"..Bonnie" Linda Green-Metzler & Eric Metzler $150

"Portrait of Bonnie" Artist Statement: "This portrait of Bonnie, our fourteen-year old beagle mix dog, was created to grace our annual Christmas card. Each year she has appeared with Bucky, our first beagle, and then solo after his long life ended, to cheer friends and relatives and remind them what joy a beloved pet can bring to a family. Bonnie was fortunate. She was rescued by a group of big-hearted high school teenagers on a camping trip to the Black River in 1997. A campground owner had not neutered his purebred female beagle. When she delivered her pups, the owner didn't want them and told the campers he was going to drown them in the nearby river. Good scouts that they were, the boys and girls said, "no, you're not", and brought all six of the pups back to St. Louis to find them homes. The kids responsibly contacted the local vet to help find homes for the very sweet, perfectly healthy animals. We were fortunate. As known beagle lovers, we were one of the first families the vet contacted for a home. Bonnie became a treasured member of our family and is aging gracefully due to years of love and excellent veterinary care. You may not be able to legislate this kind of responsibility toward our fellow creatures, but you can educate the young to do the right thing, as this story proves. Education and legislation go hand in hand to create a better world for creatures great and small." Created in watercolor by Artist Linda J. Green-Metzler and Eric Metzler (Co-owners of Bonnie) of Chesterfield, MO