Showing new paintings, and latest news.

A wonderful project to work on of this greyhound trio, that had to be kept secret as it was a wedding present.

My client wanted an abstract painting of her three rescue greyhounds, and we discussed what she wanted by email. It is always interesting to me to know which of my paintings a client likes because this give me an idea about what they are expecting in their own painting. In this case it was clearly abstract and then we discussed the colours she wanted.

These three hounds have their own Instagram account, so I felt I got to know the three different characters while creating the painting.

If you are interested in commissioning your own custom painting, you will find some information on my website, which includes a price guide by clicking this link >>>

As I am writing this, it is coming up to six weeks since I had to make the decision to say goodbye to Tenshi. I am writing this because many have asked about what happened at the end of Tenhi's life. It is very difficult to go back to those last 24 hours, but I can now direct people here if they wish.

The last Friday in July had been just a normal day. We went to the studio as usual. I decided as it was the weekend we could leave a little early, and I called Tenshi off her usual spot on the large studio sofa. She had a leisurely stretch and she chose the way home, as she always did. That day she wanted to go by the beach to do all her sniffs, and headed home at her pace. She was thirteen and her back legs were showing signs of age as they were a little wobbly, but she still trotted along quite enthusiastically.

When we got home Tenshi did a zoomie, jumping on our bed and barking at herself in the mirror. This was an almost daily routine, and therefore she seemed just fine.

She ate all her food for her evening meal, and my husband and I settled down watch on TV the opening ceremony of the Olympic games in Paris. Around 22:00 I decided to take Tenshi for her last walk of the evening. We were only about 30 metres from our place when she did a kind of sneeze and I notice some small drops of blood on the asphalt. At first I did not see where the blood came from. I checked her mouth and then I saw a small amount of blood around her left nostril. I wiped her nose with a tissue and saw there was more blood coming. I immediately turned her round and we walked straight back to our place and up in the lift to our flat. I took Tenshi straight to the bathroom, announcing to my husband that I thought we had an emergency with Tenshi and could he come to hold her while I found a towel to mop the blood, and started to check on my phone where we could take her.

Tenshi was positive for Leishmania and was on daily medication. I know nose bleeds are a symptom of the disease and at 13 years old I was very concerned about her. It was 22.30 on a Friday evening and I was trying not to panic!

I made a couple of phone calls and it was decided it was best to take her to the closest animal hospital which happens to be the Helsinki University Veterinary Hospital in Viikki, which is open 24/7. By this time Tenshi was bleeding heavily from her left nostril. My husband carried her, and I lay a quilt in the back of the car for her to lie on and to absorb the blood, there was so much blood!

Luckily at that time in the evening the drive took only 10 minutes and the bleeding from Tenshi's nose had almost stopped by the time we arrived at the hospital. Thankfully there were no other patients in the reception so we were seen by a young vet straight away, who took a brief medical history of Tenshi. The Duty Vet came and discussed the possible causes of the bleed. Nose tumor, foreign body or, and most likely Leishmania related.  Fluids were given to via intravenous drip which included a coagulant to help prevent further bleeding.

I sat with Tenshi while my husband returned home to clean up the large amount of blood in the corridor outside our flat, and in the lift to the garage. About oo.30 on Saturday morning, the Duty Vet came to check Tenshi and it was decided we could take her home, so I rang my husband to come and pick us up. I just got to the reception area, sat down and the bleeding started again. I was able to quickly attract the attention of the staff and I was directed to ICU, leaving the night security guard cleaning up the blood! We agreed Tenshi should stay the night in ICU.  I was told I should go home and try to sleep and the ICU Vet would call in the morning.

We did not sleep much. The morning came and went and no phone call. I assumed this was good news as they had said they would ring if Tenshi deteriorated significantly overnight. But, I also knew they could be extremely busy as it was the weekend. I waited until 14:00 and decided I had to ring. The ICU vet of course, was very busy and I was told I would get a call back soon.

The telephone call came. Tenshi had slept, she had been on a drip with more coagulant overnight. She had eaten some breakfast, but the bleeding had started again during the morning. The ICU vet explained they could give a blood transfusion as there had been so much blood loss, however continuing the coagulation medication meant there was a danger of blood clots. At this point the decision was made, she should not be allowed to suffer any longer. I said we would come as soon as possible to say our good byes to her.

Arriving at ICU my dear Tenshi was comfortable lying on a thick quilt, but looked so small. I had never seen her sick before. Even though she had Leishmania she had never shown visible symptoms of the disease, although we knew it was lurking inside her. She was always a big strong girl, standing no nonsense and a member of 'The Strong Girls Club'! Seeing her like this was heart breaking and the only right decision at this stage was euthanasia.

I could see she recognized us but she hardly moved.We made a fuss of her, and I kissed her soft narrow head as I felt her heart stop as she peacefully slipped away.

My husband and I were both in shock. In those few hours, on our two visits to the Eläinsairaala in Viikki we met: a student vet, Duty Vet, ICU Vet, 2 nurses, reception staff and the night security guard. Each one of them, although in different roles, were kind, patient and empathetic to us throughout this terrible situation.

Despite Leishmania Tenshi lived an active life to the age of thirteen years. No doubt the reason she lived this long was due to the  continuous care of veterinary surgeon Tanja Hakkarainen, who works for Eläinklinikka Amos in Haaga, Helsinki. Always grateful to have such an expert to regularly monitor Tenshi with this disease.

Many have asked me if I am going to have another dog. At the moment it is too soon. I am only interested in adopting a rescue dog, and it is a huge commitment. You never quite know what you are going to get, and they are what they are... you have to be ready to adapt to their needs. So when the time is right, I will be looking for another rescue dog, and I am sure it will be a Galgo Espanol.

Tenshi was rescued in Cordoba, Spain by Galgos del Sur.

I adopted her via Galgos del Fenix who brought her to Finland. You can also find them on Facebook>>>

Tenshi's empty studio sofa, waiting for a new occupant when I am ready...