Vinny and Hammy

I was reminiscing with some of my grand kids the other day about the funny relationship between our dog and a little back yard squirrel that the kids affectionately call "Hammy". They were worried that he may not have survived the recent wind storms that took out so many of our trees. They will be looking for him come spring with hope. My dog is a little beagle named "Vinny" (short for Vincent ... we named him after Van Gogh since his mommy bit off the lower part of his right ear as a puppy! Today it is still shorter than his "normal" left ear and a bit turned up on the end) Anyway, the two of them are hilarious to watch! Hammy is the biggest tease I have ever seen (except for maybe me)! He knows Vinny can't catch him as long as he is in the trees or on the other side of the iron fence!

One time, I was playing on the lawn with Vinny and noticed that Hammy was within a couple of feet just sitting up on his hind legs looking curiously at us. Though Vinny hadn't seen him yet, he at once got wind of him and began to "bay" with enthusiasm, and run around until he located the scent of the squirrel. Hammy immediately made a dash through the iron gate and stopped just on the other side and looked back. Vinny all the while hot on his trail until he couldn't go any further, with his nose through the gate within inches of the squirrel. They both just stared at each other for the longest time. Finally, Hammy dashed up and along the top of the fence on his way to the closest tree with Vinny in hot pursuit!

I had seen them interacting like this several times before ... Hammy racing around the tree and Vinny on the ground, barking at each other only inches apart! After all the ruckus, they would seemingly call a truce and just stare at each other until one or the other wanted to play again, and the chase was on once more! So funny ...

Anyway, recalling the two of them made me want to do a painting in their honor! After the grandkids were tucked into bed, I retreated to my studio and quickly blocked in the under painting that night and finished it a couple of days later. I really tried to capture their strange little personalities ... hope you enjoy it!