The Exalted Pet: Derek, I Grant Thee Three Wishes....

Oh, this one was way, way too easy. Everyone's favorite canine crankypants has one major softspot...his beloved stuffed Rhinocerous. This thing has long lost its squeaky, both of his eyes, and I do believe a hanging appendage of sorts, but we don't dare tear this binky away from our dear Derek. Not even for one minute.

Is that a face of an angel? Of course, it is. Just don't get any closer to the stuffy....

Derek, or Masked Rebel, as he was known on the track, came to us by majority vote of one...our dear Hansel. I saw Derek at our annual GPA Picnic in June of 2004 (that's Greyhound Pets of America, OC/GLA or www.fastfriends.org, just in case you needed a refresher) and he instantly made my heart three sizes too big. Little did I know at the time, that is amongst his finest skills. All alone he sat in the Special Needs section, with a little piece of pink yarn on his collar, declaring his friendliness of the feline variety. I must walk this dog, I thought, but someone had beaten me to the punch...blargh! Thankfully, he was returned and I introduced him to Hansel. Apparently, the two had already met, planning their non-verbal plan of attack....of cuteness. Derek immediately rested his head on Hansel's neck and that's all she wrote.

Adopted!

These days Derek enjoys a low-pro lifestyle and relishes his retirement. He's fully on the mend following a slight tumor scare earlier this year, but its removal turned him into a young, spritely pup. At least, for Derek's standards. Despite his love for peace and quiet and lots of cuddles, he does enjoy:

Living on the edge,

Hamming it up for his fans,

Enjoying a good birthday celebration (although he does not like to reveal his age),

And practicing his hypnosis on mommy,

Well played, my little Fawn Fabio, well played indeed.

We worked into the wee hours of the morn to finish the latest installment of the Exalted Pet Collection, with stellar results, I must say. Once presented to Derek for final approval, he was so overwhelmed with the number of realistic rhinos, he tried to cuddle with it.

Pointellism, being my favored and most coveted technique in any medium seemed to be the only option for my Derek. It just presented itself during execution and I went with it. Check out those baby browns, how else could his soul be so perfectly captured any other way?

So, just as I thought I'd immortalized all of my exalted pets, who pops up but our unexpected addition, Gizmo. We need to acquaint ourselves a little further with our 15 year old rescue, but I've already got a great idea in my mind. So does Princess, but I told her that hers would not be an appropriate idea. She's still warming up to him, as you can tell.

In the meantime, Derek's gives a big thanks to his fans while doing what he does best:

Looks like the heaven's agree. Thanks for stopping by! Cheers!