You'll Be In My Heart: In Memory of Truman

"You'll Be In My Heart" ( A Commission Story) In my last blog I wrote that I hadn’t posted a lot of pics of paintings leading up to Christmas because I was sworn to secrecy until the gifts of commissioned paintings had been given. I still have several I will be posting weekly.

Today’s blog is about Truman the beagle. Truman was the pup of Joe and Patty Thomas. I have known the Thomas’s for a very long time and had the pleasure of having one of their daughters for voice lessons when she was in high school. They are a beautiful and loving family. Joe and Patty’s daughter, Courtney, contacted me before Christmas about painting a picture of their dog Truman for Christmas. I learned that Truman was truly the love of their life. He has since gone over what all pet lovers refer to as the Rainbow Bridge. I was touched and honored to be ask to do this painting for them. I first asked Courtney to give me a little verbal snap shot of what Truman was like and a bit of his story.

These are her words. “Truman a miniature beagle or what Joe and Patty Thomas thought was a miniature beagle won the heart of every person that met him. Truly a beagle when he was a pup he was wild and silly. Constantly up for a chase. As he grew older his sweet demeanor and loving soul was always evident. Anytime Truman met someone his tail was wagging and he loved to get treats. He would come barreling through the room just for a snack. He gave his family endless love and plenty of snoring. He will always be remembered for the sweet, gentle and loving dog that brought such joy to our family.”

After receiving this story, Courtney’s mom, Patty, wrote me a very sweet note about the painting. I was overjoyed to know that she loves and treasures it so much. Her story of going to get Truman was amusing. So many people are led to believe they are buying a “pocket pup” only to learn they weigh over 50 lbs when they are full grown.

From Patty: "Gayla, I love the picture of my beloved Truman that you painted. It is beautiful and captures his spirit. I will cherish it forever. Yes, it is a funny story. I had never had a dog before and decided I wanted a little pocket beagle. (They usually weigh around 8lbs) When I found Truman and brought him home Joe looked at his paws and told me wasn’t going to weigh 8lbs. Needless to say 55lbs later he was right! But oh how we loved him!"

Thank you, Courtney, for having the faith in me to commemorate Truman. Clearly he brought a lot of joy to your family. And Truman, my prayer is that you are living your best dog's life over the bridge. "You'll Be In My Heart" just seemed like the right title because of the loving paw prints he left in the hearts of his family. Because I was trying make the Christmas deadline, I didn’t get a chance to get the painting professionally scanned for my files so bear with me. These are only cell phone pics. Thanks for reading and if you are interested in a commission, please contact me for a price/sizes sheet at smithgirlarts@gmail.com gayla