A retired nurse has made £15,000 by selling artwork painted by her dog.
Lisa Kite, 58, started teaching her nine-year-old Australian Shepherd Ivy to paint after she had just turned two. Even at that young age, Lisa saw Ivy was very quick at learning new tricks.The beloved pooch has now been creating art for seven years and Lisa has even taught her to pick up a paint brush and paint on a blank canvas.
Her paintings have unusual names such as ‘Meringue’ and ‘Jungle Cat.’INTERESTING FACT ABOUT YOUR PET: The red-eared slider is one of the most popular pet turtles in the United States. They grow to be a foot long and can live for up to 20 years.
Prices vary, but her most expensive work of art is selling for £360.
Lisa, from North Carolina, US, says: ‘Initially, I trained her to get a beer from the fridge to impress my adult children when they came to visit and from there, I taught her lots of different tricks.‘We have a two-page spreadsheet of different tricks now.
‘She’ll do the basic commands like sit, rollover and shake but she’s learned how to sort the washing, take my jacket off, wipe her feet, and put coins in the bank.
‘It didn’t take long to teach her how to paint; she was painting within a week. She started off with water colour but now she’s using acrylic paint and has painted hundreds of different paintings.
Parrots, according to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), are the nation’s fourth most popular pet; according to a 2012 survey conducted by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), 3.1 percent of U.S. households owned birds. Some parrots can scream as loud as an ambulance siren. These birds are beautiful, but they’re difficult to care for and require lots of space, so the HSUS doesn’t recommend keeping them as pets at all.
‘I’ve given so many paintings away but we sell them all over the world; I’m blown away by how many people want one of her paintings!’
Lisa is not an artist but loves the creations made by her pup. Monday is their set day of the week to paint and Ivy can have five paintings on the go at any one time.
Lisa donates the profits from Ivy’s artwork to local charities and food banks in their area.
‘This is fun for Ivy; she is trained using positive reinforcement and is putting good into the world,’ Lisa adds.
If you have a small dog, cutting up a lamb roll into tiny pieces is a cost-effective way to make healthy, bite-sized training treats. A 1-pound roll costs $6.98. Cut it up into the desired size, store most of it in a ziplock bag in the freezer, and leave the rest on the counter for immediate use.
‘I’m not an artist but I love art and have learned a lot from Ivy.
‘She only adds one colour to each painting per week to make sure we’re not diluting the colours.
‘As long as she’s busy, she’s happy and we make sure to walk her five miles a day on top of that. We give the profits away to charity. It’s usually animal welfare charities but also food banks.
‘I love the idea that there is a dog working to help other dogs and pets in the world.’
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Make him part of the family. Pets, especially dogs, need companionship. They are traditionally pack creatures and need the warmth and love that comes with living indoors with their family.