpha dog was Bela. Bela is whole 'nother story, but for Victor he was the boss and that helped spell the end of the show career. Victor is the grandson of Jamie, who holds the record for show wins for a Sheltie and won the working group at Westminster. Oh well, I don't think Jamie could look this sleepy.

As for the names, you can type "Bela and Victor" into Google and you will get quite a few hits that explain from where our Dogs' names came. I have even heard of other people who named their dogs Bela and Victor.