West La Cueva neighborhood resident Carol Hansen has been an artist for a long time, but it wasn’t until her Great Dane was diagnosed with cancer that she started doing pet portraits. Hansen said the commission earned from the pet portraits helped to pay for her dog’s treatment.
“He has passed, but people still want the drawings, so I use the funds to help pay for my current dog’s medical expenses,” Hansen explained. “A few of the drawings I sent you are local dogs, but most are from friends on Instagram.”
Hansen said she has drawn close to 300 portraits and has sent them across the globe to places like Australia, Spain, Canada, Germany, Colombia, Hong Kong and England.
“It’s been wonderful ‘meeting’ so many people from a shared love of our pets!” Hansen wrote in an email.
The pet portraits seen below are just a small sample of Hansen’s work, published with her permission.
Browse through a selection
of Hansen's pet portraits
