Spend some time with pigs and you come to appreciate their intelligence and individual personalities.  As a native of Iowa, where pigs are plentiful,  I was very curious when I first learned  about Emmett, the beloved beast of Kelli Miller and Jason Lowenstein. Emmett has been a Brooklyn resident for many years, he celebrated his nineteenth birthday in July.

Emmett didn't begin his life in Brooklyn, what pig would?  He began his life in Louisville Kentucky, where he was found in a gutter on the street.  He is a strapping 105 pounds now, but when he was rescued from a life on the street, he was small enough to sit on a lap.

Kelli, the coworker of a friend of mine, very generously shared photos, articles and her reflections on Emmett, who she calls Piggers. The devotion and effort that Kelli and Jason have given to Emmett over the years is only compounded by the humor and patience they’ve shown while sharing their lives with their quixotic and intelligent creature.

"He's a little territorial about the  apartment.  He kind of doesn't like people.  Outside, he's very sweet.  Little kids surround him at the park."  This is a quote from Kelli Miller in  a Village Voice article by Toni Schlesinger titled Shelter.

I loved the photos that Kelli sent to me.  My favorites being the 3 above.  The orange vest, the enticing bowl of veggies, and the milky smile on Emmett's face, all that, and the incredible colors made for a very fun portrait to paint.

​Wow was it fun, though it was rainy and a bit chilly.  I had help from my wonderful daughter Helen, her friend Maya, and my husband Bennett.  We had loads of visitors to our booth. They signed up for the free drawing for a Beloved Beast mug.  The results of which will be coming soon!

I've been very occupied as of late.  Our wonderful daughter recently started High School, and fresh off of vacation, we (well mostly I) decided it was time to redecorate her room and get her ready for the fast-paced world of high school.  After much master planning, painting, several trips to IKEA and about a week's worth of assembling furniture, she has a great new space and I had a several trips to the physical therapist for lumbar disease.  

I highly recommend Physical Therapy, especially when you reach the point where walking any distance without pain becomes a problem. It wasn't the furniture assembly that did me in, it was my replacing the attic ceiling fan's fan belt.  Really not a good idea to shove yourself into a small cramped space while trying to lift and maneuver a heavy motor.  Never again.  The upside, the attic fan works again, and I've learned a lot about core strength, my lumbar region (there are better bars) and the piriformis muscle (the one I made really angry).

Adding to the construction, furniture assembly and acquisition of anatomical knowledge, and the resultant physical effort involved (they don't call it physical therapy for nothing!), I am getting prepared to take Beloved Beasts to Hounds on the Sound this coming October 9!  

​Hounds on the Sound is a great day of activity that can be enjoyed by human's and their beasts!  It's a dog-walk-a-thon that benefits Pet Rescue and the Humane Society of Westchester, there will be:

And this year we will be one of those Vendors!  So if you are in the area, and want to have a great time, and maybe adopt a new furry family member, stop by.  Look for our banner, and come by to say "Hello", we will have free drawings for Beloved Beast Swag, and stickers and treats for our two legged and four legged friends.