![\"dog1\"](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/dog1.jpg\" "\\"dog1\\"")
<\/a> Local artist\/pet photographer Tamandra Michaels of Normal Heights has always known that Borias, her 8-year-old German shepherd, was gifted. A faithful companion, assistant and confidante, Borias has helped make life easier for his guardian, for whom a lifelong disability necessitates the use of a wheelchair. Pedigree aside, Borias is also a champion \u201cretriever.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cHe can pick up almost anything, even coins,\u201d Michaels said, explaining that this particular skill is especially helpful. \u201cHe can turn lights on and off, and help pull some clothes off. He loves to take my socks off. He\u2019s opened so many doors for me, literally and figuratively.\u201d<\/p>\n
Always independent, Michaels raised and trained her own assistance dog because she wanted to choose the breed and the way the dog was trained. Borias\u2019 laid-back temperament and outgoing personality were unmistakable, even as a young pup. And so was his intellect.<\/p>\n
\u201cBorias learns the names of things after just labeling it once or twice,\u201d Michaels explained. \u201cHe knows hundreds of words and phrases. He\u2019s (also) quite clownish, comical and playful, and loves to make me laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n
With all those abilities in his repertoire, Borias wasn\u2019t finished amazing Michaels. He had one more trick up his sleeve — if he wore them, that is. He\u2019s also a budding artist, and he\u2019s using his paws for a cause — partially his own.<\/p>\n
Borias has a re-herniated disc, and arthritis is starting in his front leg. For relief, he receives acupuncture, deep tissue massage and chiropractic adjustments. All of which, as any pet owner knows, can be quite costly. In order to help pay for his veterinary care, Michaels came up with the idea for her Forever in My Heart series of paintings. She envisioned a tribute to how her heart is forever linked with Borias\u2019 heart.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got the idea to have him help me create art when I had been doing paintings of my logo design for my pet photography business, which has a paw print in a heart,\u201d Michaels recalled. \u201cI thought it would be cool if I could use his real paw print. So I made several paintings, and took him outside, painted the color on his front paw, and had him put it down on the canvas. It looked so much cooler than me painting one in! Each one is a little different, and his fur makes an impression with it, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
The paintings were exhibited at the Animal Healing Center in Linda Vista, where Borias receives his treatments, and the orders started coming in. The proceeds go directly toward Borias\u2019 bills. Michaels\u2019 works can also be seen at Kensington Pet Supply and Dirty Dog Pet Wash (both on Adams Avenue), and online at www.myheartdog.com.<\/p>\n
In the future, Michaels hopes to be able to expand Borias\u2019 treatments to include physical therapy, swim therapy and even stem cell therapy. Should her fundraising efforts prove successful, she would also like to be able to donate a portion of the proceeds to Pets Are Wonderful Support (P.A.W.S.), a charity that helps low-income, elderly, and disabled San Diego County residents in need keep their beloved animal companions. Anyone who shares his or her life with a pet can relate to Michaels\u2019 motivation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so thankful to have this amazing dog by my side,\u201d Michaels said. \u201cHe shows me every day that I am deeply loved, unconditionally\u2026 for Borias, there is no such thing as a bad day. I\u2019ve learned that you can do anything you set your mind to, no obstacle is too tough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peggy Scott is a freelance pet writer. She can be contacted at pscott.pets@yahoo.com.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tails of the City: From the Bottom of Their “Art” By Peggy Scott Local artist\/pet photographer Tamandra Michaels of Normal Heights has always known that Borias, her 8-year-old German shepherd, was gifted. A faithful companion, assistant and confidante, Borias has helped make life easier for his guardian, for whom a lifelong disability necessitates the use […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":242777,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Tails of the City: From the Bottom of Their \"Art\"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-242941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}