Commemorate our furry heroes
Two artists, Stephanie Weaver and Alex Maciel, began in 2017 to provide their talents to honor the Military Working Dogs, Contract Working Dogs, Police K9s, and Search and Rescue Dogs with framed and matted custom dry brush oil paintings. After 5 years, they are happy to formally announce they are making this service available nationwide at HonoringK9s.com.
HonoringK9s.com specializes in creating custom dry brush oil paintings with custom, hand-cut matting for Military Working Dogs, Contract Working Dogs, Police K9s, and Search and Rescue Dogs. Each framed piece includes a certificate of authenticity, an American Flag, and a plaque commemorating the working dog.
This special service is a way to honor the military working dog handlers, law enforcement handlers, and search and rescue handlers and their dogs. These animals and their handlers are unsung heroes who save lives and are often overlooked, underfunded, and under-rewarded. As a result, Stephanie and Alex are providing their creative services at extremely discounted rates for their fine art. In addition, for every painting sold, the artists who create these pieces will donate 10% to Mission K9 Rescue.
Stephanie said "We have been providing this service quietly since 2017, it is time that we help more handlers and their dogs get recognized. And we have seen in many cases, portraits we create help handlers or adoptive fur-parents heal when the working dog passes."
Want to know more about these amazing men, women and dogs? Here are fun furry facts:
- According to Heavendropt.org, there are over 2000 active-duty military working dogs (MWDs) serving the U.S. Armed Forces. These dogs are estimated to save 150-200 lives during their service.
- The Search and Rescue Experts estimate that a single SAR (search and rescue dog) can accomplish the work of 20 to 30 human searchers.
- The average SAR handler spends about 1,000 hours becoming field ready to search and ready to deploy for any national disaster like hurricanes, and unprecedented disasters like 9/11.
- During 9/11 over 300 SAR dogs and their handlers scoured for survivors.
- The most common working dog breeds used by the Military, Police, and SAR are Belgian Malinois, German Shepherd, Labrador Retriever, Dutch Shepherds, Doberman Pinscher, Beagles, English Springer Spaniel, and Bloodhound.
- According to 3DK9 In the U.S. there are an estimated 50,000 active police dogs.
- Military and Police Working Dogs specialize in Explosives Detection, Narcotic Detection, Accelerant Detection, Live humans, human remains, contraband, weapons, and tracking.
- According to AAHA; Dogs are capable of detecting odor at 1-2 parts per trillion. That's 10,000 to 100,000 times better than humans.
Stephanie said "This service is one that I think we've been keeping too close to our heart because of how important it is to us. But this service isn't about us, it's about honoring the animals and their handlers. These animals sacrifice themselves for the love of us and for a Kong. They deserve so much more. We hope that this will be a small way to say thank you to these amazing animals and their handlers for their service and sacrifice."
If you know of someone who would like to honor a working dog, visit HonoringK9s.com for more details and order your custom artwork today. If you have questions, feel free to send your inquiry to stephanie@stephanieweaverartist.com.
