Hazelnut

My dog, Hazelnut, definitely needs some representation here. She is our sweet, 7 year old mixed-breed pooch that we rescued from the Westport animal shelter when she was 4 mos. old. As the story goes, she was rescued from a puppy mill in Kentucky and given the strangely discordant name "Bingo" when she arrived in Westport. I took my son who was 14 at the time to just "look" at the dogs there. I guess in my heart I knew we'd end up with one (or two, or three). We had rescued kittens and cats from this shelter, and this was the first time we even remotely considered a dog. Amidst all the barking dogs we found Hazelnut, sitting quietly in a corner looking at us with a gentle, forlorn gaze. I held my hand out to the cage so she could sniff it, and she gently, sweetly licked my fingers before resignedly walking back to her corner. Needless to say, she became a member of our family 24 hours later.

Hazel is a wonderful companion and an entertaining member of our family. She's fiercely protective of her home against those who dare walk their dogs a bit too close to our sidewalk - barking is a thing we're still learning to start and stop on command. (Where's that dog whisperer when you need him?!) Her gentle brown eyes and expressive ears are pure, signature Hazel, and I tried to illustrate those wonderful characteristics in this painting.