Back in January I really wanted a little puppy to add to our family! I had been looking all over craigslist for the perfect little pooch. I looked and looked but it seemed there was no really close that had any pups available. Then one day I saw that Petsmart at Blakeney was having a Pet Adoption Day! I was thrilled and told my husband about it.

So that Saturday we headed on over to the store to "just look" and see what puppies they had there. There were so many great dogs but they all seemed WAY too hyper to take home (i have a kitten named Stupes who was then 6months old- he would have FLIPPED) Sooo... as we were about to leave a van pulled up with a whole bunch of little pit/lab mix puppies. They were only 9 weeks old and sooo precious. We ran right over to see them all.

Out of the whole group though little "Cuddles," as he was then named, caught my eye the most. He was the only white puppy with such funny looking black markings. He looked like a moo cow!

It was perfect because I was actually looking for a pit bull, because I want to help them out. They get such a bad reputation just based on the past and what people say about them. There are vicious dogs out there but as one of my favorite dog trainers, Caesar Milan, says "It's the human behind the dog that causes the behavior." I truly believe that now.

Dante is the most amazing dog. He is a very fast learner, strong, and so quirky! Him and Stupes get along so great... they play chase back and forth through the house all day long. Even now he is still learning tricks and being the best dog he can be. He absolutely loves other dogs and especially loves little kids that will run around with him for a while at the park. He's the perfect little dog anyone would want. He's definitely one of the family members!

Everything was going so wonderfully until one day about a month ago he started to itch...and itch...and scratch. Ever since then he has been scratching to the point of hurting himself and he's been licking his feet like crazy!

We didn't know what to do so we rushed him to the vetinarian. She let us know that it looks like severe food allergies to "something." We found out just yesterday that he is allergic to almost everything in his life...just to name a few: pine trees, bermuda grass, cat dander, dust, fleas, mites, etc.

Everyone knows how much it costs to go to the doctor/vet these days...it'll cost an arm and a leg! Even though money is tight because of everything going on in the world right now, I still want to take care of my family. Nothing is going to hold me back from doing that.

I absolutely love art and I just recently started to sell some of my canvases. I came up with the idea to sell Pet Portraits a couple weeks after Dante was diagnosed... I figured it would be a great way to make ends meet and pay for his treatment. Plus, whoever helps out is getting a custom portrait of their own lil baby for a reasonable price! (or babies) So it's a win win situation for all of us. And hopefully, soon enough, Dante will get back to being himself and feeling better. I hate him seeing him SO miserable; it's very frustrating.

I hope that if this new idea of mine works out and I can raise some money things will start looking up. And if everyone stays interested in my artwork I plan on continueing to raise money so I can donate it to local animal shelters in Charlotte.

I love animals, especially dogs, and I will do whatever I can do to make their world and ours a better place : )

thank you so much for your donations!!!!