Winner of Whiskers Pet Portrait by ShawnaLee announced!

Congratulations to Cathy Gautot who won the Gift Certificate for a Graphite Pet Portrait donated by ShawnaLee Kwashnak at last year's Annual Whisker's Benefit Dinner held at the Colonial Tavern in Oxford CT. (Oct. 2016) Cathy is thrilled to have won and decided to have her Rescued Dog, believed to be a Samoyed, to be the subject.

Cathy says: "Paddington, or PBear as my niece nicknamed him, is 7 years old. I found him on PetFinder and adopted him. He came from Alabama where someone has left him in a drop box at a kill shelter at about 8 weeks. He was so adorable I don't know how anyone could do that! They thought he was an American Eskimo when I adopted him and would be much smaller than he actually is. My friends kept saying to me that he would be big because of his feet, but I was in total denial! Connecticut Lab Rescue are the ones that posted him working with a person in Alabama. If I had know that he would be this big I don't think I would have adopted him because I had 3 cats at the time, but God knew that he was the perfect dog for me and he has been a blessing ever since. Within the last year I have lost 2 of those cats and the 3rd one has a brain tumor. She is tiny but feisty and she and PBear have a great relationship."

All about Whiskers Pet Rescue:
"Rose Hope Rescue, Inc. DBA Whiskers Pet Rescue is a no-kill animal rescue organization in Connecticut, with adoption centers in both Southbury and Waterbury. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity made up entirely of volunteers committed to helping and caring for animals who
have been abandoned, injured, abused, orneglected. We're a hard-working group of people with a huge passion for helping our whiskered friends. We rescue and adopt out hundreds of pets each year, placing them in loving forever homes.

On May 14, 2016, we had the Grand Opening for our Cat Adoption Center in Bennett Square in Southbury. This center is truly a dream come true. It has given us the ability to rescue and provide a safe, loving, temporary home for many more cats in our community. In the first three months that our center was open, we adopted out over 75 cats and small animals into wonderful forever homes. But that was just the beginning! We are constantly rescuing new animals in need and we won't rest until each and every one of them has found their forever family.

Whiskers Pet Rescue is also a PetSmart Charities Adoption Partner. We're thrilled to showcase some of our fabulous felines in the Cat Room at the Waterbury PetSmart. We often have rabbits, guinea pigs, and other small animals available for adoption at PetSmart as well. Come visit our wonderful rescue animals during adoption hours at either one of our adoption centers. We look forward to meeting you and helping you find your whiskered forever friend!"

ShawnaLee Kwashnak, a Middlebury Portrait artist, has been drawing and painting her whole life and loves creating portraits of pets or people in Graphite, Charcoal, or oils. She teaches art lessons locally. She is a partner to Whisker's Pet Rescue.
For more information about Portraits by ShawnaLee, visit www.shawnalee.com or on Facebook: Portraits by ShawnaLee. You may email the artist at: artist@shawnalee.com